Shakespeare's Plays and Influence
William Shakespeare’s playwrights influenced the culture and society during the Elizabethan time period. Romeo and Juliet was not his only play, although it’s his most well-known piece. Shakespeare wrote both tragedies and comedies. His tragedies include Titus Andronicus and Hamlet. A Mid-Summer’s Night Dream and Merchant of Venice were two comedies. In writing these plays, Shakespeare depicted emotions from love to hate and passion to despair. Although many criticized his work, Shakespeare inspired painters, (Romantics and the Pre-Raphaelites), writers, musicians, and a psychoanalyst. Analogous to Shakespeare’s King Lear, Herman Melville’s Moby Dick revolved around a tragic hero. The opera Otello and Falstaff had music traced back to the works of Shakespeare. Henry Fuseli, a Swiss Romantic artist, translated Macbeth into German. Sigmund Freud, a psychoanalyst, looked to Hamlet for theories on human nature. Just as Shakespeare influenced many people, he, himself, was influenced by certain authors, the Renaissance, and Greek and Roman mythology. One author that inspired Shakespeare was Geoffery Chaucer. He was a poet during the 1300s, and wrote Troilus and Criseyde, as well as Parliment of Fowles. In Romeo and Juliet, Mercutio says a Queen Mab speech, and it was said to have dealt with Chaucer's Parliment of Fowles. During the 1500s, there was much conflict between the Catholics and Protestants. Although it is not known for certain whether he was Catholic or Protestant, in some of his pieces, Shakespeare showed his desire for reforming Christianity. During this time, artists (poets, etc.) were obsessed with the idea of being famous, and of being thought of long after their death. Shakespeare, too, wished for people to remember him and his writing. In Hamlet, Hamlet asks Horatio to live so that he can make sure that Hamlet is remembered. During the Renaissance, social structures began to fall apart. This is shown through characters such as the nurse in Romeo and Juliet. She depicts Shakespeare's value of individuality and realism, in stongly voicing her opinions throughout the book to other characters, even though she is of a lower class. Shakespeare influenced many, and was influenced, just as much so, in the Renaissance/Elizabethan time period.
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Citations:
Mabillard, Amanda. What Inspired Shakespeare? Shakespeare Online. 20 Aug. 2000. Web. 20 Dec. 2013.
The Renaissance and Its Affect on William Shakespeare’s Works. StudyMode.com. Web. 20 Dec. 2013.
Ways Shakespeare's Work Showed Renaissance Influences." Jonah Wilberg. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Dec. 2013.
"William Shakespeare." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 16 Dec. 2013. Web. 16 Dec. 2013.