Abdullah-Al-Musayeb :
With solemn respect and honour, the world has observed the 452nd birth and 400th death anniversary of William Shakespeare on April 23. William Shakespeare, the third child of eight to his middle-class parents John and Mary Shakespeare was born about 450 years back on April 23, 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon of Elizabethan England, and died at the age of 52 years on the same date in 1616. Shakespeare, the celebrated playwright, poet and actor is sometimes called as William Shakespeare, Shakespeare, or as Bard by his countless fans around the world.
There is hardly found any person who does not know the name of Shakespeare as he is an unforgettable literary figure and it is not exaggeration if we say that literature is incomplete without him.
He wrote plays and performed in his plays as well that appealed to both the commoners and the kings, the queens and the nobles, the critics and the historicians and poor paupers alike. His plays were performed in London at the Globe Theater and in Stratford at The New Place Theater.
William Shakespeare, the literary legend of English literature brought the magical world and the real world in a same line through his writings. Shakespeare explored both the poetry and drama, but it is drama that placed him on the throne of world literature. Though his dramas are poetically crafted, poetry is inseparable from his writing. He is both the poet and dramatist who wrote 154 sonnets and 37 Plays but he is ever remembered for his world famous dramas like Hamlet, Macbeth, The tempest, Romeo and Juliet, Othello and many more. He is also the most quoted writer in the history of the English-speaking world. “To be, or not to be: that is the question:” (Hamlet), “Frailty thy name is woman” (Hamlet), “Fair is foul, Foul is Fair” (Macbeth), “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages” (As You Like It) are the most oft quoted lines that tell about the crucial reality of human life on earth.
The writing style of Shakespeare was much more different from other writers of his age. Shakespeare had attributed a new form of writing style as poetry with Iambic Pentameter and plays with the blending of soliloquy. His lyrical poem is of fourteen lines that had ten syllables per line and divided into three quatrains followed by a couplet. The rhyming scheme of his poetry is abab cdcd efef gg. However, His plays have introduced the readers with a new style specially with the Soliloquy that Shakespeare used in his plays largely. Soliloquy is a dramatic convention of exposing to the audience the intentions, thoughts and feelings of a character who speaks to himself while no one remains on the stage. It is his unique style of writing dramas.
Shakespeare had a great contribution in developing the English language; he developed and reshaped the language. English language before his time was on the whole not standardised. His works contributed significantly to the standardisation of grammar, spelling, and vocabulary. Shakespeare introduced about 1,700 and more original words into the language, many of which we still use in our daily language.
Over and above, almost all students of English, native and non-native speakers, have to study and explore the works of William Shakespeare. Shakespeare is still now living through his poetry, plays, rhythm and literary devices that continue to inspire and influence the writers of 21st century.
With solemn respect and honour, the world has observed the 452nd birth and 400th death anniversary of William Shakespeare on April 23. William Shakespeare, the third child of eight to his middle-class parents John and Mary Shakespeare was born about 450 years back on April 23, 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon of Elizabethan England, and died at the age of 52 years on the same date in 1616. Shakespeare, the celebrated playwright, poet and actor is sometimes called as William Shakespeare, Shakespeare, or as Bard by his countless fans around the world.
There is hardly found any person who does not know the name of Shakespeare as he is an unforgettable literary figure and it is not exaggeration if we say that literature is incomplete without him.
He wrote plays and performed in his plays as well that appealed to both the commoners and the kings, the queens and the nobles, the critics and the historicians and poor paupers alike. His plays were performed in London at the Globe Theater and in Stratford at The New Place Theater.
William Shakespeare, the literary legend of English literature brought the magical world and the real world in a same line through his writings. Shakespeare explored both the poetry and drama, but it is drama that placed him on the throne of world literature. Though his dramas are poetically crafted, poetry is inseparable from his writing. He is both the poet and dramatist who wrote 154 sonnets and 37 Plays but he is ever remembered for his world famous dramas like Hamlet, Macbeth, The tempest, Romeo and Juliet, Othello and many more. He is also the most quoted writer in the history of the English-speaking world. “To be, or not to be: that is the question:” (Hamlet), “Frailty thy name is woman” (Hamlet), “Fair is foul, Foul is Fair” (Macbeth), “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages” (As You Like It) are the most oft quoted lines that tell about the crucial reality of human life on earth.
The writing style of Shakespeare was much more different from other writers of his age. Shakespeare had attributed a new form of writing style as poetry with Iambic Pentameter and plays with the blending of soliloquy. His lyrical poem is of fourteen lines that had ten syllables per line and divided into three quatrains followed by a couplet. The rhyming scheme of his poetry is abab cdcd efef gg. However, His plays have introduced the readers with a new style specially with the Soliloquy that Shakespeare used in his plays largely. Soliloquy is a dramatic convention of exposing to the audience the intentions, thoughts and feelings of a character who speaks to himself while no one remains on the stage. It is his unique style of writing dramas.
Shakespeare had a great contribution in developing the English language; he developed and reshaped the language. English language before his time was on the whole not standardised. His works contributed significantly to the standardisation of grammar, spelling, and vocabulary. Shakespeare introduced about 1,700 and more original words into the language, many of which we still use in our daily language.
Over and above, almost all students of English, native and non-native speakers, have to study and explore the works of William Shakespeare. Shakespeare is still now living through his poetry, plays, rhythm and literary devices that continue to inspire and influence the writers of 21st century.
