Foreword

Though William Shakespeare is recognized as one of literatures greatest influences, very little is actually known about him. What we do know about his life comes from registrar records, court records, wills, marriage certificates and his tombstone. Anecdotes and criticisms by his rivals also speak of the famous playwright and suggest that he was indeed a playwright, poet and an actor.

In a world where the quality of the art form called "writing" is so often said to be rapidly diminishing, it is important for scholars of English literature to retain some studies of the true classics, such as Shakespeare. A well-rounded education logically must have a strong foundation in both modern and classical literature, the latter of which an in-depth study of Shakespearean works would more than satisfy. Not only was Shakespeare so well accomplished in his writing skills that he has become an undeniably significant point in the history of literature, but a majority of his works were written on such basic human themes that they will endure for all time and must not be allowed to slip into the tragic oblivion of old age.William Shakespeare has become an important landmark in English literature. Shakespeares modern influence is still seen clearly in many ways. For example, the success of Shakespeares works helped us to set the precedent for the evolution of modern dramas and plays. He is also credited with being one of the first writers to use any modern prose in his writings; in fact, the growth of the popularity of prose in Shakespeares time is clearly shown as he used prose progressively more throughout his career.The main reason why I have chosen this theme is that we all are aware of the importance of this unique man in the history of literature. In northern Europe the plays of Shakespeare may be considered Renaissant in character and for all his fame and celebration, William Shakespeare remains a mysterious figure related to personal history. William Shakespeare's legacy is a body of work that will never again be equaled in Western civilization. His words have survived for four hundred years, and still reach across the centuries as powerfully as ever.

Conclusion

Shakespeare occupies a position unique in world literature. Other poets, such as Homer and Dante, and novelists, such as Leo Tolstoy and Charles Dickens, have transcended national barriers; but no writers living reputation can compare to that of Shakespeare, whose plays, written in the late 16th and early 17th centuries for a small repertory theatre, are now performed and read more often and in more countries than ever before. The prophecy of his great contemporary, the poet and dramatist Ben Jonson, that Shakespeare was not of an age, but for all time, has been fulfilled.It may be audacious even to attempt a definition of his greatness, but it is not so difficult to describe the gifts that enabled him to create imaginative visions of pathos and mirth that, whether read or witnessed in the theatre, fill the mind and linger there. He is a writer of great intellectual rapidity, perceptiveness, and poetic power. Other writers have had these qualities, but with Shakespeare the keenness of mind was applied not to abstruse or remote subjects but to human beings and their complete range of emotions and conflicts. Other writers have applied their keenness of mind in this way, but Shakespeare is astonishingly clever with words and images, so that his mental energy, when applied to intelligible human situations, finds full and memorable expression, convincing and imaginatively stimulating. As if this were not enough, the art form into which his creative energies went was not remote and bookish but involved the vivid stage impersonation of human beings, commanding sympathy and inviting vicarious participation. Thus, Shakespeares merits can survive translation into other languages and into cultures remote from that of Elizabethan England.

Glossary

William Shakespeare - To be, or not to be (from Hamlet 3/1)To be, or not to be: that is the question:Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to sufferThe slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;No more; and by a sleep to say we endThe heart-ache and the thousand natural shocksThat flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummationDevoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub;For in that sleep of death what dreams may comeWhen we have shuffled off this mortal coil,Must give us pause: there's the respectThat makes calamity of so long life;For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,The pangs of despised love, the law's delay,The insolence of office and the spurnsThat patient merit of the unworthy takes,When he himself might his quietus makeWith a bare bodkin? who would fardels bear,To grunt and sweat under a weary life,But that the dread of something after death,The undiscover'd country from whose bournNo traveller returns, puzzles the willAnd makes us rather bear those ills we haveThan fly to others that we know not of?Thus conscience does make cowards of us all;And thus the native hue of resolutionIs sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,And enterprises of great pith and momentWith this regard their currents turn awry,And lose the name of action. - Soft you now!The fair Ophelia! Nymph, in thy orisonsBe all my sins remember'd.

Bibliography

Dictionaries

Dictionary of Contemporary English, Pearson Longman, 2003

Encyclopaedias

Encyclopaedia Britannica

Literary works

Barnet, Sylvan. Shakespeare: An Overview. Richard III. By William Shakespeare. 1597. Ed. Mark Eccles. New York, London, Victoria, Toronto: Signet Classic. 1998. Chute, Marchette. Stories from Shakespeare. New York: World Publishing Company, 1956. Merriman, C.D., William Shakespeare, 2006

Internet sources:

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Shakespeare#Plays History:http://www.history.com/topics/british-history/william-shakespeare

Appendices

William Shakespeare

Romeo and Julieta

ii