How Did Shakespeare Influence Today

In American comedian/actor/writer/director Steve Martin's L.A. Story, there are many Shakespearean references. This is displayed on multiple levels. Sometimes it is subtle, like a borrowed plot device that bears a tiny resemblance to the play it was borrowed from. At other times, there will be a direct quote credited to Shakespeare himself. Or there will be a scene directly taken from a Shakespeare play, almost verbatim. The movie itself serves as a model of the influence that Shakespeare has had on filmmaking.

There have been many movie adaptations of Hamlet ever since adapting Shakespeare’s plays into movies became a profitable venture. Two of the more popular adaptations were Kenneth Branagh’s in 1996 and Gregory Doran’s in 2009. Even though they were both based on the same play, these two movies differ greatly due to director’s license. Kenneth Branagh’s and Gregory Doran’s adaptation of Hamlet differ greatly in terms of the setting and how each of the main characters are portrayed.

     Many of Shakespeare's works have been transposed from stage to screen, none so more than Hamlet. Two of the most unique film appropriations of the play are to be found in Rodney Bennett's 1980 film and Kenneth Branagh's 1996 blockbuster. The two films share many parallels between them in both interpretation and method, however they also have marked differences in their respective approaches to the text.

Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet has been modified numerous times and has been a source of inspiration for many playwrights and directors. Franco Zeffirelli and Baz Luhrmann are examples of directors that use Shakespeare’s legendary tragedy as a basis for their films.

Often times we see movies that resemble books, plays and other types of literature. Shakespeare was the greatest play write in all of the English language. There have been numerous films reenacting his most famous plays such as Romeo and Juliet, Taming of the Shrew, and Hamlet. However, Hamlet has also been reenacted through other story lines similar to the original play. Walt Disney’s

The innovation of technology in America industrialization was just as big as building cities, due the mass amount of people immigrating in to America’s coasts. America had to find ways to house these people and make sure they had jobs.

It has been more than 400 years since William Shakespeare wrote his last play. Although multiple eras have past, his work is still extremely valued and relevant today. Shakespeare's multiple plays and poems are continuously readapted into modern day movies, tv shows, books, and art. Not only is his work used for entertainment, it is considered one of the most staple forms of English education in schools around the world. Although it is widely common to see Shakespeare's relevance today as him just being the "best author to ever live", Shakespeare is actually most popular due to the characters he created, the timeless themes he incorporated into his work , and how they influence us today.

William Shakespeare is arguably one of the greatest writers in history. He wrote more than thirty famous plays and nearing 150 sonnet poems, both of which are implemented into many english curriculums around the globe. Titles such as Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Julius Caesar typically provoke nostalgic memories of grade school for many adults. However, a conflict surrounds the argument of whether or not his works should continue to be taught in present day schools. Opposition to the teaching of Shakespeare stems from the ideas that his works are too old fashioned, are not useful and are unnecessarily confusing.

An ally is someone who helps you get through a tough time and has your back for a long time.

In 1592, the young and ambitious, William Shakespeare, left Stratford upon Avon to London to begin his career as a playwright and actor. In the short years to follow, Shakespeare came to write and perform an estimated amount of 37 plays and 154 sonnets. Hundreds of years later, these same works are reviewed and studied in classrooms around the world, both at the collegiate and secondary educational level. There are several reasons why Shakespeare’s works were not forgotten after the Elizabethan era, including his themes, characters, and use of the English language. Educators in the United States have identified these qualities in his works and have used them to teach and benefit the youth they are involved with.

Kenneth Branagh successfully adapts Shakespeare’s Hamlet into a modern film. His version of the tragedy allows enthusiasts to experience Shakespeare as a movie. Branagh’s use of an unabridged script and flashback scenes provide the complete story of Hamlet. The variety of camera shots highlight Hamlet’s intense dialogue and soliloquies. Patrick Doyle’s original score emphasizes action, suspense, and drama. Therefore, through his screenplay, cinematography, and score, Branagh caters to Shakespeare enthusiasts interested in seeing Hamlet on the big screen.

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.

Alex Hirbal went to school on Wednesday morning with two large knives this current event happened in Murrysville, Pennsylvania. A school stabbing by a boy named Alex who is sixteen year old came into school with two large knives to Franklin Regional Senior high school. He injured twenty students in his rampage. He also injured one teacher in the process. Four boys had to be in the intensive care unit. Alex’s attorney said, “That he was bullied in school”, but the FBI official dismiss the bullying motive. “http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/09/justice/alex-hribal-profile/index.html”.Alex’s attorney thought that a lot of issues that happened in Alex’s life led up to what happened at this school. Alex is in tenth grade and “He will be charged with four counts of attempted homicide and twenty counts of aggravated assault in connection with Wednesday's attack at Franklin Regional Senior high school.”( http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/09/justice/alex-hribal-profile/index.html” Students at Franklin Regional Senior High school thought Alex was a loner, and this current event connects to the social learning theory because of Alex’s behavior.

It would be hard to argue the fact that William Shakespeare is one of the greatest contributors to modern English as we know it, his plays and sonnets have been turned into movies, books, and music as well as translated into virtually every language. With that being said, one of his most famous plays is Hamlet. Many movies were based off of this play and a very popular one is Hamlet directed by Franco Zeffirelli. This drama film was produced on December 19th, 1990 and was around 134 minutes long. This movie based off of Shakespeare’s most famous work was a hit, raking in approximately $20.7 million in the box office. Zeffirelli’s motive in making the movie was to make Shakespeare available and interesting to younger viewers. Franco Zeffirelli was successful in recreating the play Hamlet, as the movie added extreme depth to the play making it appealing to all viewers.

William Shakespeare's Relevance Today For as long as formal education has existed in Britain it has been a largely standard assumption that teaching the works of William Shakespeare is relevant and necessary. Perhaps the relevance of his writing is taken for granted, perhaps it is necessary to re-examine the role of Shakespeare for the modern audience. There are indeed many people who question the relevance of this 440 year old playwright to a 21st century audience, taking it even as far as perhaps the greatest heresy of all, questioning the necessity of GCSE pupils learning Shakespeare at all. This “proposed vandalism from the policymakers” (Guardian 09/02/01) is opposed wholesale by supporters