A Literary And Historical Standpoint

Many college students have the misconception that reading Shakespeare is a waste of time. Michael Mack presents a different view in his speech to college freshmen “From Why Read Shakespeare?” Mack’s speech constructed an effective argument that reading shakespeare will help you in life through his use of rhetorical devices and counterclaims.

        It may appear that anything could be twisted into a typological pattern. Such interpretations appear to suffer from the structuralist faults of skating too lightly over actual texts, ignoring details that cannot be forced into a preconceived mold, and robbing narratives of their concrete shapes through abstraction. I would stress that there is more to Shakespeare than typology, but I would also insist that typology is often an important part of his drama. To make this claim plausible, however, requires more detailed attention to the text of his plays. In what follows, I will call attention to the textual and dramatic details that justify a typological reading of

Shakespeare uses metaphors and figures throughout his plays to give the reader and audience a further understanding of the story he is telling. In Metaphors We Live By, it is stated that “…Metaphorical expressions in everyday language can give us insight into the metaphorical nature of concepts that structure our everyday activities…” (Lakoff & Johnson 7). Through these conceits Shakespeare expands a normal idea and transforms it into

Much of the text is dated or archaic and is initially unknown to the typical student. Yet upon thorough study, the student will gain a deeper knowledge and understanding of Shakespeare's words and the English language.Despite the difficulty that dated text presents, the passions and emotions described by Shakespeare touch the hearts of his readers and audience, students included. Vivid imagery and poetic descriptions are presented effectively and have a great impact on the audience. Readers are provided with the opportunity to step into the lives of his characters; to feel their emotions and understand their motivations, a rewarding experience for the student.Although Shakespeare's wrote his plays more than 350 years ago, the relevance of their themes and subjects still exists.

Have you ever read something that didn't make any sense to you? Well that happens to almost everybody when they read Shakespeare. While Michael Mack gave a speech to incoming college freshmen telling them that Shakespeare is remarkably difficult to read he makes his point stand out even better. Mack develops an effective argument that explains to the readers that just because you may not understand something at first doesn't mean you shouldn't try again. He learned this through his use of past experience of working with Shakespeare’s work, and appeal to audience.

After reviewing the coding I completed for each book, I tallied up the results to see which lenses I most frequently and infrequently used. The results were that I analyzed the text through the literary lens in nineteen different books out of the twenty-five total (Petersen, 2016). In retrospect, I intermittently used the intertextual lens while reading. To be specific, I analyzed only five books out of the total twenty-five through this perspective (Petersen, 2016).

In the words of T.S. Eliot, “We can say of Shakespeare, that never has a man turned so little knowledge to such great account” (Eliot). The works of Shakespeare are known throughout the world as classic literary pieces. The lessons learned through reading Shakespeare have carried themselves and remain to be true although they have been around for hundreds of years. The style in which William Shakespeare wrote has influenced a great amount of the literature that has been written in the more recent past-- books that are read throughout schools in the United States today. It is necessary to read the work of William Shakespeare in schools today, not only because of the lessons in his work, but to understand the roots of some of today’s literature.

Literary works that explore core human experiences are able to retain their textual integrity through a range of contexts, despite the dynamic nature of prevalent social constructs and moral viewpoints. Playwright William Shakespeare whose works were originally composed during the Elizabethan era encompasses this idea, but they have been appropriated through different mediums, as the exploration of universal concepts is still relevant to contemporary responders. This is particularly evident in Shakespeare’s “Othello” (1603).

Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, begins with the appearance of a ghost, an apparition, possibly a hallucination. Thus, from the beginning, Shakespeare presents the air of uncertainty, of the unnatural, which drives the action of the play and develops in the protagonist as a struggle to clarify what only seems to be absolute and what is actually reality. Hamlet's mind, therefore, becomes the central force of the play, choosing the direction of the conflict by his decisions regarding his revenge and defining the outcome.

The mystery of Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a phantom of literary debate that has haunted readers throughout the centuries. Hamlet is

I was in the best of settings when I realized that Shakespeare was indeed great. My freshman year in high school, I had English class with an esteemed teacher, Mr. Broza—hailed as the Paul D. Schreiber High School Shakespeare aficionado, founder of Schreiber’s Annual Shakespeare Day, and, perhaps most heart-warming of all, a self-proclaimed Shakespeare lover whose posters of The Bard could be found as wallpaper in his small office. How lucky I thought I was. Indeed, if I wanted to appreciate Hamlet, I was in the right hands.

The power of language holds great significance not only in Shakespearean study but of our daily lives as well. Every nuance Shakespeare creates leaves a clue to a greater truth or understanding of our humanity. Exploring the works of Shakespeare with this in mind allows for audiences to gain more appreciation and awareness of the depth of language and communication through his dialogue and characters as Shakespeare: “asks us to adorn the actor with our thoughts and ‘carry them here and there, jumping o’er the times’” (Bevington xiii).

The key themes were humanism, which focused on human beings and their potential as well as the idea of perfect beauty. The beautiful courteous language used by the characters in the play reveal the concepts of humanism during the Renaissance. The characters sometimes surpass one another with multifarious and humorous words in the play. One of the best examples of this is of Benedick who makes fanciful statements on a regular basis. He even makes fun of Claudio for his use of the same rhetorical flair stating, “his words are a very fantastical banquet, just so many strange dishes.”*6 The new language was a new a way to learning, bringing out art and beauty in a better way. Each character in Shakespeare’s plays is individuals. It is their own mind that they work with. They are not governed by some other mind. Don John, a character in the play is seen using the powers of his own mind to constantly think and devise plans and ideas. Each of the main characters is able to successfully represent some aspect of Renaissance humanism, whether it is by the inner workings of their minds, their physical appearance, or their ability to create beauty with words and use this as a skill. Shakespeare creates a perfect sense a Renaissance world by constructing characters that adhere to the philosophies of the

This essay will discuss several literary criticisms of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. After skimming through several articles, I ended up with four peer-reviewed journal articles, each a different critical perspectives of the play: feminist, psychoanalytical/freudian, moral, and new historicism. My previous studies of Hamlet, as well as my rereading of the play this semester, has collectively given me a general knowledge of the text. My familiarity of the play made it easier for me to decipher the academic journals and see the connections each critic made with the play.

Texts become valued over time when they explore challenging and enduring ideas relevant to humanity. Hamlet (1603), a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, examines many important themes throughout the story of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, who seeks revenge for his father’s murder at the hands of his uncle, Claudius. The theme of action and inaction within the play highlights the need for balance within the human mind. The innate human pursuit of knowledge is personified by the theme of death. Finally, the use of archetypal characters causes the reader to empathise with them, allowing a greater emotional connection to the story.