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The influence of Shakespeare in

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Seminar of Literature

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Teacher: Milagros Delfino.
Student: C. Magali Torres.
Year: 2014

Seminar of Literature

He was not of an age, but for all time

Ben Jonson

Thesis statement: William Shakespeares influence is present in many

significant aspects of the culture of the contemporary society

I)

The English language is Shakespeares language. His works

contributed significantly to the standardization of grammar,
spelling and vocabulary; he perfected the blank verse and
became an exponent in poetry.

II)

Todays modern entertainment draws upon his works. There

are hundreds, if not thousands of modern adaptations of his
plays and most of these adaptations lie in the realms of films
or theater and television.

III)

Many painters and architects make Shakespeare's extremes

of passion, his evocations of nature and his eternally familiar
characters the subjects of their own work.

Seminar of Literature

Introduction

Born and raised in the Elizabethan era, the personal history of

William Shakespeare is somewhat a mystery. There are two primary
sources that provide historians with a basic outline of his life. One
source is his workthe plays, poems and sonnetsand the other is
official documentation such as church and court records (Encyclopaedia
Britannica Online). However, he is widely regarded as the greatest writer
of the English language and the worlds pre-eminent dramatist. He is
often called England's national poet and the "Swan of Avon and his
surviving works, including some collaborations, consist of about 38
plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems.
His plays have been translated into every major living language and are
performed more often than those of any other playwright (Encyclopaedia
Britannica Online).
But his fame basically comes from his great understanding of the
human nature. He was able to find global human qualities and to put
them in a dramatic situation, creating characters that are timeless and
that purely reflect the human essence. Those characters struggles in
life are universal, sometimes they are successful and sometimes their
lives are full of pain, suffering and failure expressing the most
condemned human miseries. As John Dryden pointed out once: He
was the man who of all modern and perhaps ancient poets had the
largest and most comprehensible soul. (Shakespeare's Quotes.
NosweatShakespeare)
Even four centuries after his death, William Shakespeare is still
considered an influential playwright and artist. Today authors, screen
writers, television producers and contemporary theater writers cite him
as an inspiration. Moreover, though language is an ever evolving
process with words falling in and out of favor, Shakespeares
contribution to the English language has changed the way that words
and the language itself are used. If not enough, the extent of
Shakespeares relevance does not end with poems, stage plays and
new language conventions, his literary contributions have also
significantly influenced various fields of modern artistic expression such
as architecture and painting.
The novelist and culture columnist Stephen Marche portrays
Shakespeare as the worlds most powerful writer.

Seminar of Literature
Throughout his book How Shakespeare changed everything, he
offers an exciting look at William Shakespeares influence on every
aspect of modern cultureshowing us how we can find him even where
we least expect him. He assures that the most influential aspects of
Shakespeares works are related to his imaginative plots, his inventive
use of language, a keen sense of humor, universal themes and a little
bit of sex and violence.
In the same way, Jane Shuters book Shakespeare Today,
shows how Shakespeare's influence has gone much further than the
reading and stage performance of his works, reaching films, festivals,
paintings, other media and the English language.
We can say of Shakespeare that never has a man turned so little
knowledge to such great account.
T.S. Eliot. (Quotes about Shakespeare. Goodreads)

First of all, it is remarkable to outline that before Shakespeares

time, the English grammar and rules of language were on the whole, not
standardized. For that reason, it is important to understand exactly how
profound Shakespeares writing was on the development of the English
language. His works contributed significantly to the standardization of
grammar, spelling and vocabulary. He created words by changing nouns
into verbs, changing verbs into adjectives connecting words never
before used together and adding prefixes and suffixes. Shakespeare
introduced 1700 original words into the language that have enriched the
English language by making it more colorful and expressive, including
lonely, frugal and bloody, among many others. What is more, many of
his original phrases are still used in conversation and everyday
language today; these include seen better days, a sorry sight, full circle,
breaking the ice and hart of gold, just to mention some of them.
Additionally, Shakespeare perfected the blank verse or unrhymed
iambic pentameter, a verse that apparently has no rhyme but it does
have a definite rhythm created by the careful structuring of iambic feetpatterns of stressed and unstressed syllables. This free speech rhythm
gave Shakespeare more freedom for experimentation. Moreover,
expressing emotions and situations in form of a verse gave a natural
flow to the language with an added sense of flexibility and spontaneity
that we can still appreciate nowadays.

