2015+AP+P3+William+Shakespeare

__ Aim-Chris Bohlman: __ Shakespeare’s aim with his plays was to get his audience to reflect on England’s past, as he wrote several plays based off of famous historical figures. However, he was certainly dedicated to pleasing his audience, as he was quite the famous playwright in his time. He did write certain plays because of events happening around England and around the world. Shakespeare’s Macbeth was written to symbolize the union of both Scotland and England, as that was referenced several times throughout the play ("The Life of…"). This shows that Shakespeare was not afraid of referencing the present state of domestic affairs in his works without getting too overly political. Also, “During King James's reign, Shakespeare wrote many of his most accomplished plays about courtly power, including King Lear, Macbeth, and Antony and Cleopatra” (Haley). Shakespeare frequently used the setting of his location in order to enhance how his audience connected the piece in their own lives. Through this, he was able to show his audience that even though his plays were not exactly aimed at the common crowd, the people who watched his works still could see how they were affected by what his work was trying to convey.

Haley, David. "William Shakespeare." University of Minnesota, n. d. Web. 24 March 2015. "The Life of William Shakespeare." // Shakespeare in American Communities //. National Endowment of the Arts, n.d. Web. 24 March. 2015.



__ Audience-Lauren Letarte: __

William Shakespeare's career as a playwright has had a major impact on different audiences throughout centuries. During his lifetime in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century, Shakespeare's audience was very different from his audience today for a multitude of reasons. The historic diary of Thomas Platter describes the variation of social classes within the historic audience providing that the lower class, often called groundlings, paid a penny for admittance while the upper class paid more toward two or three pennies in order to receive better seating, (Mabillard). It has further been demonstrated that Shakespeare's historic audience, along with the behavior of any historic audience, were in far contrast to modern audiences. In history, the crowd had been extremely noisy and appeared to have taken more of an interest in the social gathering of plays rather than the actual production. However, Shakespeare has sustained, if not increased, his popularity as a playwright now in the twenty first century by attracting the attention of educational systems throughout the world. Predominantly in American education, Shakespeare's plays have become highly recommended readings for students and are even required by most teachers and professors. Overall, the aptitude and intriguing dialect of Shakespeare's plays have grasped the attention of millions, providing a never ending audience for William Shakespeare.

Haley, David. // William Shakespeare // //.// University of Minnesota, n. d. Web. 24 March 2015. Mabillard, Amanda. //Shakespeare's Audience: The Groundlings//. Shakespeare Online. 20 Aug. 2000.

__ Cultural-Alex Colpo: __ William Shakespeare has had a huge impact on the world culturally, his plays have become timeless. Through his plays, he has influenced the world’s culture by creating intense dramas or great comedies. These plays are taught in schools to this day and influence culture still today. The plays have been remade multiple times, and given new life by others and in this way stay relevant to culture, as the problems addressed in his plays are timeless. In the past, everyone would go to see the plays, from the rich women to the poor heckles. These were cultural plays that brought people together (Mabilard). Culturally, shakespeare brought people together and created rich stories that made a person truly think about the life they live, and have strong emotions towards the characters on stage. It is not farfetched to say that without Shakespeare’s influence on culture, modern cinema would be extremely different than it is today.

Mabillard, Amanda. // Shakespeare's Audience: The Groundlings //. __Shakespeare Online__. 20 Aug. 2000. 3-24-15 "The Life of William Shakespeare." // Shakespeare in American Communities // //.// National Endowment of the Arts, n.d. Web. 24 March. 2015.



__ Historical-Efren Barron: __ William Shakespeare was one of the most influential writers of his time and is still influencing writers today. According to a bibliography from History, h e was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, his birthday is celebrated on the day of his death, April 23 (“William Shakespeare”). He attended a well-known grammar school where he developed a passion for literature. According to a bibliography from BBC,during his life Shakespeare wrote many playwrights, from year 1594 to 1611 he wrote two a year ("William Shakespeare"). These accomplishments are what revere Shakespeare as one of the greats in literature. Also, Shakespeare experimented with new words. The English language was very limited during these times and Shakespeare coined hundreds of extra words. This was one of his accomplishments which the society around him benefited and has shaped the modern english language. All in all, his life was extremely influential to the society around him and the writers that would follow.

“William Shakespeare.” // History.com //. 2011. Web. 23 March 2015. “William Shakespeare.” // BBC.com. // n.d. Web. 24 March 2015.