William Shakespeare
On April 26, 1564, John Shakespeare's son, William, was baptized at the
Stratford Parish Church. No one knows for certain when his birthday was. (Brown
22) It was thought that young Shakespeare began attending school at the age 7, in Stratford. (Wadsworth 344) Before Shakespeare reached the age of 13, his family endured hardships. Shakespeare's formal schooling ceased. At that time,
William may have begun helping his father in the gloving business. (Wright 22)
'There is historical warrant for such an approach. Christian images, of course, pervade Shakespeare's culture, throughout his career he obviously thought in terms of them. If those images are themselves frequently allegorical, and we should consider the extent to which the allegories are incorporated into the living texture of Shakespeare's creations.'; (Kirch 18) At a young age
Shakespeare may have viewed annual plays and seen traveling artists. These performances possibly ignited a spark that continues to burn. (Wright 20)
William Shakespeare was an Englishman who wrote poems and plays.
According to many he was labeled as one of 'the greatest dramatists the world has ever known and the finest poets'; who wrote in the English language.
Shakespeare's work relied mostly on his instincts of nature. His understanding of other people allowed him to fully grasp the quality he wrote of. (Wadsworth 342)
John Shakespeare married Mary Arden in 1557. Both the Shakespeare's and the Arden's were farmers, and sold their products to make a living. (Brown
23) Shakespeare had two sisters. Joan died in 1562; Margaret died at infancy.
Then in 1566, Gilbert was born. In 1569 a second child named Joan was born; in
1571 came Anne, who died when she was eight year's old. Richard was then born in 1574 followed by Edmund in 1580.
William Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway at the age of 18. Anne was at least 8 years her husband's senior. The marriage record dates November 27,
1582 in an Episcopal register found in Worchester. The custom in Stratford after the eldest son married, was for the new couple to live in the house of the groom's father. In all likelihood, Shakespeare obeyed the customary procedure. (Wright 24) Shakespeare and his wife probably had...
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...re contain a strong and constant truth touching emotional and supernatural aspects of life. These realities make Shakespeare's works vital even in today's learning institutions, and theatrical realms, accounting for his enormous success. Many people feel that he is well deserving of adulation and utmost attention. (Kirsch 127) '
John Dryden praised Shakespeare for his 'universal mind, that comprehended all characters and passions.'; In Shakespeare's own day and time, no one ever faintly imagined what a huge success his works would become. No writer since William Shakespeare has ever been as well known. If not read, studied, or performed, the literary works of 'Sweet Mr. Shakespeare'; have been colossally renown. (Brown 2) 'No other writer has better served the tourism agency, the hotel manager, inn-keeper, caterer and salesman of mementos as well as the publisher and printer, actor and manager. No other writer has evoked a tithe of the editions, commentaries, emendations, speculations, and down-right lunacies that have been begotten by the Shakespeare's wonder.'; William
Shakespeare was indeed an Elizabethan who took advantage of his time (Wright
6) .
Shakespeare’s Personality. Ed. Norman N. Holland, Sidney Homan, and Bernard J. Paris. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1989. 116. - 134.
Shakespeare not only to portray human nature, but also to elicit a sort of Socratic
Shakespeare’s plays show the complexity of human beings. Everyone is different in reactions, actions, and thought. Shakespeare explores various themes throughout his writing career. Each play is unique, and their themes are handled in a very distinct way as Shakespeare writes each work with great care. Two major themes are appearance versus reality and relationship between motive and will; Othello, Hamlet, and Henry IV, Part 1 all portray these two themes in similar and different ways.
William Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet Romeo and Juliet written by William Shakespeare, tells the story of too unfortunate lovers caught up in their family’s hatred which in the end leads to the tragic deaths of both lovers. Classical Greek tragedy influenced Renaissance writers greatly Shakespeare was no exception. According to the dictionary, fate is ‘the supposed force, principle, or power that predetermines event.’ Which means that it is out of our hands.
