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Relevance of Shakespeare
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Can a man born over 400 years ago still influence the world today? Absolutely, and such a man was William Shakespeare. William Shakespeare was an English poet, playwright, actor and writer. He is often regarded as the greatest writer of all time. That ideology hasn't diminished over the years at all. His influence is still present when it comes to plays, movies, and other cultural aspects of the world we live in today. William Shakespeare was born on April 23, 1564 in Stratford upon Avon, Warwickshire, England. His birth and education have been argued about for some time now because there no written evidence of the exact information. This actually led to full out conspiracy theories challenging that idea that Shakespeare actually existed. However, these are just mere speculations that have sparked unwarranted debates over the years. Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway when he was 18 years of age. He had three children: one daughter Susanna, and two boys Hamnet and Judith. Like before, little known existence of Shakespeare was archived until he hit the London theater scene in 1592. 1952 marked the year where theater, poetry and the …show more content…
Is Shakespeare still relevant today? That answer is a resounding yes. The first evidence of the matter is think of your English and reading classes throughout school. Starting in middle school for me, we read his most famous books. In middle school alone I was exposed to Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar, and Henry V. That's quite a lot at such a young age but that helped spark the interest of Shakespeare and show just how important he is to our culture. In high school, many of the same books were revisited to go in deeper to the meanings and ideas beyond the words of Shakespeare. School is the main rendition showing how relevant he is today, because we all experience similar things where he is one of the main focal points in those years of
Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway at 18 and had three children, twin girls and a son,
Do you think Shakespeare should be taught in schools? If you say no, then let me tell you why you are wrong; most people believe that Shakespeare shouldn't be taught because it’s hard to comprehend or that doesn't relate to us, the readers. But in reality, it gives us a new perspective on how people must have lived back then or on how they responded to situations that we might never have to go through in our lives. For example, in Romeo and Juliet, we are introduced to two young adults that are enemies but they fall in love to show that love is blind and that is true love might exist ( even though they moved on from their previous crushes, Rosaline and Paris ) , this gives me the first situation I want to talk about, which is the problems teenagers or people in general have to deal with and those are love and relationships or commitment . People who say that it doesn't relate to us, please let me explain why it wrong; first, everyone, who has been in a relationship will know that relationship aren't always perfect because you will have problem, arguments, and obstacles.
Born April 23, 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, United Kingdom, William Shakespeare is still amongst one of the greatest writers that ever lived. Through the many years of his non existence, Shakespeare’s is known all around the world as an icon of knowledge and impressive ability of being a writer. However, some ask the question is it important to know about Shakespeare? What will I learn from it? In many cases people will debate, but in my opinion I believe that Shakespeare is such an important icon to the world that high school students should know and learn from him because of how he connects with people and his communication to the world.
Shakespeare is Important William Shakespeare’s plays are being made into box office film hits at an incredible rate. Films such as Much Ado About Nothing with Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson, Hamlet with Mel Gibson and Glenn Close, Othello with Laurence Fishbourne and Henry V with Kenneth Branagh have been seen by a surprising number of teenagers. Often they have not understood it all, or even half of it, but they have been affected by the powerful characters and by the Shakespearean magic which has affected audiences around the world for centuries. They want to know more, they want to understand, and what better motivation can any teacher ask for than that students WANT? That alone is sufficient reason for any English teacher to start a course in Shakespeare.
Shakespeare has perhaps contributed the most to the English language of any writer known to man – literally. Over 1000 words and phrases that he coined as part of his plays and prose are now in common use across the globe. He changed nouns into verbs, verbs into adjectives, added on previously unheard-of prefixes and suffixes and in some cases made words out of nothing. Even culturally sensitive words such as ‘ode’ (The ANZACS) and scientific jargon (‘epileptic’) are in fact products of Shakespeare. Bernard Levin probably summed this up best when he wrote: “If you cannot understand my argument, and declare "It's Greek to me", you are quoting Shakespeare; if you claim to be more sinned against than sinning, you are quoting Shakespeare; if you recall your salad days, you are quoting Shakespeare; if you act more in sorrow than in anger, if your wish is father to the thought, if your lost property has vanished into thin air, you are quoting Shakespeare; if you have ever refused to budge an inch or suffered from green-eyed jealousy, if you have played fast and loose, if you have been tongue-tied, a tower of strength, hoodwinked or in a pickle… had short shrift, cold comfort or too much of a good thing, … - why, be that as it may, the more fool you, for it is a foregone conclusion that you are (as good luck would have it) quoting Shakespeare;…” (Bernard Levin. From The Story of English. Robert McCrum, William Cran and Robert MacNeil. Viking: 1986).
