Controversy:
About 150 years after the death of William Shakespeare, questions arose about the true authorship of Shakespeare’s plays. Scholars began to claim
that men of more known literacy backgrounds such as Christopher Marlowe, Edward de Vere and Francis Bacon to be the true authors of Shakespeare’s plays. Much of this speculation stemmed from the sketchy details regarding Shakespeare’s life and death. There are official records from the Holy Trinity Church that show the existence of William Shakespeare to be true, but none of these prove to him being an actor or playwright. Sceptics also question how anyone of such modest education could possibly write with the intellectual and poetic power displayed in Shakespeare’s works. Therefore, several groups have arisen who question the authenticity of Shakespeare’s works.
The harshest of sceptics arose in the 19th century when admiration for Shakespeare was at its highest. The critics believed that the only evidence
surrounding Shakespeare was that of a man from modest beginnings who married at a very young age and became successful in real-estate. The sceptics concluded that William Shakespeare had neither the education nor the literary training to write such expressive text and create such life-like characters. However, the vast majority of scholars agree that William Shakespeare wrote all of his own plays. They point out that other playwrights of that time came from modest backgrounds and had sketchy histories. Supporters of Shakespeare’s authorship argue that lack of evidence does not necessarily mean that Shakespeare never existed. They point to the evidence that displays his name on published poems and plays. Royal records from 1601 also show that William Shakespeare was recognized as a member of the King’s men theatre company and there is also strong evidence of personal relationships by colleagues who interacted with Shakespeare as an actor and playwright.
that men of more known literacy backgrounds such as Christopher Marlowe, Edward de Vere and Francis Bacon to be the true authors of Shakespeare’s plays. Much of this speculation stemmed from the sketchy details regarding Shakespeare’s life and death. There are official records from the Holy Trinity Church that show the existence of William Shakespeare to be true, but none of these prove to him being an actor or playwright. Sceptics also question how anyone of such modest education could possibly write with the intellectual and poetic power displayed in Shakespeare’s works. Therefore, several groups have arisen who question the authenticity of Shakespeare’s works.
The harshest of sceptics arose in the 19th century when admiration for Shakespeare was at its highest. The critics believed that the only evidence
surrounding Shakespeare was that of a man from modest beginnings who married at a very young age and became successful in real-estate. The sceptics concluded that William Shakespeare had neither the education nor the literary training to write such expressive text and create such life-like characters. However, the vast majority of scholars agree that William Shakespeare wrote all of his own plays. They point out that other playwrights of that time came from modest backgrounds and had sketchy histories. Supporters of Shakespeare’s authorship argue that lack of evidence does not necessarily mean that Shakespeare never existed. They point to the evidence that displays his name on published poems and plays. Royal records from 1601 also show that William Shakespeare was recognized as a member of the King’s men theatre company and there is also strong evidence of personal relationships by colleagues who interacted with Shakespeare as an actor and playwright.
legacy and modern-day influence:
What seems to be true is that William Shakespeare was a respected man of the dramatic arts who wrote plays and acted. But his reputation as an
absolute literary genius wasn’t fully recognized until the 19thcentury. Beginning with the Romantic periods of the early 1800s and continuing through the Victorian period, praise and admiration for Shakespeare and his work reached its heights.
In the 20th century, new movements in learning and performance have rediscovered and adopted his works. Today, his plays are highly popular and
are constantly studied and reinterpreted in performances. The genius of Shakespeare’s characters and plots are that they present real human beings in a
wide range of emotions and conflicts that people of all backgrounds and lives can relate to. To this day Shakespeare’s words continue to ‘live’. Shakespeare’s influence extends from theatre and literature to movies and the English language itself. Shakespeare was also able to transform European theatre by expanding what can be accomplished through the plot of a story and the downfall of heroes.
Shakespare is the most quoted writer in the history of the English language after various writers of the Bible. Early modern English during the Elizabethan times was unfixed in structure and vocabulary compared to other languages such as Greek and Latin. When William Shakespeare began writing his plays the English language was constantly changing as a result of wars and exploration- and was absorbing many new words. By the age of Elizabeth, English had become widely used in many fields such as philosophy, sciences and even poetry, yet most were unable to properly express their ideas as a result of limited vocabulary. To make up for this, Shakespeare expressed new ideas by inventing, borrowing or adapting a word or phrase from another language by changing nouns into verbs, changing verbs into adjectives, connecting words never before used together and adding prefixes and suffixes.
