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William Shakespeare's influence on modern day
William Shakespeare's influence on modern day
William Shakespeare's influence on modern day
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Welcome ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls to the annual William Shakespeare Schools Festival.
Even though that Shakespeare influenced the world over 400 years ago, his stories, sonnets and plays are all still relevant today. But why are William Shakespeare still so relevant today? It’s the idea and the issues that that Shakespeare addresses that constantly draw people towards him. Shakespeare had a very rare, but good, understanding of the daily situations and the many different emotions that human go through, which are portrayed in his characters.
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
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the creativity of how he portrays the emotions of love, greed, discrimination, hatred and despair. In the movie Shakespeare in Love, Queen Elizabeth declared that Shakespeare was the first writer to effectively depict the spirit and truth of love through words, although only a movie, the judgement is nevertheless accurate. It was the truth about these situations in his plays that attracted both the peasants and royalty to the theatres, as the truth about of civilization has no boundaries when it comes to wealth or status. Everyone dreams of the love that Romeo and Juliet have for each other, therefore making the balcony scene one of the most famous scenes of Shakespeare’s work. Ben Jonson wrote “Shakespeare is not of an age, but for all time.” Shakespeare is among the many people who guided the literary world to what it is today. He has contributed over 1700 words to the English language, which are still used in daily life. As well as coming up with new words, he also come up with sayings that portray how us human really feel towards another or a certain situation. If you claim to be more sinned against than sinning, if you recollect your salad days, act more in sorrow than in anger, of your lost property has vanished into thin air, refused to budge an inch, have suffered from green eyed jealously, have been tongue tied or if you’ve been hoodwinked or in a pickle, you are most certainly quoted Shakespeare. There can be no doubt that Shakespeare was a master of the English language. He wrote with such a flow of thought, word rhythm, which the work was presented with such complexity, but is still understandable even for the inexperienced reader. Most of the time, a single line from his sonnet, play or story, would have more than one meaning, however each meaning provides an insight into the character or the plot line. Shakespeare allows his readers to interpret how they want to see the character or the situation in the story. Characters such as, Romeo, Hamlet or Lady Macbeth, have become instantly identifiable when their names are mentioned.
Many remakes have been made of Shakespeare’s originals, with many modern day versions to express new views and interpretations on the story. Romeo is a persistent romancer and flirt rather than a lover faithful until death. Hamlet is an uncertain over thinker, and Lady Macbeth, in the public press, is an ambitious female politician who will stop at nothing to gain her own ends. However, these appropriate changes to the characters and stories, put an interesting interpretation on the modern life.
Shakespeare has formed many of the ideas about human character, about individuality and selfhood, about government, about men and women, youth and age, about the qualities that make a strong leader. These ideas are also seen in the realms outside of theatre and literature. Psychology, sociology, political theory, business, medicine and law, have all recongnised that Shakespeare is the founder and the forerunner of the important groups and practices in these fields. In this sense, Shakespeare has made the modern world in more ways than
one.
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.
Good morning organisers of the “Barden Me- Revisiting Shakespeare” conference. Thank you for inviting me to discuss my perspective on the relevance of William Shakespeare works in contemporary society. In my academic opinion I believe that Shakespeare’s literary works are in fact still both significant and important in modern society. Particularly, one of his most famous play “Macbeth” undeniably demonstrates how Shakespeare’s plays are still relevant to today’s youth. Through the manipulation of the representations, theme, relationship and events portrayed throughout “Macbeth” it becomes evident that the values, attitudes and beliefs that underpin the play do relate directly to our contemporary world.
As seen through Shakespeare’s exploration of universal themes, relatable, insightful, and knowledgeable characterization, and it’s intellectually stimulating entertainment value, Hamlet, demonstrates that it is still appropriate for students to study it today. In an era where nothing is simple and nothing is easy to understand, Shakespeare has managed to capture – 400 years earlier- the issues and people of our society today, all the while engaging us at the same time.
Almost anywhere that you go in America or even the world, the people have heard of William Shakespeare. His name is probably one of the most common ones in our society today, and has been since his time. But has anyone ever raised the question why? Why do we, as a society, read William Shakespeare's plays? The answer is a simple one
William Shakespeare has provided some of the most brilliant plays to ever be performed on the stage. He is also the author of numerous sonnets and poems, but he is best known for his plays such as Hamlet, Macbeth, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Romeo and Juliet. In this essay I would like to discuss the play and movie, "Romeo and Juliet", and also the movie, Shakespeare in Love.
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.
Through comedy and tragedy Shakespeare reveals the vast expanses and profound depths of the character of life. For him they are not separate worlds of drama and romance, but poles of a continuum. The distinction between tragedy and comedy is called in question when we turn to Shakespeare. Though the characters differ in stature and power, and the events vary in weight and significance, the movements of life in all Shakespeare's plays are governed by the same universal principles which move events in our own lives. Through myriad images Shakespeare portrays not only the character of man and society but the character of life itself.
These are some reasons why Shakespeare is still relevant today. Shakespeare in monologue #3 shows romance. Romeo was talking about Juliet. “The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars, As daylight doth a lamp; her eyes in heaven.” People today still make love poems and love songs to show romance. Shakespeare knows desperation. The Hamlet monologue is talking about suicide and if it’s worth living. “For in that sleep of death what dreams may come.” This is talking about what is it like to die. Today people still think about if they should go on with life or just end it all. In the movie “Much Ado About Nothing” Shakespeare shows humor. The two officers Dogberry and Verges couldn’t afford horses and pretended they were riding horses.
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.
Some people are asking themselves and others whether Shakespeare is still relevant today. “These are not plays we read and see together as a generation or a country. They’re works we enjoy as a species. Shakespeare offers a roadmap to the human.” This quote describes how Shakespeare's way of writing Poetry is so unique.He describes it in a way how people can relate to and look back to a
In conclusion Shakespeare's world and ours are very different but also very much
Shakespeare is not relevant because he wrote over 400 years ago, he wrote in Old English which is not easily understood now, and it’s not relatable toward teenagers because the teeanagers described by Shakespeare are silly and unrelenvant.
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.
Although William Shakespeare wrote his play’s 400+ years ago, I often find themes and language that still relate to my personal life. Although Shakespeare is most commonly known as the greatest English writer, there is controversy from Generation Z, my own age group, claiming that his plays are no longer relevant to us.
Many have wondered why Hamlet, a work from around 400 years ago is relevant in modern society. One would think a piece of work written at the time based on a true story would eventually die out as it became irrelevant. That isn't the case of Hamlet and other works by Shakespeare simply because of how Shakespeare is able to wonderfully address the human condition and the fact that the human condition simply does not change within 400 years. As said by Craven a professor at UTSA, “Humans still experience love, loss, betrayal, war, humor and tragedy, which gives Shakespeare a foothold in modern times,”Due to this, Hamlet is still relevant today because its major themes such as love, betrayal, and tragedy are major forces that we as a species still have to deal with. These themes heavily resonates with us and can be seen in popular contemporary works that exist today such as Game of Thrones, The Hunger Games and the Twilight Series which shows us how Hamlet is relevant today because of its portrayal of human traits.