The Philosophy of William Shakespeare

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T, Johnson. "Why Did Shakespeare." Why Did Shakespeare’s Plays Appeal to “groundlings, Royals, and Everyone in Between? What Elements Assisted Him in Doing That? N.p., 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 10 Jan. 2017.

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The Importance of William Shakespeare in a Modern Society

In a society where the art form of writing diminishes rapidly, there emerges a great necessity of intellectuals of English literature retaining studies of true classics such as Shakespeare. William Shakespeare's work has become an important landmark in the way many arts have flourished. With works fulled with timeless themes, forward-thinking, quotable quotes, characters that are fallible and real, and the source of many commonly used phrases and words, Shakespeare is a remarkable individual that disregarding would truly be disgracing the written word.

Why Did Shakespeare's Work Appeal to Those of His Generation?

The plays of William Shakespeare appealed to those of his generation because it was during the time of the Renaissance where creativity and new forms of art was brewing. People who watched Shakespeare's plays could relate to them because they were based on the era that they lived in. Many of Shakespeare's plays mimicked England's history and the lifestyle that it had during the times of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. The audience enjoyed the plays because it touched different aspects of their time such as monarchy, chivalry, and feudalism. The way people viewed plays is similar to the way we view movies that depict historical events or even movies that take place in modern times.

The Philosophy of William Shakespeare

Shakespeare's Writing Style

Shakespeare used a metrical pattern consisting of lines of iambic pentameter without rhyme, called blank verse. His plays were composed using blank verse, although there are passages in all the plays that deviate from the norm and are composed of other forms of poetry and/or simple prose. Shakespeare's style of writing and meter choice were typical of the day, and other writings of the time influenced how he structured his compositions.

by: Juan Zayas & James Ashmen

Why Was Shakespeare's Writing Unique?

What Inspired William Shakespeare to Write?

The general consensus seems to be that Shakespeare's writing is unique (for his time) in that his characters are introspective in a way that no other characters have ever been before. They have inner lives and thoughts, and express them in their dialog. They have motivations for their behavior, not always in strict black-and-white terms, are conflicted, many-mooded, and are so well-written that audiences all over the world can identify with those emotions and conflicts.

Shakespeare's greatest influences were the works of other great writers such as Geoffrey Chaucer (known for The Canterbury Tales) and Plutarch (known for his biographies). With the exception of a few of his works, Shakespeare borrowed his plots down to fine detail. Shakespeare also found nature an inspiration and the marvel of humankind was clearly ever-present in his mind, revealed in a verse from his one of his masterpieces Hamlet:

What a piece of work is a man! how noble in reason! how infinite in faculty! in form and moving how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the world! the paragon of animals!

Common Themes in Shakespeare's Work

Common themes in Shakespeare's work include:

• Conflict - an essence of all drama in his work, taking place in many forms such as love and war, quarrels within families or quarrels between families, historical or political quarrels, etc.
• Appearance and Reality - Shakespeare is a master of making people and things appear what they are not. Women pretend to be men, others pretend to be friends whilst planning treachery, characters pretend to be mad; identities are mistaken.
• Order, Disorder, and Change - Shakespeare’s plays have this idea of stability giving way to confusion. This may happen to a person, to society, or nature. The ultimate ending in these plays is restoration - restoration to all that has been destroyed, insight to those who have been in misery or madness