The Influence of William Shakespeare - Essay Example

The influence of William Shakespeare The influence of the characters created by William Shakespeare on the world literature and culture can’t be overestimated. Many people consider him to be the most outstanding writer and dramatist in the world. Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear – all these names became common. They are used not only in fiction, but in the everyday speech to designate some type of character. Thus, Othello means a jealous man, Macbeth is an usurper and Hamlet is a personality, which is full of inner contradiction. Many experts even state that “Shakespeare changed everything” (Marche, 2011). It is essential to discuss what and how he changed, how he helped develop literature and how his works influence the modern world. Shakespeare is the most studied writer of the world. The branch of philology called Shakespeare studies was created after the preface was written by Ben Johnson. Living in England Walter got acquainted with Shakespeare’s works and became the first propagandist of them in France. He unintentionally created the basis for the Shakespeare cult, which first encompassed Europe and then other regions of the world. All further attempts of Walter to struggle with this cult by calling Shakespeare a barbarian, who did not understand anything in art, were not successful as they could not shake the common passion for the work of English dramatist. Shakespeare changed the European theatre by demonstrating what can be achieved by working with the characteristic of characters, fibula, language and genre. The works by Shakespeare influenced many writers and poets including German Melville and Charles Dickens. Shakespeare is the most cited writer together with many authors of the Bible and many his aphorisms are applied by the people in their speech every day. “Shakespeare" often becomes a standardized plot, a stereotypical character, and, especially, a moral or ethical choice - not to mention the ubiquitous favorite, "a voice of authority," as if it were possible to locate "his" voice among the mix of Hamlet, Macbeth, Falstaff, Rosalind, Portia, Iago, the Ghost, and the Fool” (Garber, 2008). The cult of Shakespeare became an important distinctive feature of German culture. In the article by Goethe Conversation from Shakespeares Day (1771) there were the thoughts about the work of dramatist, the structure of his works. In the novel by Goethe Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre (1795-1796) we can see the one of the deepest interpretations of the tragedy Hamlet and its main hero. The work of Shakespeare is considered to be the work of a real genius. The works of romanticists about Shakespeare are famous all over the world (Pushkin kept in his library a French translation of the essay by German romanticist Tieck about Shakespeare and his contemporaries). The peak of Shakespeare studies is the research of the outstanding Danish literary critic Georg Brandes called William Shakespeare (1895-1896). In Shakespeare studies the works by Chambers played a very important role. It is essential to mention the research by Pollard, Greg, McKerrow, the traditions of the theatre in the Shakespeare’s drama, the studies of the great dramatist’s works in the light of Freudism, intuitivism, existentialism. Shakespeare’s characters received certain interpretation in the creations of modern literature, for example, in the novel The Black Prince by Iris Murdoch. The example of Shakespeare studies development testifies that our scientific ideas are formed only due to the research activity of the great number of philologists and cultural historians, which in their turn find the foundations in the works of outstanding writers, thinkers, orators. Shakespeare greatly influenced the development of American literature and culture. When English colonists came to the newly discovered America, they brought the best cultural traditions with them. The plays by Shakespeare were among these assets and they at once became very popular in the New England. According to Alexis de Tocqueville, “There is hardly a pioneers hut that does not contain a few odd volumes of Shakespeare. I remember that I read the feudal drama of Henry V for the first time in a log cabin” (Tocqueville). In the modern world Shakespeare and his characters are even used for teaching business: “Shakespeares plays are now being used, regularly and with success, to teach corporate executives lessons about business.  Few of the analogies the CEOs and their facilitators make may seem facile (the appearance of the ghost of old Hamlet is like the reminder that executives are accountable to their shareholders; CEOs, like the kings and queens in the plays, have to face the necessity of betraying - or firing - their friends)” (Garber, 2008). The influence of William Shakespeare is spread not only on the literature and theatre, but also on the vocabulary and form of the English language. Neologisms by William Shakespeare are widely used in English language. The early modern English language did not have established structure and vocabulary like Greek or Latin languages. Thus, it has been constantly changed. At the time when Shakespeare started creating his works, the English language was quickly absorbing new foreign words, which were adopted due to different wars, diplomacy and colonization. During the times of Elizabeth’s rule the English language started to be widely applied in the areas of philosophy, theology and natural sciences, but the scientists lacked the words to express their ideas. Such writers as Edmund Spencer, Philip Sidney, Christopher Marlow and William Shakespeare expressed their ideas by creating new words and also borrowing them from other languages creating neologisms. “Whatever we say about Shakespeare’s effects on politics and private sex lives, we must admit that above all, he re-shaped the English language, adding words and compounds to the common stock” (Marche, 2008). The works by Shakespeare greatly influenced further development of the theatre. He not only created some of the most respected plays in the European literature (Macbeth, Hamlet and King Lear are considered to be the most outstanding plays in the world), but also changed English theatre by extending the opportunities of the use of characters, plot, language and genre. In such play as Hamlet, Shakespeare connected the characters of heroes with the plot, so that if the main hero had a different character, the plot would be quite different. In Romeo and Juliet Shakespeare connected tragedy with comedy and created a new genre of romantic tragedy (romance was not considered as the plot, which could be used for creating the tragedy before.) In monologues Shakespeare showed the way to learn the inner motives and conflicts of the hero (before the monologues were used by dramatists only in order to introduce the heroes, transfer the information, provide the facts and reveal plans). The works by Shakespeare caused a real revolution in the world literature and influenced the works of many writers. The playwright taught how to use the language to show the feelings and the inner world of the characters. Shakespeare also made a great contribution to the development of the language and theatre. The modern theatre also follows Shakespearian traditions and his plays will never become outdated. “Shakespeare makes modern culture and modern culture makes Shakespeare” (Garber, 2008). He managed to penetrate the time and create the plots, which will always remain relevant. References Garber, M.(2008). Shakespeare And Modern Culture, New York: Pantheon; Marche, S. (2011). How Shakespeare Changed Everything, by Stephen. New York: Harper; Tocqueville, A. (2000). Democracy in America. Chicago: University of Chicago Press; Read More