It would be an understatement to say that William Shakespeare left his mark on the world. He has left an impression on our theatre, our writings, and even the way we speak. The writer has influenced a number of famous authors and his reach doesn’t show signs of stopping anytime soon. In fact, we can even see his influence on aspiring authors today.

William Shakespeare is truly a titan when it comes to literature, theatre, and culture. He has gone beyond simply being a muse for aspiring writers and stepped into the realm of helping to conceive many of the basic grammar rules that writers employ today. You can even see his influence when you are looking for a paper writing service.

In this article, we are going to take a look at how Shakespeare’s influence is still alive and well today even after 400 years.

Shakespeare Is More Than An Assignment

Before we get into the lasting influences of Shakespeare, it is important to consider who reads Shakespeare.

To think that Shakespeare’s works are reserved for bored high school and college students is a glaring misconception. Today, Shakespeare is one of the world’s all-time best selling authors with over 4 billion copies of his work sold since their creation.

This means that there are many out there who enjoy Shakespeare leisurely. This expands the reach of the author beyond what it would be because this means that there are aspiring authors out there absorbing the influence of his lesser known works rather than just rereading Romeo and Juliet for the 15th time.

Use of Language

Any writer today can tell you the importance of painting a scene in words. The significance of figurative language is not lost on today’s author.

Shakespeare did more than just use language to his advantage. When he came to a point when he couldn’t figure out what to say, he created language to fit the scene. While today’s writers may not be adding to the English language, they are definitely using words that Shakespeare crafted for us all those years ago. Some of these words are listed below as an example.

• Amazement
• Impede
• Lackluster
• Laughable
• Lonely
• Obscene
• Impartial
• Majestic
• Bloodstained
• Compromise

Standardization of Grammar

There is more to what Shakespeare offered the English language than just coining new words. He also coined many of the grammar rules that writers today use. This is partially because the English language wasn’t standardized until the publication of Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary of the English Language in 1755 – nearly 139 years after Shakespeare’s death!

An example of a grammar rule that Shakespeare helped to invent was the use of prefixes to change the meaning of words. For example, adding the prefix “un-” to the word “comfortable” to create the opposite word: uncomfortable. This example can be found for the first time spoken by Capulet in Romeo and Juliet;

“Despised, distressed, hated, martyr’d, kill’d! Uncomfortable time, why camest thou now to murder, murder our solemnity?” (Act 4, Scene 5)

Blank Verse

While Shakespeare’s plays may be the first thing that comes to mind for many people, he is also the author of 154 sonnets and created a lasting effect on poetry. Namely, he coined the use of a technique called “blank verse”.

Blank verse is a verse that doesn’t rhyme that uses iambic pentameter. Iambic pentameter is a line that lasts 5, literary metrical feet. It follows a pattern of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.

While this is crucial to Shakespeare’s sonnets, it is also present in his plays. A simple Google search of the terms “iambic pentameter” or “blank verse” almost automatically bring up Shakespeare’s examples, including the following;

“Two households, both alike in dignity.” (“Romeo and Juliet”)

“If music be the food of love, play on.” (“Twelfth Night”)

Metaphors in Writing

Another piece of language that Shakespeare imposes on his readers is the use of metaphors. This was especially crucial since he wrote plays, giving him only dialogue to describe the scene to readers when these plays weren’t being performed. Looking back on his work, the reader can derive colorful dialogue that inspires current writers to go beyond characters just simply stating what they mean but instead using a character’s words as a way to design a scene.

A good example of Shakespeare using colorful metaphors to create a scene in dialogue lies in his play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

“My gentle Puck, come hither. Thou remember’st

Since once I sat upon a promontory,

And heard a mermaid, on a dolphin’s back,

Uttering such dulcet and harmonious breath,

That the rude sea grew civil at her song;

And certain stars shot madly from their sphere,

To hear the sea-maid’s music.”

(Act 2, Scene 1)

If there is one writer that aspiring writers look to for the inspiration of greatness, it is William Shakespeare.

The word ‘fool’ is rather loosely used these days but it is a technical term in Shakespeare’s plays. The fool in Elizabethan drama is someone employed to entertain a king or a duke or any other rich person who needs someone to entertain him. The convention in Elizabethan drama is that the fool is the most insightful and intelligent man in the play. He is not to be confused with a clown: in Shakespeare’s time ‘clown’ was a simple rural man – a yokel.

The fool is a very important character in a Shakespeare play as he fulfils two important functions:

1. He has licence to speak truth to power with no holds barred – in a context where no-one else dare do that, for fear of their lives –  and he acts like the chorus in Greek drama – commenting on the characters and the action for the benefit of the audience.
2. He is usually the wisest character in the play. The other characters refer to him as ‘the fool’ and we usually know him as ‘the jester.’ He does not normally have a dramatic role but some fools do.

