When you hear the name Shakespeare what do you think of? Do you think he was overrated or do you think he was a great established writer? At first, I thought he was overrated and didn’t want to study him and his work. Only after studying have I realized that he is very important to our history. Even though he passed away over 400 years ago we are still studying him but why?
Shakespeare is a mastermind who has helped shape the English language. He has created and popularised many words and phrases. Many of which we still use today! He has created over 1,700 words and phrases, some of the words include: Lonely, Dawn, unreal and so much more! Some of the phrases include: Jealousy is the green-eyed monster, In a pickle, Not slept one wink, and more! Surprising how much one person can contribute to a language isn’t it?
Movies are like modern-day versions of Shakespeare’s plays. Over the years, our technology has improved so much. How had Shakespeare even kept his audiences interested? Easily he used his imagination and his words. He uses a technique called soliloquy; this is when an actor thinks out loud when he is the only actor on stage. An example of this is in the play Macbeth “Is this a dagger which I see before me the handle toward my hand come let me clutch”. This causes the audience to get involved in the play and builds up the mystery as many will think of what he would do with the dagger.
Other than poems he has also written sonnets. I studied his most famous sonnet 18. When we were studying it my teacher put on an adaptation of it by Paul Kelly called sonnet 18. I wasn’t very excited as it was Shakespeare. When we first listened to it I didn't like it. But then it kept getting stuck in my head and I realized I actually liked it and it was catchy. I even listen to it in my own time! I realized that my opinion of Shakespeare has made my mind immediately think anything related to him was terrible. I can guarantee that if I didn’t know it was Shakespeare I would have loved that song straight up! People are still making amazing adaptations of Shakespeare!
Sonnet 18 has a beautiful meaning behind it. He is comparing his love or muse to a summer's day. He starts by saying “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” then continues by saying she/he is more lovely than a summer’s day, summer’s too short with you, he could compare you to heaven’s eye (sun) but sometimes it’s too hot and get covered by the clouds, beauty will fade from people but not yours, death can’t claim you because I have captured you in my writing, and as long as people keep reading you will be forever alive. He wrote this to show his love or muse his love for her/him is eternal and he will never stop loving them no matter what.
I’m glad that we still study Shakespeare because if my teacher had never said we were learning him I never would have found out I enjoyed his work. Shakespeare is a legend and we have kept his work alive for many years; how much longer is he going to live on? The answer is forever.