Happy Birthday, William Shakespeare
Happy Birthday, William #Shakespeare!
His poems and plays entertained Elizabethan and Jacobean #England, and later the world, became the object of scholarly study and a tool of English colonialism and empire.
Many students come to marvel at his work, but reading Shakespeare, or enjoying performances of it, is an acquired taste:
Many students recall - with something less than fondness - their Shakespeare requirements in school.
Not only are there specific films that retell Shakespeare tales (like "Big Business" with Lily Tomlin and Bette Midler, or "10 Things I Hate About You" with Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger), but Shakespeare influenced many other later works of comedy, drama, and revenge, even as he himself was influenced by writers before him.
Have you a favorite Shakespeare poem or play? A story of a teaching or learning experience involving Shakespeare? (I have many....)
To what extent is Shakespeare a destructive cultural influence in the world, usurping the attention of audiences and cultures that have their own tales and ften get overpowered by the message that Shakespeare is better than what they have to offer?
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Thanks for reading! My current project is a book tentatively titled Hamlet’s Bible, about biblical allusions and plot echoes in Hamlet.
Below is a link to a list of some of my top posts (“greatest hits”), including a description of my book project (last item on the list):
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2019/12/top-20-hamlet-bible-posts.html
I post every week, so please visit as often as you like and consider subscribing.
His poems and plays entertained Elizabethan and Jacobean #England, and later the world, became the object of scholarly study and a tool of English colonialism and empire.
Many students come to marvel at his work, but reading Shakespeare, or enjoying performances of it, is an acquired taste:
Many students recall - with something less than fondness - their Shakespeare requirements in school.
Not only are there specific films that retell Shakespeare tales (like "Big Business" with Lily Tomlin and Bette Midler, or "10 Things I Hate About You" with Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger), but Shakespeare influenced many other later works of comedy, drama, and revenge, even as he himself was influenced by writers before him.
Have you a favorite Shakespeare poem or play? A story of a teaching or learning experience involving Shakespeare? (I have many....)
To what extent is Shakespeare a destructive cultural influence in the world, usurping the attention of audiences and cultures that have their own tales and ften get overpowered by the message that Shakespeare is better than what they have to offer?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks for reading! My current project is a book tentatively titled Hamlet’s Bible, about biblical allusions and plot echoes in Hamlet.
Below is a link to a list of some of my top posts (“greatest hits”), including a description of my book project (last item on the list):
https://pauladrianfried.blogspot.com/2019/12/top-20-hamlet-bible-posts.html
I post every week, so please visit as often as you like and consider subscribing.
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