The Impact of William Shakespeare
“Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them” (Twelfth Night. Act II. Scene V. William Shakespeare). Shakespeare did not come from an upperclass family or a family of royalty. “He achieved greatness by studying his mentors and not giving up on what he liked to do.” During the mid to late sixteenth century, England was made up of small villages due to the farming industry. Villages grew larger and became towns as the trading and mining industries made England wealthier (“Life in the 16th Century England, 2015). First there was little to no interest in theater, but as England accumulated wealth, the enthusiasm for theater expanded. Suddenly, everyone could
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Some of the more popular plays included Shakespeare's plays, attracting larger audiences after the plague broke out in the late sixteenth century. William Shakespeare, one of the most influential writers of that time, his works remain popular today and are still being recreated in many theaters and classrooms, thus continuing to greatly impacting American culture.
Many believe “William Shakespeare was born April 23, 1564, in the city of Stratford-upon-Avon, a small town 100 miles northeast of London” (“The Life of William”, 2003). “William attended one of Stratford’s junior high schools, then advancing to the King’s New School just to drop out around the age of fourteen or fifteen” (“Shakespeare’s life and”, 2017). ”During this time, students studied several ancient Roman and Greek plays, later inspiring Shakespeare’s work” (“William Shakespeare, 1594”, 2010).“When he was eighteen, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children: a daughter named Susanna and a set of twins, Hamnet and Judith” (“Shakespeare’s life and”, 2017). In the seven years following the twins’ births (1585 to 1592), “very little is known about Shakespeare. These are generally known as ‘The
William Shakespeare, an English actor and play write, was born in Stratford upon Avon on April 23, 1564. When he was 18 he married Anne Hathaway, a Stratford woman, who was 26 years old. Shakespeare and Hathaway had three children. The first was Susanna and the twins were Hamnet and Judith. Another of Shakespeare's great works of art, Hamnet, was named after Hamnet. Juliet, in Shakespeare's famous play Romeo and Juliet, was named after Judith. Shakespeare died on April 23, 1601. There are many events that contributed to Romeo and Juliet's deaths. These events are either fate or coincidence.
William’s father, John Shakespeare married Mary Arden in the year 1557. “John and Mary Shakespeare’s first two children, Joan and Margaret, died as babies. Such early death was not unusual because there was no protection against childhood illnesses . It is remarkable that their next child, William, survived” (Greenhill and Wignall 5). It is estimated that William Shakespeare was born on April 23, 1564. William was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon. Stratford-upon-Avon is a famous tourist attraction today. Hundreds of thousands of people visit Stratford every year to view William’s birthplace, death place, and grave. “William was born when the plague was raging in Stratford. That year nearly fifteen percent of the town’s population died of the killer disease” (Greenhill and Wignall 5). When William was about six he was sent to the King’s New School. The King’s New School was a grammar school. “The school day in the 1500s was long and hard” (Greenhill and Wignall 5). School began as early as six in the morning and ended at five in the afternoon. There were eight hours of teaching in a day and the school day began and ended with prayers. “Schoolwork at the g...
“William Shakespeare (26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was and English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world’s preeminent dramatist” (vodppl.upm.edu 2). He was born in Stratford-Upon-Avon, UK, he also passed away in his hometown. “When Shakespeare died in 1616 the event was barely noticed” (Epstein 7). “Shakespeare’s family was initially prosperous but began having financial difficulties in the 1570’s” (Allen 325). “Shakespeare gained his education by attending the local grammar school, King’s New School, where the curriculum stressed a classic education of Greek mythology and roman comedy”(shakespeareinamericancomunites.org 1). He never carried his educational career to a higher level as in a university. “William Shakespeare was not recognized as an actor, poet, and playwright until 1592” (Allen 346).
