Why Study Shakespeare

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Why Study Shakespeare? 1. Why is Shakespeare so revered? At the time he was writing and alive, Shakespeare created a whole new branch if literature. His satire humour and appropriation of texts challenged values and question what was really right and wrong. For some part this created great tension in regard to his works but Shakespeare took risks that no other writer was willing to and they obviously paid off. He illuminates the human experiences and sums up explores dozens of emotions all in one text as well as creating compelling characters that make the audience want to read on. 2. Why is his work still relevant today? Shakespeare deals with problems that are still prevalent in today’s society. He deals with real emotions and real problems which are raw and confronting yet recognisable. The value of his texts still remains yet they can be appropriated to suit a particular audience. Shakespeare also appeals to a large audience writing in many different genres, a reason for his popularity today. 3. In what ways did he ‘defy’ his times? Mainly because of the universal values found in his texts. He was writing about ideals and ideas that were still developing in the time in which he was living. It was as though Shakespeare could defy stereotypes of the era and address problems that were common and constant throughout society. Also his use of language, the rich and full words, some of which he created himself, are somewhat a measure of his own ability and work together in the creation of a new way of communicating ideas. 4. How did he enrich Elizabethan theatre? Shakespeare created stories which were not ‘run of the mill’ and challenged original conventions of theatrics. He explored different genres and played around with characters and roles. He also put on shows that would defy expectation and sometimes shock the audience. 5. What is
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