Seminar of Literature
His impact on poetry is also evident through the fact that he
helped revive the writing style of the ancient Greeks, using the fourteenline sonnet and he also had a profound effect on the subject matter of
poetry. He celebrates the ordinary, speaking to regular people just trying
to get through each day. His poems are about human emotions and the
struggles of love and relationships, that is why Shakespeare's works
continue to have an immense influence on modern poetry.
It is evident that exploring the thousands of ways we still use
Shakespeares language and themes today is not only worthwhile and
fascinating, but also fun.
When I read Shakespeare I am struck with wonder that such trivial
people should muse and thunder in such lovely language.
D. H. Lawrence. (Shakespeare's Quotes. NosweatShakespeare)
Secondly, it is undeniable that modern entertainment draws upon
Shakespeares works. He is still prevalent today because his themes
related to death, love and power are still very accessible even though
over 400 years have passed since their creation. Besides poetry,
Shakespeare wrote plays in the form of tragedies, comedies and
historical plays; and there have been hundreds if not thousands of
modern adaptations of them that lie in the realms of film, theater and
television adaptations. (Khan, A. 2010. Shakespeare's influence in the
arts)
Some plays and musicals that have been written off of
Shakespeares works are West side story based on Romeo and Juliet,
as well as Tom Stoppards play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are
dead, taken from the viewpoint of two minor characters that belong to
Hamlet.
Additionally, considering the world of classical music, Giuseppe
Verdis well-known opera Othello is based on Shakespeares play
Othello.
What is more, 10 things I hate about you is a 1999 romantic comedy
film directed by Gil Junger and starts Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger. The
film is a modernization of Shakespeares famous play The Taming of
the Shrew. Exactly the same thing happens with the 1998 romantic
comedy Shakespeare in Love, directed by John Madden. The film
depicts a love affair and many of the characters, lines and plot devices
are references to Shakespeares plays being Romeo and Juliet the
main source of inspiration for much of the action in the film. (Khan, A.
2010. Shakespeare's influence in the arts)

Seminar of Literature
Last but not least, Sigh no more is the debut album of Munford
and sons, a British folk rock band. The title of the album is taken from a
line in Shakespeares play Much ado about nothing, and several other
lines appear in the lyrics of songs in the album as it occurs in Aldous
Huxleys Brave New World, in which John the savage, one of the main
characters of the novel, is constantly quoting Oh Brave New World that
has such people in it (Huxley, A .1932. Brave New World), a phrase that
belongs to The Tempest.
Kendra Ann Whitmires piece of work, The Uses of Shakespeare
on American TV 1990-2010, depicts many cases of study in which
Shakespeare is the main source of inspiration. Those cases refer to a
variety of television shows including popular, long running and short
lived shows such as Ugly Betty and Buffy, among many others. These
television shows refer to a Shakespeares character or play title, they
share a similar plot, or may include textual quotation demonstrating that
he still has a strong place within society in television and therefore in
culture.
Considering the world of music, Adam Hansen in his book
Shakespeare and popular music, expresses how musicians use
Shakespeare as a source of inspiration for their works. Shakespearean
characters, words, and texts are transformed into magnificent melodies
that are adapted to modern musical styles.
Eventually, William Shakespeare left an unforgettable legacy
through his literary achievements.
Yesterday I memorized Shakespeare, and tomorrow I'm also going to
memorize his first name.
Jarod Kintz. (Shakespeare's Quotes. NosweatShakespeare)

Thirdly, literature is a wide area in which great names are found.