William Shakespeare was born in the year 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, which is in the United Kingdom. William was the third born child in the Shakespeare family, son to John Shakespeare and Mary Arden, and brother to Gilbert, Richard, Edmund, Joan and Judith. William’s father, John, was a successful merchant, however WIlliam’s birth seemed to impoverish the family, with John’s wealth decreased by a substantial amount. William attended a school for the underprivileged and received a basic education. By 1592, William had begun his career as actor and playwright and had his first few performances published. By 1597, he had 17 more of his plays published as public performances. By this time, Shakespeare was known as one of the richest people in England, as he bought the second largest house in Stratford-upon-Avon. In 1599, Shakespeare and his group built their own theatre near the Thames river. They decided to call the theatre The ‘Globe’. Shakespeare’s first plays performed at ‘The Globe’ were Richard II,Henry VI parts 1,2 and 3. These plays were all Histories and comedies and he did not begin to make tragedies until 1600. Shakespeare’s later plays, before his death were called tragicomedies. These, as from the title, were tragedies involved with some humour.
"William Shakespeare [ at the age 18 ] married Anne Hathaway [ who was 26 ] on November 28, 1582, in Worcester, in Canterbury Province" (William Shakespeare Biography). Their first child was, a daughter who was named Susanna, born on May 26, 1583. They had twins, Hamnet and Judith, two years later on February 2, 1585. "After the birth of the twins, there are seven years of William Shakespeare's life where no record exist" (William Shakespeare Biography). A tragedy stuck this family when Hamnet died at the age of eleven due to an unknown cause. " In 1597 he was able to purchase a large house, New Place, in his native town" (Encyclopedia International).
William Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway, aged 18, with whom he had twins Hamnet and Judith and Samantha. He was baptised on 26th April 1564 and died on 23rd April 1616. Shakespeare was born and brought up in Stratford-upon-Avon. In-between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as a writer and was widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and often called England's national poet. His works, consist of about 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems.I will be analysing how Shakespeare presents the consequences of impulsive behaviour of Romeo and the Friar.
spurred Shakespeare's transcendence into a sort of Elizabethan-era god. No longer is he 'William Shakespeare, playwright.' He
Across the Universe of Time: Shakespeare’s influence on 21st century society. It is harder to imagine a more universal writer than William Shakespeare. Rarely, if ever, is one of his many plays not being performed anywhere in the world and similarly rare is the tertiary English student who has not examined his work at length. His plays, sonnets and poems are common fodder for high school English departments across the globe.
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.
Shakespeare can be shown to be a strong influence on many modern aspects of everyday life today, ranging from comedies, tragedies, history, modern television, and many other examples. Shakespeare is well known across the world and will continue to be an influence in the future. His true birthdate is unknown to this day, but his Baptized date was April 26th, 1564 in England.
The English language has been in constant transition throughout its history, but the most significant transformation in modern English can be credited to William Shakespeare. With Shakespeare’s invention of commonly used expressions, his creation of new words, and his use of iambic pentameter, he was able to affect the language in a way that no person since has. Shakespeare’s influence on modern English is not only visible in everyday speech, but also in the fact that his work has survived over four hundred years and it continues to be performed and read worldwide.
Shakespeare in America Generation after generation, the American authors’ engagement with Shakespeare marks their continuing endeavor to establish an American national literature. Long before the American revolution, as early as the beginning of the seventeenth century, the quest for a distinct American identity lingered on the hearts of many Americans, especially of the American authors, who took it their task to formulate an American literary identity, which was new and different from that of Europe, the old world. Several issues are central to this ongoing quest for literary nationality: the relationship between originality and tradition, past and future, etc. Benjamin T. Spencer’s book The Quest for Nationality offers a thorough analysis
After overcoming the troubles of becoming an actor and a playwright, William Shakespeare has become well renowned. His works reach to people all around the world despite the language barriers and different races and cultures. For centuries, the popularity of his work...
The name most associated with excellence in theatre is William Shakespeare. His plays, more than any other playwright, resonate through the ages. It may be safe to say that he has influenced more actors, directors, and playwrights than any thespian in the history of the stage. But what were his influences? During the Middle Ages theatre was dominated by morality, miracle, and mystery plays that were often staged by the church as a means to teach the illiterate masses about Christianity. It wasn’t until the early sixteenth century that Greek tragedy experienced a revival, in turn, inspiring a generation of renaissance playwrights.
“William Shakespeare." Encyclopedia of World Biography. 2nd ed. Vol. 14. Detroit: Gale, 2004. 142-145. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 5 Nov. 2013.