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Criticism Of Shakespeare And His Drama

            The legacy of one man has reached the hearts of millions of people throughout the centuries. Men and women from all walks of life have read his poetic words and have been touched in a way that no other author has ever been able to duplicate. The works of William Shakespeare have never been forgotten, despite the fact that his plays and poems were written hundreds of years ago. Every one of his plays was written with a mastery unknown before his time and never seen again. Yet these plays have often become the topic of controversy as those involved in the debate have come to different conclusions regarding the exact meaning of Shakespeare's words. One single theme or passage of a play can create several different schools of thought. Therefore it is necessary to examine each play thoroughly and discover how different people understand the works of Shakespeare as well as the Bard himself. .
             To understand why Shakespeare's works have so often been the subject of controversy, one must first realize that there has been a long standing debate over the actual authorship of the famous Shakespearian works. Some attribute his works to Francis Bacon, Christopher Marlowe, or to Edward De Vere the Earl of Oxford. The prime contender of these three to Shakespeare would be De Vere. Critics say that these men were far more likely to be able to write these ingenious plays due to their education and social standing. Shakespeare was only educated in grammar school. Yet it is important to note that the grammar schools of Shakespeare's days were quite different from that of today's schools. Shakespeare would have been educated in Latin and other highly intellectual subjects up until the point that he was a teenager. Some Oxfordians claim that because Shakespeare's name has been found to be .
             spelled differently on several different works, it means that a different person wrote each work (Blum 112).


Essays Related to Criticism Of Shakespeare And His Drama

1. Shakespearean Quotes

That this is a practice contrary to the rules of criticism will be readily allowed; but there is always an appeal open from criticism to nature. ... Early criticism was directed primarily at questions of form. Shakespeare was criticized for mixing comedy and tragedy and failing to observe the unities of time and place prescribed by the rules of classical drama. 20th-century criticism has tended to praise their use in later plays as adding depth and resonance of him. ... Whatever the differences of opinion, valid or at least plausible views about Shakespeare, his character and his personal e...

  • Word Count: 865
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

2. Shakespeare

His stories established a foundation off which thousands of dramas, romances, and histories have been based. ... Aside from Latin, Shakespeare had the tendency to incorporate events from his own life into his writings. ... Each period was characterized by Shakespeare's elaboration in his writing, and his development in his personal style. ... Because many of the kings' lives were corrupt and violent, not a bit of drama was lost on these plays. ... Although Shakespeare did progress in his writing, he retained some characteristics from the first period, such as continuing the chronicl...

  • Word Count: 3345
  • Approx Pages: 13
  • Has Bibliography

3. William Shakespeare and Modern Literature

A pioneer in his art, he flouted all theatrical conventions of his time and in doing so, altered the very structure of drama. ... Pope, in the preface to his six-folio edition of the works of Shakespeare also says, "Shakespeare is not so much an imitator, as an instrument of nature"." ... Despite such harsh criticism and vilification, the works of Shakespeare are today some of the most celebrated in English literature. ... A number of writers have quoted Shakespeare in their writing or drawn their titles from his works. ... Johnson's edition of Shakespeare (1765), he writes, "This is th...

  • Word Count: 1032
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

4. New Historicism Critical Book Review

Greenblatt claims that in order to understand More, you must take the "haunting perception" of "universal madness" very seriously and to understand the function a book, you must first understand the drama itself. ... By examining Wyatt's terza rima works, you can connect his relationship between his poetry and his identity. ... In the last part of the chapter, while criticizing Shakespeare, he courageously makes claims that there is, in fact, no individual genius behind Shakespeare's work. ... It can also be used as a good example for explaining New Historicism Criticism. If any...

  • Word Count: 552
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

5. Hamlet

Shakespere was a hero but it was hidden because he had an unsure cause and delayed with his actions, this is why he stands apart from other Shakespeare's heroes in his widely talked about confusion. ... No doubt, Hamlet is a tragic drama, because many characters lose their lives. ... But Shakespeare, not to mention all the other play writers, followed Aristotelian view that drama is imitation of life, of the actions of man. Saying this would mean eliminating every element of tragedy, and even drama, from "Hamlet". ... This delay is why Hamlet's role as a hero is in total jeopardy ...

  • Word Count: 1340
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Grade Level: High School

6. Henry IV

Auden exuberantly punctuated Van Doren's enthusiasm in his lectures on Shakespeare at the New School in New York City: "It is difficult to imagine that a historical play as good as Henry IV will ever again be written" (Auden, 101). ... In 1640, in a commendatory poem to Shakespeare's Poems, Leonard Digges noted that, while Ben Jonson's plays could no longer dependably attract an audience large enough to cover the costs of production, Shakespeare's play was still a certain hit: "let but Falstaff come, Hall [i.e. ... There are more references to the fat knight through the e...

  • Word Count: 1901
  • Approx Pages: 8
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

7. Relation of religion in the play-Hamlet

Relation of religion with "HAMLET" Claudius's murder of King Hamlet, the act catalyzing the drama of the play, is presented as a sin of primordial character and cosmic implications. ... Hamlet is a revenge tragedy, a common genre in Shakespeare's day. ... Unless one is willing to claim that Shakespeare was appealing to Elizabethan bloodlust, his point is obvious. ... Hamlet and Laertes do not exhaust Shakespeare's store of avengers. ... Shakespeare's use of Fortinbras, prince of Norway, clarifies beyond reasonable doubt his own and the play's evaluation of rev...

  • Word Count: 1931
  • Approx Pages: 8
  • Grade Level: High School

8. Theatre

According to Hutton, "Aristotle's work was based upon the Greek poets with whose work he was acquainted, but in general his writings and conclusion are in the main category of drama." (10). ... (Hutton 32) According to Aristotle's theory on the Origin of poetry and the growth of drama, it appears to have rooted from the instincts of the human being's ability to imitate. ... In this book criticism made its first appearance, and very did very well. ... Collier's criticism is aimed specifically at what he referred to as "Swearing", "Lewd Application of Scripture", and "Deba...

  • Word Count: 1255
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

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