Shakespeare's Legacy: Hamlet & Beyond - Essay Example

Ever since the name William Shakespeare had its first appearance in the entertaining and erotic poem, “Venus and Adonis” in 1593, the name has still mattered to date. The poem is a sensation and one of the most printed editions of his work before his demise in 1616. Undoubtedly, Shakespeare knew how to well combine entertainment and intellect, convincing and popular appeal with literariness with “Hamlet” becoming one among the most relevant plays of Shakespeare. Via a combination of comic and tragic tones, he intensely studied human nature and provided a detailed and concrete human mind analysis in Hamlet and Macbeth. His literature is still relatable in modern society as comparing ourselves to the characters over four centuries is still relevant to contemporary society. Additionally, conversing about the plays aids in relationship building.

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The works of Shakespeare can offer amusement, shock, entertainment, inform, movement, and appalling. He stares life in the face and provides a profound view of what it might be like if we imagined and hoped enough, just like in “Twelfth Night” or “What You Will.” In his work “King Lear,” he warns the humankind of what might happen if we behaved with cruelty. All of “King Lear” feels like a timeless prophecy on the fall of civilization, whereby human beings could all of a sudden turn into monsters of the deep and attack each other regardless of the morals and standards (Cavanaugh, n.p).

Shakespeare collection of works reflects life experiences ranging from the youth’s naïve optimism to the pessimism, bitterness, resignation, and acceptance. Whatever the circumstances and age, there are human attributes in the plays that are accessible. For instance, when in a moody adolescent, one could respond to Hamlet’s adolescent moodiness (McInnis, n.p). Shakespeare is with no doubt, an intelligent human psyche’s observer. He deeply recognizes the characters from different viewpoints and gives the audience the chance to understand why the individual sees himself f as reasonable.

One among the many reasons why the works of Shakespeare are still relevant is that his plays included timeless themes on love, vengeance and friendship. In the famous play “Romeo and Juliet,” it is visible of how the love theme played a fundamental role in the play (Cavanaugh, n.p). To date, the theme of love in the play has accorded the play one among the best-written plays. His works though written over 400 years ago are still relevant and relatable to date as they even inspire movies such as the 1996 film “Romeo and Juliet” starring Leonardo Dicaprio.

Just as witnessed in the above paragraphs, the works of Shakespeare matter, reflect on human conditions, and still relatable to date; a clear indication that his set of canons are still relevant. His plays are full of quotes always appropriate in modern society. It is even surprising people use lots of quotes today, not knowing their first origin was in the works of Shakespeare. With the textual evidence above, the study can confidently say that Shakespeare still matters to date and even in years to come.

Works Cited

Cavanaugh, Tim. “Does Shakespeare Suck, or Is He Relatable?” National Review, National Review, 25 July 2016, www.nationalreview.com/2014/09/does-shakespeare-suck-or-he-relatable-tim-cavanaugh/.

Dr David McInnis, Gerry Higgins Lecturer in Shakespeare Studies. Why Shakespeare Still Matters. 31 Aug. 2020, pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/why-shakespeare-still-matters.