Some other of Shakespeare’s characters are often referred to as fools. There are many of them, the most notable of which are characters like Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Dogberry in Much Ado About Nothing but, fools that they are in the modern sense of the word, they are not technically true Shakespearean fools.

The four fools in Shakespeare’s plays are the following:

Feste, in Twelfth Night

Feste is probably the most famous of Shakespeare’s fools. His job is to entertain by singing and dancing, and making jokes, but he is an important member of Olivia’s household because of her respect for him. He moves freely among the other characters and also freelances by disappearing from Olivia’s house and singing and dancing for other patrons. He is highly intelligent with an extraordinary command of language. Olivia constantly asks his opinion. He is interesting, also, in that apart from his jestering activities he plays a major dramatic role in the play. With that role, and his conventional fool role, where he looks in at the action, he is both inside and outside the play, which makes him an almost postmodern character.

Touchstone, in As You Like It

Touchstone is Duke Frederick’s court jester. He is quick witted and an astute observer of human nature. His commentary on the other characters runs continuously throughout the play. He is quite cynical and his comments on the characters are often quite caustic. He is notable for his facility with language; he can twist any argument and he loves to nitpick about everything. He is full of wise sayings and frequently talks about the wisdom of foolishness.

The Fool in King Lear

The fool does not have a name and is called, simply, ‘Fool.’ He is Lear’s constant companion and accompanies him on his journey into madness and eventually death when he, just before Lear’s death, is hanged by those who have imprisoned Lear. In this play the fool functions as the inner consciousness of the foolish king, who is foolish while his fool is wise. The Fool is Lear’s alter ego and constantly comments on Lear’s relentless folly. Every time Lear does something foolish, like giving up all his power to his daughters, the fool rubs it in. When Lear finally achieves a measure of understanding about how lacking in wisdom he has been there is no need for the Fool, who dies.

Trinculo, in The Tempest

Trunculo is an exception to the concept of the wise fool: he is Alonso’s court jester, who is shipwrecked with the royal party and separated from them. He is extremely stupid and teams up with Alonso’s drunken butler Stephano and Prospero’s indigenous servant, Caliban, in a plot to stage a coup against Prospero. Trinculo and Stephano are so stupid and ineffectual that their efforts and antics provide some of the best comedy in Shakespeare.

So that’s your lot for Shakespeare’s real fools – bet you didn’t know there were only actually 4 of them!

This guest blog post was written by Veronika Porobanyuk, marketing manager of Ning website builder. She is passionate about travelling, cooking, discovering new places, and of course, writing.

Shakespeare’s work inspired and introduced many generations to the world of plays and drama. We all are amazed and get inspired by something so profound and legendary as his work. For centuries, he was the core moving force in our educational system and managed to cultivate many young people in the transitional adulthood process.

Technological advancements in the past 20 years improved our learning experience and made us dependent on e-learning methods and the Internet. This is the reason behind the eagerness of so many educational institutions for building a school website. In fact, the online approach is more effective than the traditional one. You need to create a classroom website to increase the level of interest among young children and students.

Unfortunately, having interactive and visual educational experiences is not enough.  Although we live in a world were visual and the graphic material show stellar results, still the attention span of the students and children is decreasing.

Fortunately, content is still the king, especially quality and meaningful educational material like William Shakespeare’s work.  There are a lot of ways to involve and engage students simply by using the best work of the legendary Shakespeare.  We have compiled a list of things you can do with Shakespeare’s best work in order to improve the knowledge of English and history in children and students.

1. Use Movies Based On Shakespeare’s Plays

There is no better way to raise the interest in his work then quoting or watching movies based on his plays. Pop phenomenon Romeo + Juliet (1996) with Leonardo Di Caprio as a lead role is a perfect material you can use to spark an interest in teenagers and children. Create a classroom website, post quotes from the movie and afterwards analyze and discuss Shakespeare’s original play. In the end, you will have students that will be touched on a deep emotional and intellectual level by his work and along the process learn more about history.

2. Make It A Privilege

Shakespeare’s plays are something that students only get to do if their all other activities are finished successfully and they are well behaved. Give extra credits to students that like to get involved in his work. Discuss his work with excitement and anticipation. Never give up and make them believe that reading his work is a must and mandatory activity in order to become successful and functional adult.

3. Assign Different Play Roles Every Day

Bring back to life his plays by assigning roles to your students every day that can be played during the English class. You can make an online lottery system where each week different students will be assigned to different roles that they will have to prepare for. Create your own classroom website and involve your students there, it will be fun and interactive for each age group.

