The Importance of Shakespeare

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Reid Patterson November 20, 2014 ENGL 231 The Importance of Shakespeare Even I knew about Shakespeare as a child. I’m honestly not sure how I knew about him and that he wrote the amazing, but tragic story of Romeo and Juliet. I didn’t grow up in a household that loved him or his works, but somehow I still was able to be aware of how great he was at writing. I learned about him in junior high, and realized he could write with intense precision. My English teacher from High School once conveyed that Shakespeare played a hand in shaping our English Language. He has given us tragic stories, complicated stories, and stories we can relate to. Actually I’m sure that almost all of his works are relatable to real life. I think I have come up with three reasons why Shakespeare’s works have stood the test of time. They can be that his stories are amazing, dark and deep. That he shaped the English language we know today, and also that his writing style itself was so beautiful that other writers can recognize that as well. The question I think needs to be answered is: Why is Shakespeare so important, and why is he still relevant today? Shakespeare genuinely tried to write for his audiences. He wanted the plot to strike them even if it didn’t sit well with them. It still made an impression on them in some way. That’s what writers want. They want to see the reaction, and know that they made an impact in someone’s life. Shakespeare knew his audiences wanted plays about revenge so he wrote them. “During the time of Elizabethan theater, plays about tragedy and revenge were very common and a regular convention seemed to be formed on what aspects should be put into a typical revenge tragedy.” (Literary Articles). He certainly did write his stories for his audiences and it paid off. Especially with, Hamlet. Hamlet is one those plays that was spawned on revenge and thrived on it as
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