AP+2014+William+Shakespeare



//__**Historical- Jennifer**__// As much as William Shakespeare is known in today’s society, he also made a major impact back in his days as well. Whether or not Shakespeare, “began his apprenticeship as writer or as actor, Shakespeare combined both talents in a theatrical career that blossomed quickly” (William Shakespeare). Shakespeare wrote many plays in which he performed not only for the citizens at the Globe Theatre, or performing for the queen. Many of Shakespeare’s plays focused on tragedies, comic relief, and romance. Shakespeare had a knack for capturing the true feelings of humans which made his plays only that much more popular. For 20 years Shakespeare wrote a multitude of plays and, “All that can be deduced is that over the course of 20 years, Shakespeare wrote plays that capture the complete range of human emotion and conflict” (William Shakespeare Biography). As well as capturing the feelings of the citizens of the past time, Shakespeare was also able to capture the thoughts and feelings of people today. Thus making Shakespeare probably one of the best playwrights in human history.

“William Shakespeare (1564-1616)”. Shakespeare. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2014. "William Shakespeare Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2014.

//__**Cultural- Natalie**__// Shakespeare’s lasting impact on modern culture can be seen in many different facets of today’s way of living. For example, “ Shakespeare’s ability to summarize the range of human emotions in simple yet profoundly eloquent verse is perhaps the greatest reason for his enduring popularity,” (Mabillard). He was able to successfully create hundreds of phrases that still endure today and are still a major part of the English language even though they were created centuries ago. These Shakespearean phrases are used nearly every day and include “the long and short of it” and “it’s Greek to me”. Before Shakespeare began to influence modern language, there were no set standards as to how the English language should have been evolved to become more sophisticated. Shakespeare helped to shape the English language such that, “ [he] introduced nearly 3,000 words into the English language. In addition, Shakespeare's works, which were often quoted, became such commonplace that they helped set the standards for Modern English,” (Kurlak and Ference). This influence encouraged higher language to be developed and begin to take on that air of sophistication. However, this profound influence the great playwright had on the culture in the past and now in modern times is often greatly overlooked and “[this is] ‘the blind spot our traditions can cast on us… When you look at Shakespeare in a global context you realize Shakespeare is much more capacious and profound and plays a very important role in the cultural life today,’” (The Global Influence of Shakespeare). Overall, Shakespeare has more influence on modern culture than the average Joe may actually be aware of and he has influenced the world’s culture for generations now and to come.

"The Global Influence of Shakespeare." George Washington Today. The George Washington University, 22 Nov. 2011. Web. 10 Feb. 2014. Mabillard, Amanda. Why Study Shakespeare? Shakespeare Online. 20 Aug. 2000. 10 Feb. 2014. Kurlak, John, and Greg Ference. "William Shakespeare and His Influence on Modern Language." William Shakespeare. John Kurlak and Greg  Ference, 11 June 2013. Web. 10 Feb. 2014.

//__**Aim- Olivia **__// William Shakespeare’s plays and writings are still studied today. Each of his works are studied for many aspects. One being his intention for writing the plays that he wrote. According to one source, in regards to his historical plays, his “chief aim was to get his audience to reflect on England's past” (William Shakespeare). This can be seen because of the fact that his historical plays were written about kings from England’s past. His other reasoning for writing his plays was to make himself known and to support his family and himself. “Civil records show that at this time he purchased the second largest house in Stratford, called New House, for his family. It was a four-day ride by horse from Stratford to London, so it is believed that Shakespeare spent most of his time in the city writing and acting and came home once a year during the 40-day Lenten period, when the theaters were closed” (William Shakespeare Bio). To Shakespeare, his work seemed to be the main focus in his life. Most of his time was spent on it. His works were his source of income, which also provided for the family he visited only once a year. It seems like while the aim for why he wrote his plays was to reflect and entertain the audience.

“William Shakespeare (1564-1616)”. Shakespeare. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2014. "William Shakespeare Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2014.

//__** Audience- Sam **__//

William Shakespeare provided entertainment for all social classes with his poetry and playwrights during the reigns of Queen Elizabeth I and King James I. Primarily, William Shakespeare became who he is as a well-acclaimed writer because it was a necessity for him to provide entertainment for royalty. Shakespeare established himself as a famous poet and playwright towards the end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, in which he “...was called upon to perform several of his plays before the Queen at court” (“William Shakespeare”). In other words, the creation of his pieces of work were for the royal audience members, specifically the queen. Often, his playwrights were centralized around the higher classes. However, Shakespeare still created his works in order to provide entertainment for all, everyone from the richest of rich to the poorest of poor. Unlike today’s theatre’s, “Shakespeare’s audience was far more boisterous…” (Mabillard) because of his unique relatability to everyone. There was a diverse audience in attendance at Shakespeare’s plays, yet he still managed to create pieces of work that could relate to all members in the audience, in fact create work that still relate to modern human nature.

Mabillard, Amanda. "Shakespeare's Audience: The Groundlings." Shakespeare's Audience: The Groundlings. N.p., 21 Jan. 2010. Web. 10 Feb. 2014. "William Shakespeare." BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 09 Feb. 2014