Why is Shakespeare considered the greatest writer ever?

Shakepeare inspires artists...

Lush Imagery...

"Here I am exploring the timeless theme of decay and am inspired deeply by Shakespeare's'Hamlet" - Olivia McNeilis , Fine Art Photographer.

Falstaff

Henry iv

In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare used light as one of his images to reflect the undying love between his two main characters. This light could be represented in many forms, e.g., the sun, the moon, the stars, fire in a field, lightning, etc. The contrast of these things could be viewed as bad with no light whatsoever such as the dark of a night, a cloudy sky, a gloomy day with gray skies, and so on.

"Give me my Romeo; and, when he shall die,

Take him and cut him out in little stars,

And he will make the face of heaven so fine,

That all the world will be in love with night,

And pay no worship to the garish sun."

Juliet

A Pure Poet...

Great tragedies...

Puck

A Mid-Summer Night's Dream

Lady Macbeth

Los ojos de mi amada no son como el sol;

el coral es mucho más rojo que sus labios.

Si la nieve es blanca, sus pechos son oscuros;

si el pelo es alambre, negro crece en su cabeza.

He visto rojas y blancas rosas damasquinas,

pero no es el color que hay en sus mejillas;

y en algunos perfumes se huele más delicia

que en el olor que emana de su aliento.

Adoro oírla hablar, pero bien sé,

que el sonido de la música da mucho más placer.

Es verdad, nunca vi una diosa caminar:

mi amada, al andar, hiende la tierra.

Sin embargo, es tan única mi amada

como cualquiera falsamente comparada. ( Sonnet no.130)

Portia

The Merchant of Venice

If you say...

...or...

..."It's Greek to me", " vanished into thin air, " budge an inch" " green-eyed jealousy" "tongue-tied, "a tower of strength" "hoodwinked" " in a pickle""fair play" " I slept not a wink" "laughed into stitches" "too much of a good thing", "I have seen better days" "lived in a fool's paradise" "be that as it may" "more fool you" "it is a foregone conclusion" "as good luck would have it" "it is early days" "clear out bag and baggage"...

"it is high time" "that is the long and short of it" "the game is up" "the truth will out" "your own flesh and blood" "lie low" "foul play" "without rhyme or reason" "to give the devil his due" "if the truth were known" "good riddance" "dead as a door-nail" "an eyesore" "a laughing stock" "the devil incarnate" "bloody-minded" "by Jove! O Lord! Tut, tut! for goodness' sake! what the dickens!" "it's all one to me"... you are quoting Shakespeare! (The Story of English, 145)

A Great Story teller

Great turn of phrase...

Many of the common expressions now thought to be clichés were Shakespeare's creations. Chances are you use Shakespeare's expressions all the time even though you may not know it is the Bard you are quoting. You may think that fact is "neither here nor there", but that's "the short and the long of it."

Conclusion

The greatness of William Shakespeare then rests upon his vivid sense of observation, upon his uncanny psychological insight into human nature and upon his genuine ability, as the true creative artist, to synthesize, by means of his imagination, the play of the human passions into living poetry and drama.

Compelling Characters

"William Shakespeare was the most remarkable storyteller that the world has ever known. Homer told of adventure and men at war, Sophocles and Tolstoy told of tragedies and of people in trouble. Terence and Mark Twain told comedic stories, Dickens told melodramatic ones, Plutarch told histories and Hans Christian Andersenns told fairy tales. But Shakespeare told every kind of story – comedy, tragedy, history, melodrama, adventure, love stories and fairy tales – and each of them so well that they have become immortal. In all the world of storytelling he has become the greatest name"(Marchette Chute).

Diversity of Genre and Theme

Shakespeare invented a magnificent assortment of characters. His truly great characters – particularly his tragic heroes – are unequalled in literature. Not even the sublime creations of the Greek tragedians compare. Shakespeare’s great characters have remained popular because of their complexity and depth. His characters are fully developed humans; possessing layers upon layers of emotions and reason. For this Shakespeare is deeply admired by actors, and many consider playing a Shakespearean character to be the most difficult and most rewarding role possible.

Vocabulary:

compelling:

depth:

layer:

lush:

gloomy:

Why is Shakespeare considered the greatest writer ever?