Three years ago, at one of the lowest moments of my life, I started doing something I never thought I’d do. I’m reading every single play William Shakespeare ever wrote. And I’m reading most of them aloud. From the three dour Henry VIs, through all of your Macbeths and Romeos and Hamlets, all the way to nutty Cymbeline and beyond. I’m not a Shakespeare scholar. Or an actor. I read them as part of a Nashville Shakespeare Festival program called “Shakespeare Allowed!” which invites a group of strangers to gather at a giant square table in the downtown library and read one speech or line at a time, round-robin-style, regardless of gender or acting ability. (Others silently read along in the periphery, except during crowd scenes, when everyone …show more content…
It was positively, well, Shakespearean. Finding free entertainment was quite a challenge, and so one day, while flipping through an actual newspaper, I noticed an article about the Shakespeare Allowed! project and decided to go see what it was all about. I showed up at the library the first Saturday of the month and was amazed to see 40 eager people jammed into a tiny conference room, books in hand, ready to read “The Comedy of Errors.” I knew within 10 minutes that I’d be busy the first Saturday of every …show more content…
It took a few months before a freakishly low turnout forced me to sit at the grown-up table and read aloud from “The Merry Wives of Windsor.” At first, it wasn’t exactly a natural feeling, and no matter how many times I peeked ahead to see which line I’d get, the words never quite tripped off my tongue. I mangled a lot of lines. But there was no denying the thrill I felt when I managed to get to the end of a longish speech and realized there was a grin a mile wide on my face. Suddenly I wanted all the long speeches, all the big moments. From that moment on, the library would have to be on fire for me to give up my reading
Our readings in “The Norton Shakespeare” give
The most common misconception is that reading Shakespeare is not worth your time and doesn’t help you in life. Professor, Michael Mack effectively argues the total disparate. When giving a speech to a group of college freshman, Mack establishes an effective argument that convinces his audience to give Shakespeare a chance and maybe it will help in life in life through his use of rhetorical devices and strong evidence.
Laurence Olivier describes Shakespeare as “the nearest thing incarnation to the eye of God” ; but is it really worth the read? College professor, Michael Mack presents a speech to his students convincing them to read Shakespeare. Mack fashions an effective argument that reading Shakespeare is worth the effort through his use of rhetorical devices and counterclaims.
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.
When you hear the word Shakespeare, you probably think that it is meant for the people that use intellectual language, the literary types, or even the people who have a higher reading level than the average person. Well, a college professor named Michael Mack argues that Shakespeare can be for everyone once you understand it and it can relate to the real world or be a reflection of it. Mack produces an effective argument that although Shakespeare is difficult, it is worth the effort. Through his use of rhetorical devices and counterclaims.
In the early 1600s, not many writers could write plays as mesmerizing as Shakespeare could. Born into a rich family of eight, Shakespeare attended grammar school where he would learn to write plays that enchanted people from any time. When experiencing Shakespeare, modern readers learn the beauty and intricacies of his works. Initially, in the novel Shakespeare Stealer by Gary Blackwood, Widge learns the grace of watching Shakespeare’s enchanting works. In the novel, Widge is sent on a mission to transcribe The Tragedy of Hamlet.
In the grand scheme of things, it seems quite odd that the vast majority of people have decided it is important to perform, study, and read plays written by a man who has been dead for over four hundred years. This of course, refers to William Shakespeare. For many people, the mention of his name brings up a faded memorized line or two from high school, but his impact on the world stretches farther than the perimeters of a classroom. Shakespeare revolutionized the English language to the point where half the time people are blissfully unaware of the fact they are quoting him. Whenever someone says, “What a sorry sight,” or, “I’m tongue tied”, they are not only empirically unoriginal, they are spouting Shakespeare.
experience readers of Shakespeare to debate and analysis each play in hopes to understand the world
Abstract: The debate over the legitimacy of the authorship of Shakespearean works has been disputed for centuries. While many scholars have held beliefs that Shakespeare's works have been written by figures such as Christopher Marlowe, Francis Bacon, William Stanley, and others, the most heated debate today is between William Shakespeare and Edward DeVere, the Earl of Oxford. Each side of this debate has many followers, the Stratfordians, or those who claim Shakespeare to be the true author, and the Oxfordians who believe that true credit should go to DeVere. My paper, far from being a complete analysis of the possibilities of Shakespearean authorship, attempts to summarize and rationalize the
By completing the readings assignments of Shakespeare assigned to me by this class, I have achieved broader positive assumptions about Shakespeare, as well of understanding how Shakespearean plays apply to modern day society. Although I have had moderate experience in the readings of Shakespeare in High school, such as the reading of Othello. By participating a completing readings about Shakespeare’s plays and attending lectures discussing sexuality regarding Shakespeare, I have gained a greater overall understanding of Shakespeare. Through Shakespeare’s plays, overall, I have gained a greater understanding of what Shakespeare attempts to convey in his plays.
This is the concluding post in a series marking Shakespeare's 400th death anniversary, which started with noteworthy screen adaptations of some of his important tragedies (To Weep Or Not To Weep... Part I and Part II) and comedies (All The World's A Laugh... Part I and Part II). Here we will look at some screen interpretations of the Bard's chief historical histrionics.
Shakespeare was a playwright from Stratford who had arguably the most influential affect on English literature and the English language. His works are still praised to this day for their divine superiority, however, controversy in exceeding amounts has risen over the dispute of his authorship. This controversy has been the topic of many arguments between differently opinionated scholars who support opposing theories and beliefs (Friedman XV). "A difficult dilemma confronts biographers who tell the story of the glove maker's son from Stratford-on-Avon who is supposed to have become the world's greatest poet and dramatist" (Whalen 3). It may seem odd that this confusion and doubt had come to light in the first place, as the origin of
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.
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.
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