Which of William Shakespeare's works have you read. What do you like about them?
William Shakespeare's Works
I've read nearly everyhing, besides I red The Twelfth Night and Hamlet in English,very ols editions. Most of all I liked that the shape of letters "s" resembled "f" and that he used many words in a different meaning than we are using now
I've read Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Twelfth Night, As You Like It, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Merchant of Venice, Taming of the Shrew, the Tempest, Macbeth, Othello, and Julius Caesar (I looked at the list on Wikipedia, this isn't off the top of my head) in high school and college (I took a course on Shakespeare, though at my university that hardly means I can do more than give a plot overview).
For me, I thought his dialogs were very well written (once you get past the difficulty of some of the differences between my own dialect and Early Modern English). I wanted to do scriptwriting at college but ended up doing short stories in creative writing because I cannot write dialog to save my life. His ability to play words and twists of phrases and somehow make it convincing as every day speech (although naturally, no one is as quick on their feet as those in Shakespeare's plays).
For me, I thought his dialogs were very well written (once you get past the difficulty of some of the differences between my own dialect and Early Modern English). I wanted to do scriptwriting at college but ended up doing short stories in creative writing because I cannot write dialog to save my life. His ability to play words and twists of phrases and somehow make it convincing as every day speech (although naturally, no one is as quick on their feet as those in Shakespeare's plays).
Gosh, a lot. Julius Caesar, Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Hamlet, and MacBeth all in middle and high school, and in college I took a whole class on Shakespeare where I had to read ten plays, among them the Tempest, Richard II, King Lear, Henry IV Part 1, Henry V, Othello, the Merchant of Venice. There are probably a few others I've forgotten. I've also seen a few done live as plays, and watched a few of the movies.
When he gets going, he can be kind of fun -- I like his comedies more than his serious stuff, of course. And what's deadly boring and occasionally impenetrable on the page really comes alive when experienced as it was meant to be -- in a live performance. And I always appreciate a properly dirty mind, which Shakespeare had in spades.
When he gets going, he can be kind of fun -- I like his comedies more than his serious stuff, of course. And what's deadly boring and occasionally impenetrable on the page really comes alive when experienced as it was meant to be -- in a live performance. And I always appreciate a properly dirty mind, which Shakespeare had in spades.
Throughout the English speaking world (and I would guess pretty much outside of that as well) anybody who has been through the whole educational system up to university level will have dabbled in the works of Shakespeare at some point, and to varying degrees of intensity.
He has been the subject of discussion quite widely in this Forum so there is little I can add to what I have said before about this prolific exponent of the written word in this fantastic Language of ours. To my mind he will never be equalled in this respect no matter what. Familiarity with his works is widespread throughout the world, even outside the Engish speaking parts of it as I have said, and you only have to mention two word - The Bard - and everybody will know who you are referring to.
The man was a genius in capturing the entire spectrum of the human condition, which never changes with time - what does change is the way we handle it - and there is no aspect of human nature, or of what man or woman is capable of doing or saying or thinking, which has escaped the attention of The Bard in all his plays. Just scan through the titles of his works and you can clearly see that for yourself - the one closest to us in Scotland is, of course, "Macbeth", and the mere mention of that name conjures up dark and gloomy foreboding, while, conversely, "A Midsummer Night's Dream" immediately invokes impish fantasy and light hearted escapism. "A Comedy of Errors" speaks for itself, "King Lear" signifies tragedy and sibling rivalry. Valour in the face of battle and a deep passion for England (his homeland of course) are clearly demonstrated in "Henry V" and "Richard II".
For sheer romance and ultimate tragedy - well, "Romeo and Juliet" says it all and there are very few people across this planet who do not know at least something about this classic from the iny pen of the Bard of Avon.
No single human emotion is missing from any of Shakespeare's works - he covered the whole gamut of what we, as humans, are capable of expressing in whatever form, and that is no different now in our time than it was in his and he has now been dead for nearly 400 years.
He is easily the most quoted of any other writer of the English Language. Many people use his words in many everyday situations without realising where they originated. "Once more unto the breach, dear friends!" can be used by anyone rallying a group of people into action in whatever way. "Wherefore art thou?" (with or without the Romeo bit) is often said, often in frustration, when you are looking out for someone. England can still be referred to as "This blessed plot" or "This sceptered Isle".
