preview

Why Is Shakespeare Still Studied Today

Better Essays

Anaylaze why Shakespeare is relevant and so widely studied and performed today?

Denise Ooi

The History of Theatre
Mrs
24 September 2008 For over four hundred years, the works of British playwright William Shakespeare has remained fundamental in the role of theatre, study of the English language and presumably, skills in the study of business management as critics claim. 1
Shakespeare's works had cultured the stage all over the world as well as in the development of English literature, which was amongst his contributions to the Westernized societies. Another significant contribution of his works is the expansion of the English language by over 1700 commonly used words and phrases. This is clear evidence of an …show more content…

Schools use Shakespeare as a tool to educate and thus stimulate a widespread familiarly in his works. Schools believe that by performing and reading Shakespeare, students are equipped with extensive language skills as well being able to explore their imagination and ideas through drama. 8 Similarly, stage and film productions reuse Shakespeare’s scripts as this allows room for creativity for each new performance. Since his scripts are used, this means that there is a standard story for the audience to make comparisons on the casts and characters played over various performances. Hence the performers will have to inject new and creatively interesting ways of bringing Shakespeare’s works into life, lest they lose their audience. In addition, although each audience will view every performance with varied interpretations as Shakespeare's plays bring the audience into real life situations. Due to the differing personal experiences of each member of the audience, emotions and thoughts will be provoked. This keeps the thinking and feeling person wanting to come back for more of Shakespeare’s works to discover more about him or herself.
Thirty-eight plays and his poetry have won many fans for William Shakespeare for many centuries. His works have survived many intellectual revolutions and still rank above many other talented playwrights and writers since his death. There are some reasons why his works have managed to last for so long. Shakespeare's works are timeless

Get Access