The ability of an author to capture the interest of the audience has and will always be an important factor in the art of storytelling and even the expression of research or related material. When an author is able to seize the attention of any partaking of their work, curiosity will develop which will lead to the wonder of what the conclusion my bring about. Not only is it important to snatch the audience’s attention in the beginning, it is necessary to hold it prisoner throughout the tale. Authors do this by having an interesting plot development in which many unexpected details come into play and the course of the story is thrown from the norm and into the conflict. Shakespeare was a master of this art in the work he produced throughout his life and was able to create stories of humor and those of tragedy. For example, his play King Lear is a terrible tragedy in which many awful things take place and the story ends by disastrous means. While in the play Much Ado About Nothing, very little conflict is present and if it is, it is resolved quickly and the play concludes with the joyfulness of marriage nuptials. His ability to develop plot and story in a way in which the audience who love to devour, Shakespeare will in a way immortalize himself, “Shakespeare proved himself to be both the "soul of the age" his works reflected and adorned and the consummate symbol of the artist whose poetic visions transcend their local habitation and become, in some mysterious way, contemporaneous with ‘all time.’” (Andrews) As stated, Shakespeare went beyond his time and created traditions, symbols, sayings, and even stories that people today will remember forever. King Lear and Much Ado About Nothing are each examples of Shakespeare's detailed ...
By using just the right combination of words, or by coming up with just the right image, Shakespeare wrote many passages and entire plays that were so powerful, moving, tragic, comedic, and romantic that many are still being memorized and performed today, almost four centuries later. But the greatness of Shakespeare’s ability lies not so much in the basic themes of his works but in the creativity he used to write these stories of love, power, greed, discrimination, hatred, and tragedy.
William Shakespeare, the greatest writer in English language uses techniques such as logic, emotion, and ethic throughout his writings. These elements which are called logos, pathos, and ethos are represented in his plays. They play an important role in audience attitude toward the play. Effects of these techniques can be seen in plays such as Hamlet, King Lear, and Macbeth.
Shakespeare to create a lot of contrasts and moods, as and when he wants to.
...amining the masterpiece that is Hamlet, it becomes clear that Shakespeare was a successful playwright because he understood his audience and knew how to connect with them through his work. Even four hundred years after Shakespeare, this is still undeniably a crucial quality in anyone who is required to interact with an audience. Hence, much can be learned from Hamlet and from Shakespeare’s other works of art; the context of his plays may no longer resonate in today’s world, but the methods he used to engage and target the audience are timeless guidelines.
...mastery of imagery that helped Shakespeare lift himself in the world of literature and to give him a solid place as one of the greatest playwrights of all time.
Shakespeare’s plays are a product of the Elizabethan theatrical context in which they were first performed. A lot of pressure was put on Shakespeare as he wrote his plays because he was not allowed to upset the royal family. His style would have been different than others in those times and a lot more thought has gone into his writing than people listening would think. Usually, the audience take for granted the cleverness and thought of Shakespeare’s writing, however, now we have studied and gone into great detail about Shakespeare’s writing, we can appreciate it more than they did:
Shakespeare’s original audiences appreciated his work on all of its different levels, something that is almost impossible today for all but the most dedicated Shakespearean scholars. However, there is something that resonates equally with today’s audiences as with the audiences of Elizabethan times, and that is the effortlessly accurate portrayal of humanity that Shakespeare achieves through some of the most beautifully crafted literature in the history of the English language.
Two of the greatest masters of British literature, Shakespeare and Chaucer, tended to look to the classics when searching for inspiration. A lesser-known example of this lies in an ancient tale from Greece about two star-crossed lovers. There are many variations on the names of these lovers, but for the purpose of solidarity, they shall henceforth be referred to as “Troilus and Criseyde” for Chaucer and “Troilus and Cressida” for Shakespeare. Chaucer’s “Troilus and Criseyde” offers up a classic tale of love that is doomed, whereas Shakespeare’s “Troilus and Cressida” is not only tragic but also biting in its judgment and representation of characters. This difference may be due to the differences in time periods for the two authors, or their own personal dispositions, but there can be no denying the many deviations from Chaucer’s work that Shakespeare employs. Shakespeare’s work, by making the characters and situations more relatable, builds upon Chaucer’s original work, rather than improving it or shattering it.
Shakespeare has created stories that are so powerful, emotional, comedic, tragic and romantic that they are still continuously remembered and studied in the modern era. Though the essence of his talents does not lie in the simple themes behind his plays, but more so in
From the works of William Shakespeare and Edmund Spenser it is clear that some similarities are apparent, however the two poets encompass different writing styles, as well as different topics that relate to each other in their own unique ways. In Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 18” and Spenser’s “Sonnet 75”, both poets speak of love in terms of feelings and actions by using different expressive views, allowing the similar topics to contain clear distinctions. Although Edmund Spenser’s “Sonnet 75” and William Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 18” relate in the sense that love is genuine and everlasting, Spenser suggests love more optimistically, whereas Shakespeare focuses on expressing the beauty and stability of love.