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HannahHermann
OConnor
HonorsEnglish9
31May2016
ShakingupShakespearesLife
WilliamShakespeareisregardedasoneofthefoundingfathersofliteratureandmodern
Englishasitis.TheepitomeofaRenaissanceman,hewroteactsactsofloveandtragedy,but
alsotouchedonthecomedicsideofpeopleinhisplays.Onlysomeofalltheamazingthings
Shakespearedid,canbesummarized,buthisimpressionwilllastforever.
Althoughmanywouldnotbelieve,modernEnglishwasthelanguageinwhich
Shakespearewrote.Whenmanypeoplereadhispieces,theyareoftenconfoundedbythe
complexandunfamiliarwordshechosetouse.Whatthesereadersdonotknow,isthatthis
languageisclosertomodernEnglishthanearlierexamplesofthewrittenlanguage.Incohesion
withhisnewwritingstyle,manynewwordsandphrasesweremadeupbyShakespeareatthis
time.Amultitudeofthesephrasesarestillquitecommonintodaysspeak,suchasfleshand
bloodandvanishintothinair,bothofwhicharecreditedtoShakespeare.Hemadealasting
impressiononthelanguagethatcannotbedisputed,butonethingthatisdebatableinregardsto
Shakespeareishislife.
ThebiggestdebateofShakespeareslifeistheverybeginning,sofarinthestart,itishis
birth.Thereisnobirthcertificate,oranythingfoundthatcandenotethedateofhisbirth,
howeverresearchesknowthathewasbaptizedApril26,1564.Itwastypicalthatababywas
baptizedthreedaysaftertheirbirth,soitisspeculatedthathewasbornonthe23rdofApril,that
sameyear.ThereisdocumentationofShakespearemarryingAnneHathawaywhenhewas
eighteenandshewastwentysix.HewenttoLondonaboutfouryearsafterhewed,andtriedto


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makehiswayasawriter.There,itisobviousthatShakespearebecamequitesuccessfulwhenhe
becameanofficialplaywrighttotheKingofEngland.Heroseuntowealthbecauseofthisjob,
andin1616Shakespearedied,leavinglittleofhislifetobeknown.Particularlyfunnytopublic
isthefactthatinhiswill,hewrotetogivehiswifehissecondbestbed,withinmostpeoples
mindwasanindicatorthatthemarriagemaynothavebeenthebestofjoy.Hislifemayhave
beenabitquestionable,butthestagelifeofhisplaysisjustasbizarre.
Inconsistenciesinthesettingofplays,madethenecessityofaversatileplayevenmore
great.Onesingleplaycouldbeperformedinamultitudeofarenasincludingindoortheaters,
courtyards,orroyalpalaces.Alsoseemingbizarretoaworldliketodayswasthefactthatall
partswereplayedbymales,eventhefemaleroles.Thecostumesthatthecharactersworewould
surelybeconsideredflamboyantandlavishinmoderntimes,andwouldpossiblybecategorized
asweird.Toaidwithalltheodditieswiththecharacters,thestagewasmainlybarewhenitcame
topropsandscenery.InsteadShakespeareusedhispowerfulanddescriptivelanguagetodiverge
fromtheemptystage,andwithhisdegreeofcomplicatesspeech,hiswordswereenoughtodo
thejob.Hisownpersonalcompanytriedtoaccommodatefortheindoorstagesetting,and
reachingtheirgoalin1609,whichcreatedawholenewintimatefeeltotheplay.
Asmillionsknow,andmillionswillsoonbefamiliarwith,Shakespearewasaleaderof
thetragic,writerofthecomedic,andfounderofpuns.Hewroteplaysthatarereadallaroundthe
country,evenallaroundtheworld,becauseofthepowerfulmessagesaboutlife,love,andloss.
Hewritesinahighdegreeofcomplexitythatisperfectforstudentstolearnandanalyzeontheir
explorationoftheEnglishlanguage.Weatherthereaderis15or55,theygetastrongmessage
thatcanbeappliedtothehumanexperienceoflife,stronglyinfluencedbytheideasofWilliam
Shakespearehimself.


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WorksCited
"Shakespeare'sTheater."
FolgerShakespeareLibrary
.N.p.,15Dec.2014.Web.31May2016.
"WilliamShakespeare."
WilliamShakespearetheGreatestEnglishPlaywright
.N.p.,2005.Web.
31May2016.
"TheHistoryoftheEnglishLanguageanIntroduction."
TheHistoryoftheEnglishLanguage
anIntroduction
.N.p.,n.d.Web.31May2016.