William Shakespeare Research Paper

The world-famous playwright and author, William Shakespeare, has written some of the most referenced and well-known pieces of literature ever created. His acute attention to detail, impressive use of literary devices, and ability to expand upon issues concerning mankind are what make his texts so unique and are the reasons we have continued to explore his works for centuries. Although he was born over four hundred years ago, William Shakespeare has impacted our society through literary education, pop culture, and everyday language, making his work relevant to contemporary times because many of the themes his text analyzes are still applicable within our world today. William Shakespeare was baptized into the Church of England on April 26th,

Some believe his text is not necessary for a well-rounded education and have attempted to remove his plays from their curriculums, one of these being in South Africa where “in 2001, a committee of teachers appointed by the education department in Gauteng province…recommended that the works of Shakespeare be banned from classrooms because they “lack cultural diversity” (Jones.) Though Shakespeare’s text is often highly dependent on personal interpretation, many of his plays and sonnets’ themes are what make his writing easily relatable for all ethnicities, genders, races, religions, etc. and thus make them extremely diverse. For example, the tragedy of Othello’s main protagonist is specifically written for a male of African descent and analyzes themes of racial discrimination and The Merchant of Venice focuses on religious prejudice. Many of his female characters, such as Lady Macbeth from Macbeth and Viola from Twelfth Night or What You Will, also often display powerful and independent personalities thus breaking gender stereotypes of the time. These illustrations of diverse characters and intricate plots allow students to analyze-real world situations and how conflicts that continue to apply to our society

Within literature, these achievements are often awarded to authors who have the ability to make their audience experience the emotions and events that they write about. Shakespeare’s range of writing – the range of human experience and feeling in his work – is so vast that he shows an understanding of many aspects of our lives. This, along with his sensitivity to form, is what makes him a great example of such achievements. He is also praised for being a rebel amongst other authors during his time. For many young readers, rule breaking is something they commonly find tempting and by showing rebellion within Shakespeare, students can find a personal connection with literature (Bellinger-Dawson.) The author not only experimented with language in his plays, but created a new form of sonnet, commonly referred to as the Shakespearean Sonnet or Elizabethan Sonnet, which is still used in poetry today. According to Sylvan Barnet, an American literary critic and Shakespearean scholar, he is also credited with being one of the first writers to use any modern prose in his writings; in fact, the growth of the popularity of prose in Shakespeare's time is clearly shown as he used prose progressively more throughout his career. His work continues to