William+Shakespeare+Bio

**William Shakespeare**
//Audience of Shakespeare:// The audience of Shakespeare is a large variety of people, because of his different types of work. Shakespeare himself wrote for many reasons; sonnets for couples, plays for kings and queens, and even comedies for peasants. However, not every different type of play was meant for a specific group of people, everyone watched everything. Usually, each different type of work has signals to indicate what each play is; comedies, tragedies, histories. All of the different types of plays are indicated within the titles; comedies are titles without names or roman numerals, tragedies are usually names of people without roman numerals and histories have names with roman numerals. These were usually the main audiences and works of art of Shakespeare.

//History of Shakespeare:// Shakespeare's history has been ongoing for centuries. Not only from when he lived, but after he died as well; he lives on throughout is works. William was born on 26 April 1564, or around this date, the exact date is not known due to the lack of the care to keep papers and important documents during that time period. He was an English poet playwright and actor who wrote and acted for kings and queens. Officially, Shakespeare wrote 38 plays, 154 sonnets and 2 long narrative poems. Between 1585 and 1592 was when Shakespeare started his career, and then he retired at age 48, to die 3 years later on 23 April, 1616. Shakespeare and his actors made a specific theatre famous, due to all of the plays they conducted there: The Globe Theatre. The Globe Theatre was discovered in ruins, but it was deemed to be a true place because of references in works made by Shakespeare inside his works. William lives in the English language today as the result of him inventing over 1700 words in use today. Some words are birthplace, blood stained, hobnob, gossip, obscene, dwindle, etc. Therefore, Shakespeare thrived throughout the centuries by leaving his mark on everyone's work.

//Cultural Effect on the World:// Shakespeare has a great, vast effect on the world itself. Not only has his play been the topic of many high schools and colleges throughout the United States, his writings has influenced many authors in their own, such has John Keats and George Bernard Shaw. As mentioned before, Shakespeare has also invented and introduced many words into the English language that were used in the performance of his plays. Shakespeare, in addition, has also increased the expectations for plot and themes since he wrote his plays in the 1500's.

//Aim of Shakespeare:// The aim of William Shakespeare cannot be directly determined. However, it can be inferred what his motives were for writing plays and acting. Shakespeare wrote a total of 37 plays and over 150 sonnets. All of which were performed in front of crowds: including kings, queens, nobles and peasants. Why would Shakespeare write plays and act in them? Because he needed to make a living. Even though acting was considered a lowly job during that time, he continued to write and act in most of his own plays. When he created words Shakespeare most likely wanted to enhance his plays for the entertainment of kings and queens to receive a larger pay.

//Three Texts by Shakespeare:// " To be, or not to be: that is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep; No more; and by a sleep to say we end The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep; To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub; For in that sleep of death what dreams may come When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, Must give us pause: there's the respect That makes calamity of so long life; For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely, The pangs of despised love, the law's delay, The insolence of office and the spurns That patient merit of the unworthy takes, When he himself might his quietus make With a bare bodkin? who would fardels bear, To grunt and sweat under a weary life, But that the dread of something after death, The undiscover'd country from whose bourn No traveller returns, puzzles the will And makes us rather bear those ills we have Than fly to others that we know not of? Thus conscience does make cowards of us all; And thus the native hue of resolution Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought, And enterprises of great pith and moment With this regard their currents turn awry, And lose the name of action.--Soft you now! The fair Ophelia! Nymph, in thy orisons Be all my sins remember'd" (3.1.58-91)
 * Hamlet -**

" If we shadows have offended, Think but this, and all is mended, That you have but slumber'd here While these visions did appear. And this weak and idle theme, No more yielding but a dream, Gentles, do not reprehend: if you pardon, we will mend: And, as I am an honest Puck, If we have unearned luck Now to 'scape the serpent's tongue, We will make amends ere long; Else the Puck a liar call; So, good night unto you all. Give me your hands, if we be friends, And Robin shall restore amends" (5.1.383-398).
 * A Midnight Summer's Dream**

" Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. From forth the fatal loins of these two foes A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life; Whose misadventured piteous overthrows Do with their death bury their parents' strife. The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love, And the continuance of their parents' rage, Which, but their children's end, nought could remove, Is now the two hours' traffic of our stage; The which if you with patient ears attend, What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend." (1.1.1-14)
 * Romeo and Juliet**

//Literary Devices Used and Where:// Homily - An inspirational saying: "... When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, Must give us pause: there's the respect That makes calamity of so long life; For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely..." (Hamlet 3.1.69-71).

Soliloquy - The act of speaking one's thoughts aloud: "To be or not to be..." (Hamlet 3.1.58-91).

Metaphor - The comparison of two things without using 'like' or 'as' "Now to 'scape the serpent's tongue" (A Midnight Summer's Dream 5.1.393).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakespeare's_influence http://www.shakespeare-online.com/biography/shakespearewriter.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Shakespeare http://shakespeare.mit.edu/hamlet/full.html http://shakespeare.mit.edu/romeo_juliet/full.html http://shakespeare.mit.edu/midsummer/full.html