February 16, 2011 Danielle Moore

Why Shakespeare?
Throughout various classrooms all over the world, William Shakespeare have been obsequiously read of, analyzed, and transcended through his works. Born in 1564, the longevity and relevancy of his plays in modern society is admirable. However, students alike have the same question dominating their thoughts why do we read Shakespeare? There are countless explanations for the importance of Shakespeare; his contribution to the advances of modern and classical literature as well as theatre, his influence of society, and his successful role in the English language. It is not at all surprising, that his fantastical and creative plays would inspire multitudinous films, stories, and novels to date. One reason for the reverberation of many of Shakespeare s plays is because his work is simply universal, and timeless. For example, the forbidden romance between two teenagers from feuding families has been used numerous times because it is completely relevant to modern times. Furthermore, Shakespeare has even had an impact on music. Mumford and sons, a modern rock band who was recently nominated for two Grammys, referenced Shakespeare countless times in their album Sigh No More. Another reason for the mimicking of his work is because Shakespeare created a new genre of literature which had never been seen before. By combining tragedy with romance, Shakespeare tugged at the emotions of his readers with his profound emotions and dynamic characters. Shakespeare has even widened society s views with his work by the exposure of several topics such as love, social class and social code. To explain, the view of romance by Elizabethan society was changed by Romeo and Juliet. In Elizabethan England, most marriages were arranged by parents for financial, social or political reasons. By creating a somewhat scandalous and obscene relationship between two teenagers in love, he contrasted the traditional outlook. Even today, Shakespeare s work influences the modern view on such topics. In many ways, Shakespeare has played a very important part in the standardization of the English language. In fact, in the times of Shakespeare, definite grammar and rules were not fixed. Along with the creating a secure base for English, Shakespeare has made a monumental impact on vocabulary alone. It is claimed that of the 17 677 words Shakespeare has used in his plays, he has invented 1700, many of which are now common terminology. The reasons for his imagination and creativity with new words are the absence of a word that fit what he wanted to say, and if there was a word that described what he wanted to say, it did not fit the iambi pentameter that he used for the flow of his plays. However, the focal and foremost reason for his creation of new words was for the development of a character. To reiterate, Shakespeare could transform a jaded and lacklustre character into a majestic and bold-faced champion simply with the character s vocabulary, allowing the audience to comprehend the character s traits. For those who are still suspicious of Shakespeare s importance, at least twenty words in this excerpt originated from Shakespeare himself.