To the reader,
I was in my English Class today and some interesting questions were thrown at me... why do we still read William Shakespeare's plays and other literary works? How is his literature still relevant even in today's technologically complicated world?
I'm going to answer these questions from my perspective, but you might not agree with me and that's okay. As my English teacher always says, "respect people physically and also respect other people's ideas." That's a valid point in today's world as a lot of people have a very hard time not ostracizing other people and their ideas. Anyways, that's an article for another time, so let's hop in to today's article...
Best,
AJ
When we think of Shakespeare and his plays, the quote, "to be, or not to be," will most likely pop into your head. Almost all of his most well known plays are still in production today and many of them have been adapted into many different forms, for example, motion pictures. Many lines of his plays are used in many different forms of advertising and many songs reference his literary work directly. This raises a question that can lead us down many roads that will never stop branching outward . Why do we still read Shakespeare and how did his plays, sonnets, and other works live on to withstand the test of time?
Here is my list of answers that I have settled on:
Shakespeare's many plays have characters that are very easy to relate to. (i.e. Romeo and Juliet's undying love, or intense love that isn't allowed to transpire).
Many words in today's English, many words were created by Shakespeare.
His literary works live on to be taught in high schools today to teach critical thinking and to help in aiding a higher thought process.
The best way to look at this, in my opinion, is to look at his use of character development. Shakespeare's characters are so well crafted that anyone can relate in some way to them, including the Klingons in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. This show Shakespeare really had a knack for creating stories with immense depth and a sort of dynamic element that made him the most influential writer in his time and even today.
Another thing to look at is his influence on the English language itself. Many words and sayings that are used today were actually birthed in Shakespeare's mind. Words like "assassination" and "uncomfortable" came from lines in Shakespeare's plays. According to an article from USC, "you quote Shakespeare on a regular basis and don't even know it." This means that Shakespeare was so influential in creating his own words and universally relatable characters that live on today.
This most likely why we still read Shakespeare's plays, sonnets, and other literary works today. In fact, it's the perfect torture weapon to use on high schoolers! Hahaha! I made myself laugh there. The real reason it is still read is because of the structure, the influence, and the simple complexity of the stories themselves that is carried in his writing. It also teaches students to think higher and to get a chance to sort of live in a different world for a semester or even a year. Shakespeare didn't just influence English literature, he practically created it, giving the base for all modern literature. This ranges from songs, poetry, books, novellas, screenplays, teleplays, and last but not least, the plays we watch today. This makes Shakespeare the most influential English writer of all time and I don't see any sort of obstacles that will stop is writing. Thanks for reading.
References:
Image of the Klingons: http://basementrejects.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/star-trek-vi-the-undiscovered-country-klingons-christopher-plummer.jpg
USC Article: https://news.usc.edu/91717/six-reasons-shakespeare-remains-relevant-400-years-after-his-death/