Shakespeare

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Shakespeare is well known for his plays Hamlet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Romeo and Juliet. All of these plays are both praised by critics and ripped apart. Even iconic stories can receive negative feedback. It really depends on a reader’s personality and what it is they like that really matters in the end. Hamlet was one of the first plays performed out of William Shakespeare’s thirty-seven, it was even one of the most celebrated and reviewed plays of all time. A Midsummer Night’s Dream written shortly before Romeo and Juliet is said to be one of his strangest and most delightful plays he has written. Romeo and Juliet is till this day, the most well-known play in America. Around the eighteenth century is when Shakespeare was noticed as an amazing play writer and poet. Shakespeare may have been an excellent play writer to most, but arguably was not the best.
After reading W.H. Auden’s critical response about Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Auden suggests that Shakespeare sees art as a waste of time, “a bore.” Auden picks up on Shakespeare’s passion towards his work, but doesn’t see the passion towards art. This led Auden to believe that Shakespeare never takes himself too seriously. Auden doesn’t agree with Shakespeare’s beliefs on art, therefore Auden doesn’t see Shakespeare as the best. Another critic, Samuel Pepys, who read A Midsummer Night’s dream found it to be ridiculous. Pepys even swore to himself that since he’s already seen it he never wants to see it again, even though there were “good dancers and handsome woman”.
One of Shakespeare’s critics Voltaire, Whom is also another respected author, did not like Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet at all. Voltaire described it as a “vulgar and barbarous drama”. Voltaire...

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...l known because of his written works, but not everyone enjoyed his plays. Shakespeare had gotten much criticism from people both good and bad. I mostly focus on the negative in this essay because most critics complimented what was done well in his stories, but disliked the way it was written. So in the end he may have been an excellent play writer, but he was not the best.

Works Cited

Dutta, Amrita. Romeo and Juliet. Book Review Circle. Book review circle. N.a. 5/5/2014 < http://www.book-review-circle.com/Romeo-And-Juliet-William-Shakespeare.html>
n.a. Extracts from Earlier Critics, 1710-1945. People Brandeis. N.a. n.a. 5/4/14
n.a. Timeline of Shakespeare criticism. Wikipedia. Wikipedia. Last modified 1/28/14. 5/4/14 < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Shakespeare_criticism#18th_century>

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