Is Shakespeare Still Relevant

Karlee Mello
Is Shakespeare Still Relevant Today? “Oh, what a noble mind is here o'erthrown!— The courtier’s, soldier’s, scholar’s, eye, tongue, sword, Th' expectancy and rose of the fair state, The glass of fashion and the mould of form, Th' observed of all observers, quite, quite down! And I, of ladies most deject and wretched, That sucked the honey of his music vows, Now see that noble and most sovereign reason Like sweet bells jangled, out of tune and harsh; That unmatched form and feature of blown youth Blasted with ecstasy. Oh, woe is me, T' have seen what I have seen, see what I see!” You may be saying to yourself right now, what did I just read? or Why is this important at all? Well what you just read was a monologue from on of William Shakespeare’s famous plays Hamlet. Now you may be questioning why that is relevant to today when Shakespeare died so long ago? Well it is actually extremely relevant, Shakespeare has been relevant for many years. There are many reasons as to why Shakespeare is relevant.
According to Petri (2012) “Whenever I want to depress myself, I make a list of Shakespeare plays and cross out all the ones whose plots would be ruined if any character had a smartphone. It’s a depressingly short list.” (Petri, 2012) “Romeo and Juliet would just text each other about the poison, audiences would point out. Why doesn’t Hermia use her GPS? If he was so worried about the ideas, Caesar should have just telecommuted.” (Petri, 2012) “There’s a certain level of celebrity occupied by people who are famous primarily because they are famous.” (Petri, 2012) “He’s an awfully hard man to nail down. As a historical figure he is proverbially skittish. He may have been Francis Bacon, for pete’s sake. His play’s still tell the truth, boiled down to their essences.” (Petri, 2012) In conclusion Petri says In their proper place, the bright lines that have since sunk into cliche still retain their power to dazzle. Write what you know? Shakespeare adamantly didn’t. But in the process, he wrote what we all know. And he didn’t need a smartphone to do it.” (Petri, 2012)

Another Idea by Stephenson (2009) is William Shakespeare’s legacy of written words, ensures his relevance to society, past and present never wanes. “His characters and stories reveal universal truths about the human condition in a way we all can relate to; whether it is the tragic outcome of unchecked greed and ambition, an unrelenting desire for revenge, or the pursuit of love.” (Stephenson, 2009) “His representation of the human spirit is just as relevant today, as it has been through the centuries.” (Stephenson, 2009) “For such a prolific writer , it is truly amazing that Shakespeare continually produced both poetry and prose of such high standard! Thought the language itself may seem daunting at first glance, a teacher or study guide will assist in helping you interpret the words, so you can fully appreciate and indeed marvel at their potency.” (Stephenson, 2009) It is genuinely memorable, moving and mesmerizing. “His works teach us the power of words as an instrument of communication.” (Stephenson, 2009) “A successful writer keeps his reader engaged, explores pertinent issues, challenges thoughts and opinions, and uses effective language to convey the content. In conclusion” (Stephenson, 2009) Stephenson says Shakespeare ticks all the boxes… and then some!
A third writer Dekker (2011) states that Four hundred years away from his time and as far as possible from his place, Shakespeare has not lost his following. “Shakespeare is one of the great studiers of life. His observations are poignant and relevant and challenging.” (Dekker, 2011) “Henry V is about war and the politics of nations, danger and excitement, vibrant and contemporary to debate in any country. Winter’s Tale is about redemption and how we forgive each other, and is an important and humanising conversation to have.” (Dekker, 2011) “Shakespeare remains relevant because he still exists in the consciousness of people, is still part of our culture and in a world sense is relevant as an artist. His words still attract a readership, study and interest in production.” (Dekker, 2011) In conclusion Dekker says, His works exist as individual works of art and also a whole body, part of our psyche and culture ... one of the pillars of civilisation.
A fourth source Hong (2009) is that The language is now archaic, 500 years since the plays were first performed in Elizabethan England. “His plays touch on timeless themes such as love, friendship and vengeance. Who has not heard of one of the most classic love stories of all times, Romeo And Juliet? This story about the star-crossed lovers, doomed to separation by their feuding families, has been adapted countless times for stage, film, musicals and opera.” (Hong, 2009) The characters are fallible and real. “The characters in Shakespeare are like you or me, even though they may be kings, queens or noblemen and women.” (Hong, 2009) “Repository of commonly used phrases and words today. It is no fluke that Shakespeare is the most quoted author in the Oxford Dictionary. Some of his phrases are so well known that we have forgotten the man who first said it. Like 'a rose by any other name', or 'parting is such sweet sorrow', or 'the world is my oyster'.” (Hong, 2009) Gave voice to the marginalised in society. “Shakespeare was quite forward-thinking for his time, especially in an age when women were not even allowed to perform on stage. His female characters (then played by men) were not sidelined; in fact, many of them had critical roles to play in his dramas.” (Hong, 2009) This author concludes that The Bard has not become obsolete because he wrote about human issues that have remained unchanged over the years.
Yet another Idea, from Bantick (2013) is that Shakespeare was an A-list personality. Since his passing, his life has been anything but his own. Shakespeare continues to divide opinion. “The problem with Shakespeare is not so much the plots of the plays or the historical times, but the language. All those thees and thous are a turn-off, it seems. Really? The evidence says otherwise. If Shakespeare was such a turn-off why, then, would The Bell Shakespeare Company, for example, be performing to more than 80,000 school children in all states and territories annually? Simply put, Shakespeare is clearly alive.” (Bantick, 2013) The point about Shakespeare is that he still speaks to audiences today. “Why, then, is the teaching of Shakespeare not explicit in the National Curriculum, whereas indigenous and Asian literature is? This is denying children the opportunity to discover the Bard.” (Bantick, 2013) “Not relevant? Too hard? Not really. Take the tragedy Romeo & Juliet This tender teenage love story is about passion beyond the expectations of an arranged marriage, which goes fatally wrong. It still has huge appeal. So much so that there is now a "tweet version".” (Bantick, 2013) This author concludes that, What does not change is that Shakespeare speaks to us wherever we are and in whatever time. The world is indeed a stage and we are mere players, if not posting, on it.
Another Idea by Lloyd (2013) is In secondary schools today we force our children to study Shakespeare from first form through to till fifth form and for those fortunate few also in sixth form.