When Shakespeare Saved My Life Analysis

During Shakespeare’s period, the nobles were not the only people attending his plays. “Groundlings” and “stinkards” – crowds of commoners who paid little to watch from the pit and the outside, were also often mesmerized by Shakespeare. Karen Prior concludes that there is “one ‘commoner’ population to whom Shakespeare can hold special significance: convicts.” An influx of programs involving the performing of his plays has occurred in the last few decades. This essay will focus on how Shakespeare relates to prisoners and how they make their own adaptation of the Tempest.
Those who are categorized as “diehard [Shakespeareans]” are likely to understand how prisoners are compelled by his works. Laura Gates is the author of Shakespeare Saved My Life: …show more content…
An associate dean from of the School of Communication and Creative Arts at Liberty University, Scott Hayes, coincides with this idea. He believes that, like the convicts, Shakespeare’s deplorable figures are trapped by their “circumstances and choice.” Hayes says, “Prisoners connect deeply with that sense of imprisonment. The consequences of choices made by Shakespeare’s characters are tremendous, and the prisoners truly understand and connect the power our choices have to reap tragic consequences.” “[Taking the time to contemplate how deeply an inmate can resonate with Hamlet when he says,] “Denmark’s a prison,”] it is evident that Shakespeare is very aware of “the rebel’s heart.” Curt Tofteland, the founder of Shakespeare behind Bars, found it to be a phenomenon. Shakespeare was provocative, but he did it in a manner that it permitted him to have a voice. This formulation of intricate, three-dimensional characters and allowing them to articulate their most intimate thoughts in detail assists convicts in identifying and offering voice to the lengthy nameless “aspects of their interior