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
Shakespeare's work exposes students to a multitude of literary techniques and challenges students with difficult language and style, his work offers insight into the world around
Shakespeare is well-known throughout the world today, as it is taught to teenagers in their high school years. The relevance of Shakespeare’s play in today’s day and age is up for great debate as to whether or not it should be taught at all. Many believe that it is a necessity to English class and the overall English language, while other believe it to be a waste of time and energy considering how difficult it is to understand. Shakespeare is no longer relevant in twenty-first century classrooms; therefore, it should not be a requirement in English classrooms. Many English teachers are told that they must teach their students Shakespeare without their opinion on the subject, even though they come to know the children in their classrooms and
William Shakespeare's Relevance Today For as long as formal education has existed in Britain it has been a largely standard assumption that teaching the works of William Shakespeare is relevant and necessary. Perhaps the relevance of his writing is taken for granted, perhaps it is necessary to re-examine the role of Shakespeare for the modern audience. There are indeed many people who question the relevance of this 440 year old playwright to a 21st century audience, taking it even as far as perhaps the greatest heresy of all, questioning the necessity of GCSE pupils learning Shakespeare at all.
Many of his characters and sonnets are known in their original and altered state, although never beyond recognition. "Outside of the classroom, there are movies, ballets, live theater and Shakespearean festivals. Even popular music and television commercials have been built around notable Shakespearean characters like Romeo and Juliet." (Why Do We Still Care About Shakespeare?) Characters, betrayals, and story arcs of Shakespeare's works are referred to or used as plot devices in multiple medias such as Disney's The Lion King, Harry Potter, and even The Muppet Show (Posts about Pop Culture on Shakespeare In Action).
Why We Still Study Shakespeare The first reason as to why we still study Shakespeare today is because every play that Shakespeare has written touches on relevant issues that can still be seen in today’s society. Craven, a professor from UTSA had once stated: “The language is rich, the characters are complex and many of his basic themes – love, treachery, honor, bravery and political intrigue – still resonate today” (Tumiel). It is common knowledge that high school students fall in love, are overly dramatic, have jealous feelings, face discrimination and act out from passion, so why wouldn’t this content be relevant for them? For the people who try to reason that society 450 years ago is nothing like today’s is to dismiss every religious text, all ancient mythology and everything that was not written recently (Strauss, 2015).
In November 1582 he married Anne Hathaway. He was 18 and she was 26. They had 3 children. May 1583 they had Susanna then two years later had twins, Hamnet and Judith. Hamnet died at the age of 11. Susanna married a physician in 1607, and Shakespeare's other daughter married to a vintner in 1616.
Everyone knows that William Shakespeare was one of the greatest poets and playwrights of all time but he lived over 400 years ago. So is he still relevant to people of today’s world? The answer is YES, he definitely is, his writing is brilliant and everyone can learn from it. Especially teenagers who are always like “Why do we have to learn about Shakespeare? It isn’t relevant anymore!”
Shakespeare was a great leader, he taught others in his community about life situations through the lines of his plays, whether it be a tragedy, comedy or a romance. He is widely known for his writing ability which is clearly evident in his 154 sonnets, 38 plays, and two long narrative poems.(Wikipedia: William Shakespeare) His works are still exhibited today and have been translated in to many spoken languages. Shakespeare is still an important role model to writers and was pioneer in the art of composing literature and bringing it to life on stage. Shakespeare began writing stories (plays) after being an actor for many years.
“William Shakespeare was born on April 23, 1564” (Fandel 8) in the small English town known as Stratford-upon-Avon. William