William Shakespeare

Who doesn’t know Shakespeare, may be only those who don’t know how to be charmed by literature. William Shakespeare’s [1564-1616] life is related with superlatives and his works are master-piece in English literature. He wrote about 38 plays with each play resembling like a bright star in the skies of literature and language. He was a genius whose creativity and class, whose magnificent dramatic style, whose inspirational language and expression could never be thought to be surpassed even till today starting from the days he was alive and prior period.

William Shakespeare is the most quoted of all literary figures and without doubt since his death there have been thousands of biographies written on him in the whole world in almost every language yet he can be explored further to the heights of infinity. He is independent of age, time or society and is widely popular today as he was in his own era, the Elizabethan age. Such criteria to know him is a necessity otherwise so much written on him can make a reader bore to even think about the idea of studying one more biography. A reader may yell “eh, one more? “To be honest, he is absolutely right and spot on.

Shakespeare’s life has marriage, kids, moving to London, getting rich by writing plays and staging them, becoming famous and then like any human being he died. But finding nothing much to write about him after millions of essays, articles, biographies and blah blah blah the writers were compelled to Create Stuff in peeping to the microscopic analysis of Shakespeare’s life and works , critical , analytical , philosophical, psychological , inspirational and classical as well as modern writers then had nothing sensible to write but they had to keep writing , just for the sake of their earning alone along with art and literature , many comedy of ideas and comedy of errors occur in reviews , books and articles about him. Even still he holds his first place in literary figures which is not only great on his part but wonderful on part of such writers too. Another day to live, another day to write, another day to earn another $.

There were great reviews as well, and still many are, though less in number than those absurdities about him. This article has no verification of which category it will fall, it’s all in the hands of lord and reader and a bit in William Shakespeare.

THINGS ABOUT WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

* Despite the frustration of sufficient information regarding his life there is enough to say we know him. He is not obscure at all.
* There are over 100 references to his day’s .Though fancies and stories and scandals about him are not referred by anyone.
* The lifelong accusation of his plays written by either sir Francis bacon or Philip Sidney has died in modern times, may be giving must relief to his soul.

FACT ABOUT WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

* He was born on 26 April, 1564 in Stratford-an Avon, England. [Though there are some differences over the date among critics.]
* He attended Stratford grammar school. The period of [1585-1592] of his life has very little details available; therefore, critics usually ignored the period.
* He married Anne Hathaway and after six months Shakespeare was father of his first child, a daughter, Susanna. His only son, hamnet, died at the age of eleven.
* In early 1590s there is evidence of his first play [the comedy of errors].
* His last being [the tempest in 1611].
* In 1597, Shakespeare purchased a splendid house in his home town known as the new place.
* During the period of 1597 to 1611, he spent most of his time in London and went on to a semi-retirement in 1612 professionally.
* He died on or about 23 April, 1616 of unknown causes.

HIS WORKS

* Comedy
* History
* Tragedy
* Poetry

COMEDY INCLUDED

* All’s Well That Ends Well
* As You Like It
* The Comedy of Errors
* Cymbeline
* Love’s Labours Lost
* Measure for Measure
* The Merry Wives of Windsor
* The Merchant of Venice
* A Midsummer Night’s Dream
* Much Ado About Nothing
* Pericles, Prince of Tyre
* Taming of the Shrew
* The Tempest
* Troilus and Cressida
* Twelfth Night
* Two Gentlemen of Verona
* Winter’s Tale

HISTORY INCLUDED

• Henry IV, part 1
• Henry IV, part 2
• Henry V
• Henry VI, part 1
• Henry VI, part 2
• Henry VI, part 3
• Henry VIII
• King John
• Richard II
• Richard III

TRAGEDY INCLUDED

• Antony and Cleopatra
• Coriolanus
• Hamlet
• Julius Caesar
• King Lear
• Macbeth
• Othello
• Romeo and Juliet
• Timon of Athens
• Titus Andronicu

AND POETRY INCLUDED

• THE SONNETS
• A LOVER’S COMPLAINT
• THE RAPE OF LUCRECE
• VENUS AND ADONIS
• FUNERAL ELEGY BY W.S.

THE BRIEF ANALYSIS OF HIS WORKS AND SOME INFORMATION

• All plays were registered before publication or staged. The playwrights used the stage as a tool for the expression of their ideas, the great reason, why Elizabethan theater arose to its own heights.

• He never published any of his plays and no manuscript survived. The intention was staging them not publishing as the popular way of the age.

• In 1623 the first collection of his works appeared, obviously, some 7 years after his death.

