Shakespeare
How many writers get to be widely recognized hundreds of years after their death? How can plays that were written long ago still apply to modern culture in such a way that they seem to have been written rather recently? There are many questions that can be asked about William Shakespeare. He was one man, but he shaped culture so dramatically that it is probably impossible to go a day without seeing his influence somewhere. William Shakespeare was an influential writer in his own time, and still is today because he created many important plays, sonnets, and commonly used phrases. First, and probably most important, Shakespeare wrote many impactful plays. He wrote his plays over four hundred years ago, but they’re still widely …show more content…
The origin of knock-knock jokes goes back to his play Macbeth. Have you ever been “in a pickle”? You can thank Shakespeare’s play The Tempest for that one. He single-handedly shaped the English language more than anyone else. Not only did this affect the words that people use, but it helped to diversify English culture. Merely learning English words and their meanings isn’t enough to learn the language thanks to Shakespeare. He made phrases that mean something different than you’d expect. He even created new words by combining existing ones when the English language constrained him. His diligence to create words and phrases to get his points across show that Hardin Craig correctly states that (1931, 51), “[t]he belief that Shakespeare was a careless worker, who put his plays hastily together largely out of other people’s ideas is erroneous”. Shakespeare definitely put time into his work and took great pride in it. Shakespeare did not write anything by accident, but rather, he wrote and created every single word and phrase with a specific purpose. Although Shakespeare the man is long dead and gone, he lives on in culture through the plays, sonnets, and phrases that he created and influenced people with. It’s not too far fetched to say that a person cannot go a day without seeing Shakespeare somewhere. His works are such an integral part of modern culture that his influence can be seen almost everywhere, and by
How many writers get to be widely recognized hundreds of years after their death? How can plays that were written long ago still apply to modern culture in such a way that they seem to have been written rather recently? There are many questions that can be asked about William Shakespeare. He was one man, but he shaped culture so dramatically that it is probably impossible to go a day without seeing his influence somewhere. William Shakespeare was an influential writer in his own time, and still is today because he created many important plays, sonnets, and commonly used phrases. First, and probably most important, Shakespeare wrote many impactful plays. He wrote his plays over four hundred years ago, but they’re still widely …show more content…
The origin of knock-knock jokes goes back to his play Macbeth. Have you ever been “in a pickle”? You can thank Shakespeare’s play The Tempest for that one. He single-handedly shaped the English language more than anyone else. Not only did this affect the words that people use, but it helped to diversify English culture. Merely learning English words and their meanings isn’t enough to learn the language thanks to Shakespeare. He made phrases that mean something different than you’d expect. He even created new words by combining existing ones when the English language constrained him. His diligence to create words and phrases to get his points across show that Hardin Craig correctly states that (1931, 51), “[t]he belief that Shakespeare was a careless worker, who put his plays hastily together largely out of other people’s ideas is erroneous”. Shakespeare definitely put time into his work and took great pride in it. Shakespeare did not write anything by accident, but rather, he wrote and created every single word and phrase with a specific purpose. Although Shakespeare the man is long dead and gone, he lives on in culture through the plays, sonnets, and phrases that he created and influenced people with. It’s not too far fetched to say that a person cannot go a day without seeing Shakespeare somewhere. His works are such an integral part of modern culture that his influence can be seen almost everywhere, and by