William Shakespeare - Essay Example

Lopes, Salvador Leslie St.Martin English 102. 10th December, To be, or not to be. Acknowledged as one the greatest writers of English literature, William Shakespeare remains a mystery with regards to various aspects of his personal life. His fame and critical appraisal is unparalleled to any other writer of English literature. Since, he is regarded as one of the most prolific writer in English speaking countries, there is no doubt that facts and incidents about his life spark a lot of interest and curiosity among avid readers. It is interesting to note that the popularity of Shakespeares text is second only to Bible. His work and style of writing have been studied since the publication of his work and they continued to be studied by people from different walks of life. No other writer, to date, has been able to surpass his fame. His works are the most widely read and debated upon. After his death, Ben Johnson noted that Shakespeares works werent meant to be for a particular time or age, but was suited to all times to come. Bernard D. Grebanier said about Shakespeares intelligence and maturity in his style of writing, that his achievements could not be summarized, and his real genius lies in the fact that every individual reader will find a whole new meaning and story behind everything Shakespeare wrote.(English Literature and its Backgrounds, New York: Holt, 1950, Page 242). Born in Stradford-Upon Avon, on 23rd April 1564, William Shakespeare was born of John Shakespeare and Mary Arden Speare, who got married in 1557. Though historians are unable to figure out his exact date of birth, most records speculate that it was 23rd of April, which is the feast day of St. George in England. He was the third of eight children, and there are records of him being enrolled in a pre-school to study the basics of reading and writing. According to scholars, Shakespeare was later admitted in a free grammar school in Stradfod. Though there are no records to validate this claim, Shakespeares knowledge of classical Greek and Latin, as well as, ethics, religion, logic and rhetoric tend to give it a factual validity. Nicholas Rowe, who was the first biographer of Shakespeare, wrote of Shakespeare that his father had placed him in some time in a free school. Due to the absence of records, nothing more can be said about Shakespeares education, though his writings depict a sound and solid academic background, on the other hand, it is said by most scholars that Shakespeare didnt proceed to receive a further university educations, which stirs up controversies regarding the authorship of his works. In 1582, when William Shakespeare was 18, according to most sources, he married Anne Hathaway who was 26 at that time. Anne was pregnant with their daughter, Susanna, at the time of their marriage. The period of Shakespeares life, from the middle of 1580s to 1592 is undocumented and nothing can be said as to what were his activities at that time. Hence, this period of his life is referred as the "lost years". It is noted by Nicholas Rowe that Shakespeare probably had to flee Stradford to avoid the charges levied upon him on accounts of deer poaching in a park belonging to Sir Thomas Lucy. However, there are no recorded accounts of this incident, and therefore "the lost years" continue to be a mystery. Many speculations are made, and many disregarded, but nothing is certain about Shakespeares lost years. Since many of Shakespeares plays, including: "The Merchant of Venice", "Julius Caesar", "Othello", "Romeo and Juliet", are based in Italy, there is a chance that he might have made a journey to Italy during his "lost years". According to scholars, Shakespeare probably arrived in London around 1588, and established himself as an actor and a playwright. Robert Greene, a London playwright in 1592, said that, Shakespeare could act our a blank-verse better than the finest of actors, And, compared his acting skills to that of a tigers heart and finesse. Hamlet was first performed between the years 1600-01, and was first printed in 1603. Both, Hamlet and Macbeth, depicts an important theme of the maintenance of identity as a common conflict. In Hamlet, Shakespeares use of literary tools, such as irony, help depict a marvelous story of deceit and death. Shakespeare developed two sides of Hamlet; one which depicts his insane/irrational behavior towards his family, and his other side that shows his dilemma between doing right or wrong according to what he as seen. Shakespeare brilliantly depicted Hamlets struggle. Shakespeare also deals with themes of self-confidence, misjudgment, and betrayal. Hamlet is the most famous play in the English language. The play shows Prince Hamlet of Denmark, enraged and aggrieved, and urged by his dead fathers ghost to avenge his murder. The murder is committed by King Claudius, who is the dead Kings brother and married to his widow, Hamlets mother, Queen Gertrude. In this play, Shakespeares use of incorporating real life human emotions helps in depicting many moral questions. The use of irony allows the story to take dramatic turns and involve multiple situations tied into one. As Keneth Muir points out in “Shakespeare and the Tragic pattern describes how Hamlet needs to make decisions for himself, which are free from any conventions or morals which bind a society. Hamlet needed to make decisions for everyone dear to him, and his dilemma between right and wrong forms a fundamental theme of the play. Poison, as imagery, is used in reference to both King Claudius, as well as Denmark’s state. Denmark is also referred as a degraded state due to the deceit that plagues it today. The main theme of the play, revenge, was a popular genre of a choice in the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods. Hamlet is the first in Shakespeares series of great tragedies. Other tragic plays of this series include: “Alls well that ends well”; “Trolius”; “Oressida”; “Measure for a measure”. The play revolves around and makes a number of references to death, decay and disease. As noted in Hamlet’s initial soliloquies, his downward spiral has already begun and already is contemplating suicide; “O, that this too too solid flesh would melt, / Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew!” (I, II, 130) This mindset is caused by Hamlets unstable mental condition and the exertion he is undergoing. When his fathers spirit apparatus in front of his eyes, it depicts the true maturity in style of Shakespeare; combining dramatic narrative with real human emotions and sentiments. According to Harold Bloom, Hamlet is the intellectual’s intellectual: The nobility, and the disaster of western consciousness. Now Hamlet has also become the representation of intelligence itself, and it neither is western nor eastern, male nor female, black nor white, but merely the human at its best, because Shakespeare is the first truly multicultural writer. (Bloom 1998:205) In this play, Shakespeare portrays the dilemmas of Prince Hamlet of Denmark, who on one hand is criticized for his mental demise after his father’s death and mother’s marriage, but on the other hand, his inquisitive and probing mind is hailed as that of a contemplative nature and of a much saner thought process. Hamlet realizes that life is beyond the façade it puts up for the naked eye, so he does not trust in his peers and is shown to be delusional as he looks for the images of life and reality. On the other hand, Ophelias character is depicted in stark contrast to that of Hamlets. Her natural carelessness of innocence can be observed in her short and general answers. In Shakespeares writing, references to religion are prominent throughout Hamlet. The fact that Hamlet spares his uncle to spot in hell, and his relationship with his fathers ghost and death denotes biblical comparison. Hamlet is also shown to believe in sin, and correlation to his demise for his actions. According to scholars, the character of Hamlet may be traced to Shakespeares deep and accurate science in mental philosophy. Hamlets mental state is made to accommodate all random thoughts and dilemmas in his mind. In the final scene, Shakespeare seems to mean all the characters in Hamlet to be brought together before his final disappearance from the scene. Hamlet is one of the most renowned plays of the English language, and the character of Hamlet is adored by every country with knowledge of English literature. Works cited: Muir, Kenneth. Understanding Hamlet; A student casebook to issues. Greenwood Press 1998. Bloom Harold. Hamlet, Poem Ilimited. N.Y. 2003. Shakespeare resource centre; Shakespeares biography; 10th December,2010 from www.bardweb.net (n.d). William Shakespeare- the complete works; Retrieved 10th December, 2010 from http://www.william-shakespeare.info/. Shakespeare; Biography and works; 10th December,2010. About Shakespeare; 10th December, 2010 from http://www.shakespeare-online.com/. Read More