• His plays and characters are even loved today along with the splendid language and creativity .For example who can forget hamlet’s” to be or not to be “.

• Some of the language of his works contained words which a modern English reader is not familiar. Either one should go back in his time via time machine else simply ignore it or the best option is taking pains on searching a critic who used his philosophies. The relief factor is that such words and works of Shakespeare are very limited in number and we understand good majority of his language and works.

• Some of his plays brought him fortune and fame instantly. The list includes Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet etc. In fact, the genre of literature is divided in poetry, drama, prose and essay with Drama his specialty. It earned him his fame as no one could or can or may be never will write such powerful and glorious tragedies like he did. It is becoming a universal truth, so to say.

• The other dramatists of the age, Marlow and Johnson with VOLPONE and DR Faustus still stand nowhere near Shakespeare owing to the quantity and quality he produced in such short time.

SOME OF HIS FAMOUS QUOTES

• “To be, or not to be: that is the question”. - HAMLET (ACT III, SCENE I).

• “Neither a borrower nor a lender be; For loan oft loses both itself and friend, and borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry”. - HAMLET (ACT I, SCENE III).

• “This above all: to thine own self be true”. - HAMLET (ACT I, SCENE III).

• “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears; I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him”. - (ACT III, SCENE II).

• “But, for my own part, it was Greek to me”. - (ACT I, SCENE II).

• “The course of true love never did run smooth”. - (ACT I, SCENE I).

QUOTES ABOUT SHAKESPEARE BY OTHER

• He was not of an age, but for all time! - BEN JONSON QUOTE (1573 - 1637)

• I have of late had the same thought - for things which I do half at Random are afterwards confirmed by my judgment in a dozen features of Propriety. Is it too daring to fancy Shakespeare this Presider? - JOHN KEATS QUOTE (1795 - 1821), “LETTER TO B.R. HAYDON, MAY 1817″

• And one wild Shakespear, following Nature’s lights, Is worth whole planets, filled with Stagyrites. - THOMAS MORE QUOTE (1779 - 1852), “THE SCEPTIC”

• Shakespeare - The nearest thing in incarnation to the eye of God. - LAURENCE OLIVIER QUOTE (1907 - 1989)

• Wonderful women! Have you ever thought how much we all, and women especially, owe to Shakespear for his vindication of women in these fearless, high-spirited, resolute and intelligent heroines - DAME ELLEN TERRY QUOTE (1848 - 1928)

• One of the greatest geniuses that ever existed, Shakespeare, undoubtedly wanted taste. - HORACE WALPOLE QUOTE (1717 - 1797), “LETTER TO WREN, 1764″

• Scorn not the Sonnet; Critic, you have frowned,
Mindless of its just honours; with this key
Shake-speare unlocked his heart.
- WILLIAM WORDSWORTH QUOTE (1770 - 1850), “MISCELLANEOUS SONNETS”

• There Shakespeare, on whose forehead climb
The crowns o’ the world; oh, eyes sublime
With tears and laughter for all time!
- ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING QUOTE (1806 - 1861), “A VISION OF POETS”

? With this same key
Shake-speare unlocked his heart’ once more!
Did Shakespeare? If so, the less Shake-speare he!
ROBERT BROWNING QUOTE (1812 - 1899), “HOUSE”

? And yet, very literally, it is a priceless thing..
THOMAS CARLYLE QUOTE (1795 - 1881) “HEROES, HERO-WORSHIP AND THE HEROIC IN HISTORY”

? If called to define Shakespeare’s faculty, I should say superiority of intellect, and think I had included all under that.
THOMAS CARLYLE QUOTE (1795 - 1881) “HEROES, HERO-WORSHIP AND THE HEROIC IN HISTORY”

? The souls most fed with Shakespeare’s flame
Still sat unconquered in a ring,
Remembering him like anything.
G. K. CHESTERTON (1874 - 1936) “THE SHAKESPEARE MEMORIAL”

? Our myriad-minded Shakespear.
SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE QUOTE (1772 - 1834), “BIOGRAPHY. CHAP. XV”

? He was the man who of all modern, and perhaps ancient poets, had the largest and most comprehensive soul.
JOHN DRYDEN QUOTE (1631 - 1700), “ESSAY OF DRAMATIC POESY”

CONCLUSION FINALLY
William Shakespeare stands alone with all his greatness in English literature. No match for him. From hamlet to Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet to Anthony and Cleopatra, from a comedy of errors to the tempest he shows us his art through his mind and touches our soul in the most elegant and impressive manner possible , all hail his art and long live the king.