4. Use Real-Life Comparisons

Finding real-life analogies, between their lives and the plays that they will be doing can help a lot. You can even start an online community where they can share their similar personal experiences and discuss complex issues in more serious manner. Building a school website that will serve the students is a must if you want to achieve full cohesion. They must be able to relate to the scenes in order for them to engage.  His plays are universal, with themes that can relate to anyone, however, you should help them to find the connections.

Final Thoughts

Shakespeare’s work mixed with the brand-new technology can be effective and educational. Create a classroom website where your students can express themselves and find e-learning material easier.  There is no better way to learn English and history than William’s creations. His work is timeless and will stay in the educational system forever.

Shakespeare had little formal education beyond a few years in his local grammar school. In a poem praising him as a great genius, his friend, Ben Jonson, concluded with something that had probably been a bit of a joke among his educated friends, that he had “small Latin and lesse Greeke”. When Shakespeare began working in the London theatre he found that all his colleagues were far better educated, some to a very high level, where they would have had a solid grounding in Latin and Greek culture and literature.

But Shakespeare was a fast learner and a prolific reader, and an intellect and talent far beyond that of his colleagues, and his lack of Greek wouldn’t have been a problem as he would have had access to translations of Latin and Greek texts.  His plays and poems are sprinkled with references to characters in classical literature, and in 1609 he wrote Troilus and Cressida, based on the Trojan War, depicted in Homer’s Iliad.

While other writers, like Christopher Marlowe, used Greek and Roman mythology, astrology and philosophy, showing off their knowledge, to create sophisticated, ‘educated’ imagery, Shakespeare would find the perfect classical reference to illuminate some aspect of a character. There are 53 classical allusions in Titus Andronicus, 39 in Antony and Cleopatra, 38 in Love’s Labour Lost, 37 in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 31 in Cymberline, 26 in Coriolanus, 25 in Romeo and Juliet, 25 in All’s Well that Ends Well, 25 in Pericles, 19 in Hamlet, 11 in Othello, 8 in Macbeth and  8 in King Lear. All of them are devices he uses to bring out aspects of his characters.

One of Shakespeare’s plays, Troilus and Cressida, is set during the Trojan War.  He may have got the idea from reading George Chapman’s translation of Homer. Shakespeare knew George Chapman, as they both worked in the London theatre at the same time, was not only a playwright but also a poet, and has been mentioned by many as Shakespeare’s rival to the mantel of greatest sonneteer. He was an educated man, and, although he doesn’t stand now as one of the top playwrights of the time, what he is still remembered for is as a translator of classical literature. His greatest work as translator is his Homer. He spent many years on it and began publishing his work in progress, the Iliad, in instalments, in 1598. Shakespeare would have been following the episodes, and he wrote his Troilus and Cressida in 1609.

Troilus and Cressida is not the story of the Trojan War as such. Homer deals in heroic storytelling, telling the tale of the war on a grand scale. His characters are more or less mechanical – they people the great story of the war. Shakespeare, on the other hand, writes dramas about people and their individual concerns. In this play the war is only the backdrop to the intensely personal story of the two young people. The story of Cressida and her lover, Troilus, is a human story that could happen anywhere, at any time, during any war. The other characters, too, could exist at any time.

As usual with Shakespeare, when he writes about real historical figures, as he does in his history and Roman plays, or, as in the case of Troilus and Cressida, about characters that appear in the fictions of earlier writers, he comes to own them for all time. There is no other way of looking at Brutus or Cassius or Richard III or Henry V or Cleopatra once Shakespeare has recreated them in his own Shakespearean image. Our perception of the young Troilus and Cressida of the Iliad, and indeed, the other characters, Agamemnon, Achilles, Ajax, Pandarus, Priam, Hecuba, Helen, Cassandra, and so on comes mainly from Shakespeare rather than from Homer. Each of those characters comes to life in Shakespeare’s hands in his Troilus and Cressida, and the fact that most of them bear no resemblance whatsoever to Homer’s characters is immaterial. We sit back and enjoy the drama with all its humour, joy, pain, suffering and tragedy. The result of Shakespeare’s treatment of the lovers is that they come across to all generations from the 17th Century to the present time, as people we might know, young lovers caught in the circumstances of the time and events in which they live.

Shakespeare was not particularly interested in mythology, history, geography – his interest in those things were that they were good sources for the dramas he made. His characters are all essentially Elizabethan English men and women set in mythological, historical and remote geographical settings. Troilus and Cressida are such Elizabethan characters. Homer barely mentions them but Shakespeare, with a nose for a good story, grasped them and made a story out of them. And so, apart from the fleeting references to Greek and Roman mythology in several plays, the way that Shakespeare used mythology was to look for things that would make plays that would bring the audiences in and let his imagination take over.