Anabelle Wondrasch
F Block Fam
April 2, 2015
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare, considered to be one of the most influential people in literary history, was born on April 23, 1564 in Stratford, England. His family consisted of his two older sisters, three younger brothers, him, and his parents. Most scholars believe that he attended Stratford Grammar School, which was known for its excellent, but grueling curriculum. When Shakespeare turned eighteen, he married Ann Hathaway, who was 26 at the time, and they had three children together. The family fell on hard times in 1586 and Shakespeare left Stratford find work to provide for his family. Shakespeare entered London when, encouraged by Queen Elizabeth I, the arts began to flourish, particularly the dramatic arts, because the queen loved attending the performances. Fortunately, because of his long time friend who was a distinguished individual in theater industry, Shakespeare was immediately accepted into the arts and began writing and directing plays.
Unlike other writers, Shakespeare’s work is timeless, therefore molding how following authors have written. His unique style of writing incorporates human emotion, which lets the people watching (or reading), to relate and sympathize with the protagonist. Shakespeare focused on character development and weaving several plots together to add layers to his plays. Shakespeare wrote beautiful pieces of work. Until 1590, most of his ideas had come from other play writers because plagiarism was allowed and even encouraged. This was another reason why his style was so distinct, he was the one of the first people to veer away from the traditional storyline and do it his own way. Shakespeare understood how important human emotion and activity were, which counts for the success of his works. 
Shakespeare’s modern day influence can be seen in everything from music to how we speak. Taylor Swift’s “Love Story” references characters from Shakespeare and adds a positive note to create a song about two people that are torn away from each other but find themselves together in the end. Another example is the popular children’s film, the Lion King, which is based on Shakespeare’s plot in his drama Hamlet. He highlights the consequences of greed in how the uncle, in both stories, is overcome with the lust for power leading him to kill his brother and seize the throne. Shakespeare’s works are some of the most powerful pieces of writing to ever be created and they portray every emotional state. Another monumental contribution was that approximately 10% of Shakespeare’s writing was new vocabulary, words such as fashionable and lackluster. He introduced a large number of words into the English language, so as well as creating a new form of writing, he also broadened the landscape of today’s vocabulary.
To learn more about shakespeare, you can look at the sites below
-http://www.biography.com/people/william-shakespeare-9480323
AUDIO FILE DOWN BELOW
Sonnet 15
To learn more about shakespeare, you can look at the sites below
-http://www.biography.com/people/william-shakespeare-9480323
AUDIO FILE DOWN BELOW
Sonnet 15
When I consider every thing that grows
Holds in perfection but a little moment.
That this huge stage presenteth nought but shows
Whereon the stars in secret influence comment.
When I perceive that men as plants increase,
Cheered and checked even by the self-same sky:
Vaunt in their youthful sap, at height decrease,
And wear their brave state out of memory.
Then the conceit of this inconstant stay,
Sets you most rich in youth before my sight,
Where wasteful time debateth with decay
To change your day of youth to sullied night,
And all in war with Time for love of you,
As he takes from you, I engraft you new.
Work Cited
Holds in perfection but a little moment.
That this huge stage presenteth nought but shows
Whereon the stars in secret influence comment.
When I perceive that men as plants increase,
Cheered and checked even by the self-same sky:
Vaunt in their youthful sap, at height decrease,
And wear their brave state out of memory.
Then the conceit of this inconstant stay,
Sets you most rich in youth before my sight,
Where wasteful time debateth with decay
To change your day of youth to sullied night,
And all in war with Time for love of you,
As he takes from you, I engraft you new.
Work Cited
- Branam, Harold. "William Shakespeare." Great Lives from History: Renaissance & Early Modern Era, 1454-1600 Hackensack: Salem, 2005. n. pag. Salem Online. Web. 23 Jan. 2015
- Kastan, David Scott. "Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)." World Poets. Ed. Ron Padgett. Vol. 2. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2000. 477-486. Scribner Writers on GVRL. Web. 1 Feb. 2015
- "Shakespeare, William 1564–1616 English Writer." Renaissance: An Encyclopedia for Students. Ed. Paul F. Grendler. Vol. 4. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2004. 83-89. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 29 Jan. 2015
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"William Shakespeare." Encyclopedia of World Biography. Detroit: Gale, 1998. Biography in Context. Web. 22 Jan. 2015http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/06/11/article-2339722-1A439A34000005DC-606_634x831.jpg
- http://designurge.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/46705-ExcellentQuotations.com-William-Shakespeare.jpg
- http://static.bbc.co.uk/history/img/ic/640/images/resources/people/william_shakespeare.jpg
- http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/06/11/article-2339722-1A439A34000005DC-606_634x831.jpg
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ReplyDeleteAfter retiring from the theater business and returning home to Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare began writing sonnets. A sonnet, by definition, is a poem of fourteen lines using any number of formal rhyme schemes. In English is typically has ten syllables per line. Shakespeare's wrote 154 sonnets, which have become popular world-wide due to their universal appeal. The beginning lines of sonnet 15 begin by pondering that everything is bound to get old and die. "Holds in perfection but a little moment" (Line 2) describes how life is always changing and everything that is alive will only be young for so long. It reflects on the brevity of life's prime along with the inevitable aging process. Through the next few lines, the idea from long ago that a person's behavior and luck was influenced by the stars is introduced, " Whereon the stars in secret influence comment." (Line 3) The theme that we are controlled by the universe builds on the concept before that we are helpless in the game of life and somethings are unavoidable. These two themes carry on through the next lines through talking about how plants are nourished by the skies and therefore can be compared to a human growing. When they are young, they are strong and beautiful, but as time passes, they wilt and droop until they eventually die. "Sets you most rich in youth before my sight, /where wasteful time debateth with decay." (Lines 10-11) At this part in the poem, Shakespeare makes clear he is talking to or about someone. He explains that beauty will eventually fade, because everything that lives ages. In the last lines, Shakespeare promises to keep his love young and beautiful by "engrafting you new" (Line 14). This line is a little hard to understand because he could mean promising to remember her like she once was or making her timeless by recording her beauty in a poem. Either way, this poem expresses how youth is a blessing and should not be wasted. Soon aging begins which takes away the beauty a young person once had. Through this poem, we are given the idea that Shakespeare not only despised but feared aging, though no one is sure what he felt. It can be taken as a lesson to our age because it encourages us to live in the moment and not to spend our whole life planning for what is to come. You're only young once.
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