William Shakespeare: The Greatest Writer in Literature
Adeline Wang
English Composition
Professor Yeh
7 April 2015
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Outline
THESIS: With the renowned masterpieces, William Shakespeare is widely regarded
as the greatest writer in English literature.
I. William Shakespeare's writing style is very prominent; throughout his thirty-seven plays, they can be classified into comedies, histories, and tragedies.
A. With elaborate metaphors and rhetorical phrases, he devoted himself to writing comedies and histories in his early life.
B. After 1600, William Shakespeare's late period, his greatest tragedies represent the peak of his art.
C. He focused on creating human characters with psychologically complex, and the best example is his famous work: Hamlet.
II. Shakespeare's plays and poems reflect the society in his time and are admired worldwide even today.
A. William Shakespeare was very much a product of the huge cultural shift that was occurring in Elizabethan England during his lifetime.
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B. The Renaissance intellectuals interested in exploring humanity of the
character, and some literary works express a more negative view of humanity of this age.
III. William Shakespeare creates a huge influence upon language history, and his writings impact a large number of notable novelists and poets over the years.
A. Though little is known about William Shakespeare's personal life, his works have influenced literature and theater for over 400 years.
B. His works has been translated into every major language and influenced heavily not only on literature but many other forms of art.
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The Greatest Writer
All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players.
Did you know William Shakespeare's work is the second most quoted in the English language, just after the King James Bible? Shakespeare is the most famous writer of the English language, known for his plays and sonnets. He created a great impact on English literature while introducing thousands of words into the English language, which still influences English literature even today. According to the studies, he wrote thirty-seven plays, one hundred and fifty-four sonnets and five narrative poems(Goldstein). Shakespeare, it goes without saying, has been the subject of a tremendous amount of attention. With the renowned masterpieces, William Shakespeare is widely regarded as the greatest writer in English literature.
Noted Works
William Shakespeare's writing style is very prominent; throughout his thirty-seven plus plays, they can be classified into comedies, histories, and tragedies.
In his early life, he devoted himself to writing comedies and histories with elaborate metaphors and rhetorical phrases. In the world of the Shakespearean comedy, none of the characters die within the play. That is not the case in either the histories and
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especially the tragedies, in which revenge must inevitably have its day(Baker). Shakespeare's comedic plays such as Much Ado About Nothing, The Merchant of Venice, As You Like It, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Comedy of Errors and Twelfth Night are among the most famous of all time. In addition, he wrote plenty of history plays too. His history plays take their titles from the king who was on the throne during the period, and the most popular are Richard II, the two parts of Henry IV, Henry V and Richard III. In these plays he provided the best model for a dramatization of historical change(Murray).
After 1600, William Shakespeare's late period, his greatest tragedies represent the peak of his art. Unlike comedy, tragedy always includes killing and with the death of main character, leading towards devastation. The characters were uniquely written, and Shakespeare had keen understanding of human nature, especially emotion. He superbly revealed the humanity, from love to intense jealousy as well as hatred. He focused on creating human characters with psychological complexity, and the best example is his famous work: Hamlet. Hamlet is Shakespeare's longest play and the most popular works during his lifetime. Take this for example, with Hamlet's internal struggle and outward questioning of himself and those around him, the psychological complexities are fully developed. So powerful and influential is this masterpiece that
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many writers have been inspired, from Goethe and Dickens to Joyce and Murdoch(Gager).
Reflection of the Society
Shakespeare's plays and poems reflect the society in his time and are admired worldwide even today. He was very much a product of the huge cultural shift that was occurring in Elizabethan England during his lifetime. He was born at the end of the renaissance period and was one of the first to bring the core value of renaissance to the theater(Jamieson). The Renaissance intellectuals interested in exploring humanity of the character, and some literary works express a more negative view of humanity of this age.
Shakespeare focused on the characteristics of man in his plays, especially on negative aspects. The emotion such as lust, anger, greed, delusion, pride and jealousy are found invariably with Shakespeare's plays, which play a dangerous and destructive role in one's life. The English Renaissance hugely influenced Shakespeare's writing, and he greatly impacted the direction of the Renaissance movement at the same time. He embraced the English Renaissance movement through
his works in many ways. In particular, Shakespearean characters like Othello,
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Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, King Lear and Brutus are noble in nature, yet are destroyed by their own emotional actions which often lead to destruction(Malathi). Undoubtedly, the characters become prey to internal struggles: inner enemies.
Influence on Language and Art
William Shakespeare creates a huge influence upon language history, and his writings impact a large number of notable novelists and poets over the years. The major novelists such as Herman Melville, Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy and William Faulkner are all inspired by his works. The large number of Shakespearean quotations throughout Dickens' writings and the fact that at least twenty-five of Dickens' titles are drawn from Shakespeare are the examples(Shih). The enormous impact on every generation of writers as well as contemporary plays, movies and poems is still ongoing even today.
Though little is known about William Shakespeare's personal life, his works have influenced literature and theater for over 400 years. Shakespeare introduced new vocabulary and phrases into English language, which have enriched the language and broadened its usage massively. Furthermore, his brilliant works are widely used in education as well. Professor of literature and instructors of drama analyze characters'
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details extensively while lecturing. Shakespeare's plays are performed and studied by a large number of people worldwide.
His works has been translated into every major language and influenced heavily not only on literature but many other forms of art. Music and art owe much to Shakespeare's influence. His literary contribution have significantly impacted on many levels of artistic expressions, for instance architecture, painting, drama, music and film. Every distinguished musician has sought to improve on his predecessor's setting of one or more of Shakespeare's songs, or has composed concerted music in illustration of his dramatic themes(Lee). On his miraculous ability to achieve this vast impact, it is obvious that Shakespeare's great influence has continually extended well beyond the realm of English literature.
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Works Cited
Goldstein, Jack. 101 Amazing Facts about William Shakespeare. Andrews UK
Limited. Feb. 2014. Print.
Baker, William. William Shakespeare. A&C Black. Nov. 2009. Print.
Murray, Christopher J. Encyclopedia of the Romantic Era, 1760-1850. Routledge.
May. 2013. Print.
Gager, Valerie L. Shakespeare and Dickens: The Dynamics of Influence. Cambridge
University Press. June. 1996. Print.
Jamieson, Lee. "Shakespeare's Time. The Influence of the Renaissance in
Shakespeare's Time". About Education.
Online. <http://shakespeare.about.com/od/historicalcontext/a/Renaissance.htm>
Malathi, A Ratna. "Commonalities Between Shakespeare's Characters and Indian
Mythological Figures: Contemporary Relevance". The IUP Journal of English Studies. IUP Publication Online. Dec. 2014.
Online.
<http://www.iupindia.in/1412/English%20Studies/Commonalities_Between_Shakespeare.html>
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Shih, Guang Sheng 石光生. "Kua Wun Hua Jyu Chang: Chuan Bo Yu Cyuan Shih"
跨文化劇場：傳播與詮釋 ("Intercultural Theatre: Communication and Expression"). Shu Lin Chu Ban 書林出版 (Bookman Press). 2008, no. 201, 202, 204.
Lee, Sidney. A Life of William Shakespeare. Chehab Pubber. Nov. 2007. Print.