William Shakespeare Research Paper

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William Shakespeare’s Influence on Modern Theater William Shakespeare is one of the world's most recognizable names. Born around April 23, 1564, the English son of a tradesman and alderman moved to London in 1585. It was there that he became an actor, a poet, businessman, and more famously, a playwright. He is credited with at least "38 plays, 154 sonnets, 2 long poems and several short ones." Shakespeare's plays have also been translated into every major living language (New World Encyclopedia). His play, Hamlet, was even translated in an obscure language, known as Klingon, from the T.V show Star Trek (Hovde). Shakespeare well very well-regarded in his time, and was later called a "master of his medium" (Sayre 169), but it was not until …show more content…

In classical theater, the playwright would use a unifying single theme to portray, and in most cases, it would be based on a mythological source and to teach a lesson. When you are asked by someone, "What is Macbeth about?" it is difficult to give a single, straight answer (No Sweat Shakespeare). Macbeth, also known as “The Scottish Play,” could be about ambition, conflict, transformation, or good vs evil. Shakespeare broke ground by using multiple themes in his plays. This was to show the wide range of human emotions and the complexity of the human condition. Shakespeare's characterization used themes to help a character dive deeper into their psyches. Shakespeare has even been credited in the works by Sigmund Freud for his understanding of the human condition, and even referred to Shakespearean works in his psychoanalytical investigations (Ravich 388). The success of Shakespeare's themes in his time made it acceptable for playwrights afterwards to use various themes in their works. In the modern era, multiple themes are found in many theatrical works, such as in The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams. This play featured themes such as illusion, reality, abandonment, escape, and memory (LitCharts). The soliloquy and monologue techniques are still used to explain the action and the development of the theme and character

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