Very many commonly used expressions in English stem from the works of Shakespeare - they all appeared, verbatim, in his various plays, and people now using them aren't aware that they were first penned by Will.
"What the Dickens....!" (nothing whatsoever to do with Charles Dickens.
"Into thin air" - lost without trace
"It's all Greek to me" - completely indecipherable
""Foregone conclusion"
"Brave new world" - yes, Shakespeare's own words and not George Orwell's
"One fell swoop" - done all in one go
"We have seen better days"
"Fair play" - justice and equality
"A dish for the Gods" - make that what you will
And that's just a few of very many more.
William Shakespeare has probably been the greatest literary gift England has ever donated to the world at large - apart from the English Language itself, of course! ;-)
He has been the subject of discussion quite widely in this Forum so there is little I can add to what I have said before about this prolific exponent of the written word in this fantastic Language of ours. To my mind he will never be equalled in this respect no matter what. Familiarity with his works is widespread throughout the world, even outside the Engish speaking parts of it as I have said, and you only have to mention two word - The Bard - and everybody will know who you are referring to.
The man was a genius in capturing the entire spectrum of the human condition, which never changes with time - what does change is the way we handle it - and there is no aspect of human nature, or of what man or woman is capable of doing or saying or thinking, which has escaped the attention of The Bard in all his plays. Just scan through the titles of his works and you can clearly see that for yourself - the one closest to us in Scotland is, of course, "Macbeth", and the mere mention of that name conjures up dark and gloomy foreboding, while, conversely, "A Midsummer Night's Dream" immediately invokes impish fantasy and light hearted escapism. "A Comedy of Errors" speaks for itself, "King Lear" signifies tragedy and sibling rivalry. Valour in the face of battle and a deep passion for England (his homeland of course) are clearly demonstrated in "Henry V" and "Richard II".
For sheer romance and ultimate tragedy - well, "Romeo and Juliet" says it all and there are very few people across this planet who do not know at least something about this classic from the iny pen of the Bard of Avon.
No single human emotion is missing from any of Shakespeare's works - he covered the whole gamut of what we, as humans, are capable of expressing in whatever form, and that is no different now in our time than it was in his and he has now been dead for nearly 400 years.
He is easily the most quoted of any other writer of the English Language. Many people use his words in many everyday situations without realising where they originated. "Once more unto the breach, dear friends!" can be used by anyone rallying a group of people into action in whatever way. "Wherefore art thou?" (with or without the Romeo bit) is often said, often in frustration, when you are looking out for someone. England can still be referred to as "This blessed plot" or "This sceptered Isle".
Very many commonly used expressions in English stem from the works of Shakespeare - they all appeared, verbatim, in his various plays, and people now using them aren't aware that they were first penned by Will.
"What the Dickens....!" (nothing whatsoever to do with Charles Dickens.
"Into thin air" - lost without trace
"It's all Greek to me" - completely indecipherable
""Foregone conclusion"
"Brave new world" - yes, Shakespeare's own words and not George Orwell's
"One fell swoop" - done all in one go
"We have seen better days"
"Fair play" - justice and equality
"A dish for the Gods" - make that what you will
And that's just a few of very many more.
William Shakespeare has probably been the greatest literary gift England has ever donated to the world at large - apart from the English Language itself, of course! ;-)
I find it difficult to believe that Shakespeare was the very first person to say "fair play". And Huxley wrote Brave New World. Orwell wrote 1984.
Several expressions are mangled versions of Shakespeare quotes. Here are some examples:
Gilding the lily, (if I remember correctly).
Shuffle off of this mortal coil.
Music sooths the savage beast.
Some Shakespeare himself got wrong. For instance, he said "all that glitters is not gold", when he should have said "not all that glitters is gold".
Several expressions are mangled versions of Shakespeare quotes. Here are some examples:
Gilding the lily, (if I remember correctly).
Shuffle off of this mortal coil.
Music sooths the savage beast.
Some Shakespeare himself got wrong. For instance, he said "all that glitters is not gold", when he should have said "not all that glitters is gold".
Shakespeare receives a lot of credit for 'inventing words' although that claim is dubious at best.