Samuel Johnson's "Preface to Shakespeare" Essay

   William Shakespeare is considered the greatest playwright of all time.  His gift for developing characters is one major aspect that accounts for this lofty acknowledgement.  Shakespeare created various characters from drunks and fools to kings and generals.  The characters are so human and so real that the audience can see aspects of their own personalities represented on stage for better or worse.  Inadvertently, Shakespeare's ability to characterize any type of person demonstrates his holistic education and knowledge of everything from military strategy and open sea sailing to music and religion.  As a result of Shakespeare's true-to-life

No society remains immobile, even if some human beings resist changes. The advances in technology and the emergence of new beliefs allow people to have a broader imagination. Thus, numerous new interpretations of ancient works, whether they are plays, folktales, or poems, permeate around the world. These renditions re-tell the original stories in contexts that adjust to modern world. What was regarded serious in the past becomes mockery nowadays. William Shakespeare, one of the greatest English play writers, has a profound influence upon different societies globally since the fifteenth century, for his plays inspire many contemporary artists to present new scopes reflecting their societies. Considered as one of Shakespeare’s greatest

In Romeo and Juliet we learn how Shakespeare uses vivid language to build character and depth in their roles. Shakespeare was a poet, playwright and an actor with a great love for language. Shakespeare was of great importance when it came down to the moulding and developing of the English language. Shakespeare had such an immense love for language that he created neologisms that we use in everyday life. Some of these neologisms he created include words such as puke, lonely, bedroom, democracy etc. in the play he developed numerous characters that played incredibly believable roles. An example of how Shakespeare made his characters believable was Tybalt, who spoke only forty lines in the entire play. Though he

In Shakespeare’s widely recognized play, Hamlet, he successfully gathers the audience’s attention by raising issues pertaining to them at the time and other thoughtful ideas, as per example in the soliloquy of Act IV, Scene IV. While the audience is captivated by Shakespeare’s poetic prowess, it is evident that his plays are enchanted with a deeper meaning than that which meets the eye. It

His language is rich, his characters and stories reveal universal truths about the human condition in a way we can all relate to; whether it’s the tragic outcome of unchecked greed and ambition or the unrelenting desire for revenge or the pursuit of love. His representation of human nature is just as real and relevant today as it was when Shakespeare wrote his plays. Shakespeare was very forward thinking for his time, especially in an age when women were not even allowed to perform on stage. Many of his female characters played critical roles in his plays, the infamous Lady Macbeth played a critical role in Macbeth. Shakespeare created many of the popular metaphors that we use today and largely influenced the English language. You could say Shakespeare is one of the best English teachers there has ever been, even if that wasn’t technically his

William Shakespeare, a world-renowned playwright, poet, and actor, has been known for centuries all around the world for his great variety of brilliant, poetic, and creative plays written during the Elizabethan Era. Shakespeare’s plays have the reputation of being among the greatest in the English language and Western literature, traditionally divided into the genres of tragedy, history, and comedy, and comprising of various imaginative settings, plots, characters, and conflicts. They have been translated into every major living language, in addition to being continually performed all around the world. Many of Shakespeare’s plays give insight on human nature, astonishingly able to characterize every emotion, strength, and weakness

Shakespeare is most well known for his famous love story titled Romeo & Juliet, but he was also known for Julius Caesar a man who let greed get to him. One thing many love about Shakespeare is that he was good at expressing his thoughts and feelings in his plays. Shakespeare grew up around his family who were also play writers, that’s how he got his ambitions to write over a hundred plays. Shakespeare fell in love with writing, he started putting his writing career before himself and even his family. Shakespeare is known for the Globe Theatre, a place which changed history for the better, The Globe Theatre brought the rich and the peasants, also known as groundlings, together.

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.

The infamous William Shakespeare had written over 30 plays before his death. Shakespeare’s plays are still very much recognized and appreciated in classrooms across the world. He knew how to make to make a simple point in strange ways. The playwright constantly made many life references that are still valid in today’s lifestyle.

Even after all this time, Shakespeare can still intrigue and excite people and students alike. Everyone says that Shakespeare was the greatest playwright of his time, but most don’t even know why. Those people just take the experts opinion, but even non-experts can think his plays are great. Shakespeare didn’t write these plays just for well-educated people but to be performed for everyone. Shakespeare wrote about topics that were of issues in his days, and through his plays one can see the message he is trying to convey while capturing the complexity of the character’s mind (Tumiel). He wanted his audience think what it would be like if they were that character and to feel the emotions of their hearts, to understand the psychological existence of that person. It is this those captured feelings in his words that makes him one of the greatest

Brian McClinton, a well studies Shakespearean conspiracist, and author of the article Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Suggest that Shakespeare wrote Hamlet in order to better express his views on politics and society during the Elizabethan Era. McClinton develops his theory by giving specific examples from the play as to how Hamlet connects to the Elizabethan Era. McClinton's purpose for this article is to give Hamlet readers a different perspective and give reasons as to why Hamlet was structured the way it is. This Article is written for those who want a better background of hamlet and why Shakespeare wrote it the way he did.

There is no denying that Shakespeare is a definitive playwright. He has presented us with classic works that have set the precedent for drama and the theatre. Among Shakespeare’s more notable plays are his tragedies. In the tragedy his protagonists are often given flaws in their character and hence, are suitably named tragic heroes. The downfall of these protagonists is often a result of their own character flaws and unfortunately, they suffer a doomed and unhappy ending. While the tragic hero is flawed they must also be honorable and worthy of the audience’s understanding and sympathy. On a quest for righteousness the tragic hero often goes through immense suffering which is why the audience can feel bad for him. For the most

William Shakespeare is one of the most well respected and time honored man of all time. His unique style, mysterious life and amazingly written sonnets make him the most studied and analyzed men to ever walk the planet.

Few writers have managed to enter the world-wide public consciousness as well as Shakespeare; everyone knows his name and can terribly misquote his plays. Yet, for all his popularity, many of his critics have called him unlearned, saying his plays are entertaining but shallow. These same critics often point at the many inconsistencies of his writing, claiming that Shakespeare was not trying to convey anything but witticisms and beautiful sounds. Of course, even his harshest detractors acknowledge his plays and sonnets have influenced the world's literature on a scale that is intimidating; every writer of his era stood in his shadow, and modern literature stands on his

One of the reasons why Shakespeare was so popular and still is distinguished from other writers of his time is because of his ability to create topics that reach and speak to all types of people. He strayed away from what was normal for that time by