Shakespeare was a very successful playwright of his time and is inspiration to many poets, actors and writers of our own. Today we know for sure that Shakespeare wrote 37 plays and 154 sonnets most of which you would recognise to this day.
- Some of his best and most popular plays in the
21st century are; 1.Hamlet 2.Romeo & Juliet 3. Henry V 4.Midsummer Night's Dream 5.Macbeth 6.Richard III 7.Julius Caesar 8.Twelfth Night or What You Will 9.The Taming of the Shrew 10.Othello, the Moor of Venice. - Some of Shakespeare's most popular plays in the Elizabethan era were; 1. Henry vi part 1 2. Henry vi part 2 3. Henry vi part 3 4. Titus Andronicus 5. The Comedy of Errors 6. The Taming of the Shrew 7. Two Gentlemen of Verona 8. Love's Labour's lost 9. Romeo & Juliet 10. Midsummers Night Dream
- Shakespeare's greatest influences were the works of other great writers, from which Shakespeare borrowed his plots, down to fine detail.
- Few people realise that apart from writing his numerousplays and sonnets, Shakespeare was also an actor who performed many of his own plays as well as those of other playwrights. There is evidence that he played the ghost in Hamlet and Adam in As You Like It.
- He wrote tragedy, history and comedy plays the days when play was going to be performed at the Globe a colour coded flag would be raised above the theatre to inform the towns folk of which genre the play was to be, black for tragedy, red for history and white for comedy.
- Shakespeare supposedly was 49 when he wrote his last play; The Two Noble Kinsmen.There is a chance that Shakespeare wrote more plays that have been lost over time, there is evidence that he wrote another play titled "Cardenio" but it too was lost. Scholars estimate that he may have written at least twenty more plays.
Shakespeare is still of great importance to this day because his writing shows great examples of may different writing techniques like; - Blank verse - Metaphorical language - Un-literal language - Unrhymed verse - Iambic syllables - Pentameric writing - Prose
His writing also includes interesting plots were the conflict is usually about the main characters struggle with themselves, others, nature, society or magic. e.g. In A Midsummer's Night Dream the main characters all come into conflict about their love for each other. Hermia and Lysander (two lovers) retreat into the woods to escape the peril of Athens society. They are both followed by Demetrius (who is in love with Hermia) and Helena (who loves Demetrius). In the wood a few magical mixups from the nearby fairies make the wrong couples fall in and out of love with each other. In the end the conflict is solved and the lovers return to Athens to marry.
These types of plots are continuously engaging to teenagers today, with relevance to young love, romance and conflicts with human nature. Some of Shakespeare's language techniques are also useful to learn and can teach morals, Elizabethan ethics and historical facts.
The earth has music, for those who listen. Expectation is the root of heartache.
Have more than you show, Speak less than you know. Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.
Time is very slow for those who wait, Very fast for those who are scared, Very long for those who lament, Very short for those who celebrate, But for those who love, Time is eternal. To do a great right, Do a little wrong Some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them.