Shakespeare Is More Than Just a Playwright

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"Shakespeare is more than just a playwright, he is a social commentator". How have you found this to be true? William Shakespeare is regarded as the greatest playwright in the English speaking world with plays expressing comedic and tragic representations of the historical issues within society during his time. Shakespeare used the act of social commentary to rebel against society as he intended entertain of his audience through molding historical events to suit their prejudices. Shakespeare plays share a number of common features such as the significant events within the medieval history and the social structures of his time. Although it is evident that Shakespeare dramatises and changes the true accounts of historical events, there are elements which pinpoint his time exactly. Some of Shakespeare’s plays revolve around the Hundred Years War with France as his plays Henry Tetralogy, Richard II, Richard III and King John all feature similar issues and characters, just within a different context. Evidence also shows that Shakespeare wrote Hamlet at the time he did due to play it was based on was, in itself, based on the early stories of the History of Denmark by Saxo Grammaticus. However, rendering historical events was clearly not the vision of Shakespeare, as it is evident that he was more or less simply writing for the entertainment for his audience members. The story line within Shakespearian plays offer audience members from around the world a very realistic view of society structures that cuts right across the class system, presenting to them all kinds of characters from all social classes from beggars to the monarchy. The majority of Shakespearian plays have characters from both ends of social classes playing scenes together. Therefore it is evident that although it is evident that Shakespeare dramatises and changes the true accounts of historical events,
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