While Shakespeare attracted his fair share of criticism during his day, it is also clear that many of his contemporaries as well as the general public viewed Shakespeare's work in a positive light. For example, Callaghan (2004) points out that, "While we do not know how much Shakespeare was paid for the plays he furnished his company, it is clear that the greatest part of the handsome fortune Shakespeare had started to amass as early as the 1590s came from his share in the profits of his company rather than from his plays" (405). This relative affluence apparently helped to provide a sort of comfort zone for Shakespeare that allowed him to write when and what he wanted and for whatever audience he desired in ways that contributed to his ultimate success as a playwright as well as the enduring qualities of his works. For instance, Callaghan adds that, "For Shakespeare's contemporary playwrights, the situation must have been altogether different ... Shakespeare, privileged playwright that he was, could afford to write for the stage and the page" (405). Moreover, besides his well-attended plays at the Globe Theatre, the playwright also earned some other distinctions during his lifetime. For example, Harbage (1963) emphasizes that, "Shakespeare learned the dramatic value of a towering central figure, or pair of figures opposed or allied, as we observe by his practice in all his serious plays. Richard III has always been a great theatrical success, and was so in its own day. It was often reprinted, and its second quarto, 1598, was the first playbook to bear Shakespeare's name on its title page" (102).
The evidence in support of Shakespeare's enduring success as a high quality playwright is abundant. For example, during the 1990s, Blakely (2009) reports that, "The decade saw a boom in filmed Shakespeare on both sides of the Atlantic, with Hollywood finally and unequivocally taking Shakespeare into its loving embrace" (249). Likewise, Farley-Hills (1990) cites "Shakespeare's success in making Hamlet come alive" (32) as clear evidence of the enduring quality of his works. Moreover, an informal search on Google for "Shakespeare" provides almost seven and a half million matches. In addition, countless adaptations of Shakespeare's original plays have been developed for the theater, television as well as motion pictures (Mazer 2005). Indeed, Shakespeare no longer belongs solely to the English who have traditionally lorded his origins over the "colonialists" as a matter of literary superiority, but rather now belongs to the world, including many Asian cultures that have embraced his works as well (Huang 2006).
In addition, many of the works by Shakespeare have been translated into Arabic and are enjoyed throughout the Arab world today (Hanna 2007). This interest on the part of the Arab world, is not a recent phenomenon, but dates back at least a century or more. For example, Hanna reports that, "Arab translators started to take interest in Shakespeare's dramatic work in the 1890s. It was Shakespeare's tragedies, rather than...
Namely, it demands us to consider the anomaly potential in Shakespeare's socioeconomic modesty as it compared to his great vocabulary wealth. And in doing so, it draws us into a keener awareness of the courtly life about which Shakespeare wrote with such remarkable acuity and into a similar appreciation for the colorful, frequently playful, representation of commoners in his plays. The intermingling of such figures denotes something of Shakespeare's
Reflecting the greater audience sympathy stirred in Five Kings and its cinematic incarnation Chimes at Midnight, the Welles saga ends with Hal pardoning Falstaff for disturbing his coronation, thus showing a more loving tribute to Falstaff than utterly rejecting him, as in the original Shakespeare. Falstaff's potentially seditious views of honor and the importance of the individual's life over sacrificing it for the collective are thus validated very clearly in
However, disorientation can be either debilitating or empowering. In the case of Shakespeare -- and arguably all Renaissance people of greatness -- the new concepts and materials were liberating, at least, and in fact enabled them to create works of lasting value. The world is familiar with Shakespeare: who can name one playwright from the Middle Ages? "Anonymous" was responsible for the Everyman plays, plays that say little to modern
Thus, Shakespeare's poems have shown that they deal with timeless topics, topics that have proved their worth over time, such as love, passion, and writing. Throughout time, however, Shakespeare's reputation of a writer did, indeed, change. While he was known as a businessman and patron of the arts during his life, it is suspected that he was not celebrated for his masterful writing until after his death ("Shakespeare Biography"). Today,
JULIET Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name; or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, And I'll no longer be a Capulet. British actor, director and playwright Robert Rawles went one step further and used his passion and expertise of the theater and Shakespeare to rewrite Romeo and Juliet in a true modern-day language version called Rikki and Julie to help students better explore the play
It was also during this time that he started keeping a diary. The entry for that day is very relevant as to our attempt to understand what drove Orton to join the theater in hopes of an acting career. During the time he spent with the amateur theater company, Orton decided that he wanted to pursue a career in acting, and that his first step towards achieving this goal
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now