Shakespeare was also a major influence on some of the best writers in English history, Charles Dickens being one example. In fact, at least 25 of Dickens titles are drawn from Shakespeare and many of the soliloquies used in his stories are derived from Shakespearean plays. Shakespeare also influenced many English poets such as Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Many scholars have even stated that ‘before the arrival of Shakespeare to London, there was little hope for the future of English, but by 1613, when Shakespeare’s last work was written, the literature of modern English was already rich in varied achievements, self-confident and mature.’ Yet among everything, undoubtedly Shakespeare’s biggest contribution was the introduction of new vocabulary to the English language.
There are estimates that Shakespeare introduced at least several thousand new words to the English language. In all his work- the plays, the sonnets and the poems, Shakespeare used over 17,600 words; of those 1,700 were first used by Shakespeare. Many of Shakespeare’s original phrases are still used in conversation today; these include ‘seen better days’, ‘a sorry sight’ and ‘full circle’, although most have been modernised still keeping the same meaning. Shakespeare also helped develop style and structure to the English language, as during the Elizabethan era language was written the same way it was spoken. Shakespeare was able to successfully use grammar and follow a certain style of writing to express himself, which reached the masses. Amongst all of Shakespeare’s contributions, poetry was amongst the most appreciated. Shakespeare’s words within his plays reflected emotion and truthfulness, allowing the reader to analyse and understand the emotion used. Unlike writers in his time, Shakespeare understood the human psyche like no other, allowing him to express himself in simple words, stirring the reader’s complex emotions.
He was the first ever writer to build a relationship between reader and writer, therefore being able to connect with ‘everyman’!
By Tijana Chetcuti- 9B (2013) ©
absolute literary genius wasn’t fully recognized until the 19thcentury. Beginning with the Romantic periods of the early 1800s and continuing through the Victorian period, praise and admiration for Shakespeare and his work reached its heights.
In the 20th century, new movements in learning and performance have rediscovered and adopted his works. Today, his plays are highly popular and
are constantly studied and reinterpreted in performances. The genius of Shakespeare’s characters and plots are that they present real human beings in a
wide range of emotions and conflicts that people of all backgrounds and lives can relate to. To this day Shakespeare’s words continue to ‘live’. Shakespeare’s influence extends from theatre and literature to movies and the English language itself. Shakespeare was also able to transform European theatre by expanding what can be accomplished through the plot of a story and the downfall of heroes.
Shakespare is the most quoted writer in the history of the English language after various writers of the Bible. Early modern English during the Elizabethan times was unfixed in structure and vocabulary compared to other languages such as Greek and Latin. When William Shakespeare began writing his plays the English language was constantly changing as a result of wars and exploration- and was absorbing many new words. By the age of Elizabeth, English had become widely used in many fields such as philosophy, sciences and even poetry, yet most were unable to properly express their ideas as a result of limited vocabulary. To make up for this, Shakespeare expressed new ideas by inventing, borrowing or adapting a word or phrase from another language by changing nouns into verbs, changing verbs into adjectives, connecting words never before used together and adding prefixes and suffixes.
Shakespeare was also a major influence on some of the best writers in English history, Charles Dickens being one example. In fact, at least 25 of Dickens titles are drawn from Shakespeare and many of the soliloquies used in his stories are derived from Shakespearean plays. Shakespeare also influenced many English poets such as Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Many scholars have even stated that ‘before the arrival of Shakespeare to London, there was little hope for the future of English, but by 1613, when Shakespeare’s last work was written, the literature of modern English was already rich in varied achievements, self-confident and mature.’ Yet among everything, undoubtedly Shakespeare’s biggest contribution was the introduction of new vocabulary to the English language.
There are estimates that Shakespeare introduced at least several thousand new words to the English language. In all his work- the plays, the sonnets and the poems, Shakespeare used over 17,600 words; of those 1,700 were first used by Shakespeare. Many of Shakespeare’s original phrases are still used in conversation today; these include ‘seen better days’, ‘a sorry sight’ and ‘full circle’, although most have been modernised still keeping the same meaning. Shakespeare also helped develop style and structure to the English language, as during the Elizabethan era language was written the same way it was spoken. Shakespeare was able to successfully use grammar and follow a certain style of writing to express himself, which reached the masses. Amongst all of Shakespeare’s contributions, poetry was amongst the most appreciated. Shakespeare’s words within his plays reflected emotion and truthfulness, allowing the reader to analyse and understand the emotion used. Unlike writers in his time, Shakespeare understood the human psyche like no other, allowing him to express himself in simple words, stirring the reader’s complex emotions.
He was the first ever writer to build a relationship between reader and writer, therefore being able to connect with ‘everyman’!
By Tijana Chetcuti- 9B (2013) ©