Sunday, February 20, 2011

Shakespeare Series: Introduction

In November, I wrote how Shakespeare influenced and connected with the Jewish world. Now, I seek to look at Shakespeare and his plays on a broader spectrum. I want to see how he has influenced human society. It is obviously that the playwright had a resonant impact on humans. Otherwise, his plays would not have survived so well over 400 years. My goal is to analyse his best works. Over the course of 2011, I plan to read and review 12 Shakespeare plays.

Why read Shakespeare? First of all, the man writes plots that can connect almost every human soul. People seem to have a stereotype that William wrote complicated plays that no modern person can even understand. In the renaissance, Shakespeare wrote plays to be performed in England's globe theater. Everyone in Renaissance England would attend his plays. Queen Elizabeth I had her own box, but the merest peasants could also sit and enjoy a good show. That means Shakespeare had to appeal to anyone in England. Also, Shakespeare makes comprehension easier. As I played the part of Paris in "Romeo and Juliet", I was reading "Call of the Wild" in English class. Understanding London's tale was made much easier by Shakespeare. Finally, just like math, Shakespeare makes us think. From a comedy such as "Taming of the Shrew" to a tragedy like "Macbeth", Shakespeare creates character with a lot of depth. He throws us into a story many times with no to little exposition. Just as one can look at the Bible and find a meaning no one else has, Shakespeare has the same power. Every word in every play matters for Shakespeare. As long as there is trechary, love, betrayal, and/or disunity, Shakespeare will stand the test of time.

As I said, people believe Shakespeare's plays are too complex to read. For beginners, I would recommend using the "No Fear Shakespeare" series by Sparks Notes. The books have Shakespeare's original text side by side with a modern text that makes sense to us. The modern text destroys Shakespeare's poetry, so I recommended reading the original. Usually, I will read the original and refer to the modern if the line does not completely make sense. Another trick to reading Shakespeare is for us to picture a stage in our heads. Shakespeare wrote plays, not books. Remember this and the characters will really come to life. Doing this helps the brain grasp the emotion it would on stage. A final tactic I will give to studying Shakespeare, is to act in or see a play of his. At first, you may get confused. I was certainly struggling during call backs for "Romeo and Juliet". Eventually, we adjust to Shakespeare's way of speaking. It has a rhythm and beat. Once we get going, Shakespeare only gets easier to comprehend.

Literature can certainly thank Shakespeare. Before William wrote, there were stories. Frankly, most stories were myths or legends. These plays had dynamic characters. Gods and goddesses were no longer needed to make a story interesting. Also, Shakespeare has very defined characters. Villains in Shakespeare are evil and heroes are good. Shakespeare seems to combine the mythology of the past with his new literature style most novels use today. In this series, I am looking forward to see how funny Shakespeare's comedies are. Will I find them funny? Are they outdated? His jokes may have gotten old, but we say that the way Shakespeare writes a story is just like new.

Lastly, Shakespeare influences the world. We quote Shakespeare often and we all see that his plays are constantly being adapted. Just last night I saw "The King's Speech" (great movie), and Shakespeare references were all over the place! In addition, Shakespeare can ease our pain. His plays exemplify aspects of life that are too emotional for us to have a full grip on. I know that any human can love or hate. Imagine that anyone from the queen to a beggar could relate to Shakespeare's writing in his time. It should be an interesting year and I can not wait to get started!

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