One of the greatest names of literature ever is William Shakespeare,
who influenced artists of different areas such as painting and
architecture. These artists tried to immobilize the scenes of
Shakespeares plays expressing in a wonderful form how far imagination
can go.
In Macbeth, Act 1, the scene when the three witches appear with
Banquo on the Heath was painted by John Wooton in 1750, following

Seminar of Literature
the nineteenth century style. (Aparicio, T.2012. How Shakespeare
influenced art).
Ophelia, is a painting by British artist Sir John Everett Millais,
completed between 1851 and 1852. The painting depicts Ophelia, a
character from Shakespeares play Hamlet, floating in a river just
before she drowns.
The tragic destiny of Ophelia inspired this artist who represents her
being absorbed by dark water surrounded by the colorful nature.
(Aparicio, T.2012. How Shakespeare influenced art).
Taking into account the field of architecture, Shakespeares
Globe is actually a reconstruction of the Globe Theatre in the London
Borough of Souhtwark, by Peter Street. The original Globe Theatre was
built in 1597 by the playing company Lord Chamberlains men, to which
Shakespeare belonged. It was destroyed by a fire on 26 July 1611.
If not enough, The Temple of British Worthies, is located in
Buckinghamshire, England, and was designed by William Kent in 1735.
The temple is filled with busts and one of them belongs to William
Shakespeare whom Kent believed to be one of the greatest sources of
inspiration of the human race.
Shakespeare in art, is a book by Jane Martineau that describes
how Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth, King Lear and Romeo and Juliet-affected many artists, writers and composers, becoming the subjects of
their own works.
William Shakespeare used imagery throughout all his works and
certainly that was a great valuable tool for all the previously mentioned
artists who expressed their own versions of Shakespeares plays.
The souls most fed with Shakespeares flame, still sat unconquered in a
ring, remembering him like anything.
G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936). The Shakespeare Memorial.

Seminar of Literature

To conclude, it is hard to imagine a more universal writer than

William Shakespeare. He is well-known for his mastery of the English
language and for his dominance of the form of the English language. But
his endless contributions to the fields of poetry and playwriting have
ensured him a permanent place in history. He produced a variety of
brilliant sonnets, poems and plays that surpassed all other writers and
consequently, this admired works deeply affected and influenced the
people and the language of the past, present and no doubt future.
Finally, it is remarkable to reaffirm that the reason Shakespeare
is still alive today is because he is able to thrive in many different
environments---including painting, architecture, television and theater
and no other playwright from any other culture has this magnificent
ability.
Shakespeare, the nearest thing in incarnation to the eye of god.
Laurence Olivier. (Shakespeare's Quotes. NosweatShakespeare)

Bibliography:
Aparicio, T. (2012). How Shakespeare influenced art.
Blazak, S. (2013). William Shakespeares legacy: an age of
adaptations.
Chandler, O. (2014). Quotes about Shakespeare, available at
www.goodreads.com
Encyclopedia Britannica Online (2014). William Shakespeare.
Hansen, Adam (2010). Shakespeare and Popular Music.

Seminar of Literature
Khan, A. (2010). Shakespeare's influence in the arts.
King, John (2004). Shakespeares
www.nosweatshakespeare.com

quotes,

available

at

Marche, Stephen (2012). How Shakespeare changed everything

Martineau, Jane (2003). Shakespeare in art.

Potter, L. (2006). The Literary Encyclopedia Entry on William

Shakespeare.

Robert Mc Crum and Robert Mac Neil. Viking (1986). The story of
English.

Shakespeares influence nowadays (2010), available at

www.lifeofshakespeare.wordpress.com

Shuter, Jane (2014). Shakespeare Today.

Whitmire, Kendra (2012). The Uses of Shakespeare on American

TV 1990-2010.