I think I've probably mentioned it, but there are an endless amount of allusions to Shakespeare throughout our culture. I've even heard allusions to Shakespeare on the soap opera The Young and the Restless! (Yes, I watch it. It's trash. I love it. But hey--if they're quoting Shakespeare it can't be that bad!!!) Why? Because Shakespeare's plays, plots, and characters are real life. Even though we may not see actual ghosts on the top of our castles, we (as a society) deal with step-parents, lost love, jealously, mental illness, war, murder, and all of the countless other subjects of his plays, on a daily basis. I think that's why Shakespeare is used so much still today. His plays mirror the many aspects of our lives.
What do you think? What allusions can you remember? Did any of those listed in the chapter sound familiar? Why do you think Shakespeare is so popular?
I think Shakespeare is so popular because he wrote about things humans experience. Things like love and loss and temptation. Some of the allusions in this chapter sounded familiar. Especially " To be or not to be? That is the question." Everybody has heard that quote at some point in their lives.
ReplyDeleteShakespeare is still popular today from the way he related to human experience and feeling back in his time. His stories were so original that present authors still reference back to him for help. Like nicole said, there isn't person who doesnt know Shakespeare or hasn't heard a quote from him.
ReplyDeleteA few of the allusions in the chapter sounded familiar. Shakespeare is everywhere in literature. Everybody has heard the story of Romeo and Juliet, or even read it. I think it is one of the most used allusions throughout literature. I think that Shakespeare is so popular because he relates to the reader so well. Everyone esxperiences what he writes about in his many comedies and tragedies.
ReplyDeleteEveryone thinks of Shakespeare as some genius because it was like he could write in a different language. That's why its hard sometimes to understand his work, because in today's world no one talks the way he wrote. I think most authors want to include Shakespeare somewhere in their work because he was original and unique and they want their story to have that same value.
ReplyDeleteThis reminded me of the last chapter because shakespeare's ideas are often plots that have been borrowed. He wrote about so many things that people still experience today and so many people can relate to his works so well because of this. Some of the quotes took me a minute to try and remember but the one I for sure knew, like Nicole, was "To be or not to be? That is the question." Many quotes like that one are even used in silly cartoons that kids watch and grow up later to find out how and why Shakespeare was so famous (like me for example).
ReplyDeleteI think that Shakespeare is still popular today because he writes about events that humans go through. Today's writes often refer back to Shakespeare because his writing are unique and actually original. It also gives the writings of today's writers a type of authority. Some of the quotes from the book seemed familiar even though it took me a while to recognize them.
ReplyDeleteShakespeare is still popular today because he was one of the first people to really write about the actually feelings of human experiences and therefore we can relate to it and the fact that he wrote about human experiences we relate it to our society today, so thats why I think he is still popular and people here a quote from him and can already know that its a quote from Shakespeare.
ReplyDeleteShakespeare is still around today because he was one of the first well known authors. Also, his stories may not of been true to him, but they were true to human life in general. He captivated readers with stories like Romeo and Juliet and The Tempest. His stories are still so popular today because they still mean things to society.
ReplyDeleteThis chapter relates to the previous because Shakespeare is often borrowed for other literary works. I think Shakespeare was the closest thing to original of his time because he wrote about real life, nothing fantasy. He related all his characters to problems that people have everyday and that's why i believe he had so much success, people can relate to his characters. Authors allude to his works because they know that the readers will be able to relate to these 'borrowed' characters and ideas. One allusion I remember from that list is Double, Double, Toil and Trouble. I've always heard that growing up from but didn't know where it originated and Something wicked this way comes is used in Harry Potter.
ReplyDeleteShakespeare is so popular because of the events he wrote about that humans go through, and many authors today base their stories on Shakespeare's ideas. The author said that Shakespeare provides a figure for new writers who struggle, with a source of text that lets the new writer bounce ideas off what he has already written. A few of the allusions that were listed seemed familiar to me, but I think they are different versions of most of them.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the fact that Shakespeare is real life. He didn’t just write to entertain he wrote about things that actually happen and things that happened to him. I think we need more of that, to many things give us this false sense of life, like life should be a fairy tale. The movie 10 things I hate about you is a reproduction of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew which is mentioned several times in this book. Definitely, the quote “The better part of valor is discretion” I have heard many times. A lot of this relates to the last chapter about how all stories derive from others. A lot of these plays have recurring characters just under different names. I think shakespeare is so popular because as stated in the last chapter his plays relate to real life, his plays remind us of things that have happened in our lives. Only what happens to us is in a more modern way just with the same basic idea or problem.
ReplyDeleteShakespeare really is everywhere. He wrote about human feelings and situations that weren't normally accepted in society back then, and everyone could relate to his stories. I think that he his most commonly quoted because school emphasizes on Shakespeare so much and it is everywhere, it has been driven into our heads and we know his quotes the most.
ReplyDeleteShakespeare is still around today because, like you mentioned, he writes about things people of all kinds can relate to. Although, at first it is very hard to under stand once you pick it apart it is all very clear. One example of his work would be Julius Ceasar. His men plotted against him and killed him because of their own jealousy and thirst for power. Not everyone goes to the extent of murdering their best friend but jealousy is something we can all relate to. Also the famous Romeo and Juliet, everyone has read that or at least heard of it, and can relate to love.
ReplyDeleteShakespere is really popular because of the simple fact that he wrote plays and other things based on real life. People want to know about other peoples lives and Shakespere did it in a great way. Not only did he write just based on the period he was in, but because it happens in real life right now too and some things dont change
ReplyDeleteI agree. I think Shakespeare's ideas are still popular today because 100 years ago people still dealt with the same problems that we all face today. I remember Romeo and Juliet. It is defiantly relevant in our day to day lives. Parents aren't always going to approve of the people their kids date. Most of the time the parents turn out to be right but in the case of Romeo and Juliet, they knew they were in love and wouldn't let anyone else stand in the way. Also, Julius Ceasar is still relevant today. Power hungry leaders never succeed. This was shown with Sadam Hussain. He thought he could kill innocent people and not loose a wink of sleep at night. But oh, buddy! Best believe we learned from Hitler how to overthrow your tail!
ReplyDeleteShakespeare is and will always be around. This is because he wrote about what an average person may go through, whether they are a peasant or a king. Everyone can relate to one of Shakespeare's characters, a person who knows they can't be with the one they love could relate to Romeo and Juliet. Someone who was betrayed by their best friend could relate to Julius Caesar. The famous lines that the author listed are still thrown around constantly today. In movies, plays, music, books, etc. Every writer looks up to Shakespeare in some way.
ReplyDeleteI AM HUMAN. i have stress. i have passion. shakespeare wrote about my stress and mistakes and passions. Im not sure if that makes him original writing about things that conflict people on a day to day bases. So on that note yes shakespeare is popular and will be for all time because those base human emotions will always be around. we will always make mistakes. have stress and passion or we wouldn't live
ReplyDeleteI believe that the reason that Shakespeare was and still is so popular today is because he wrote about things that everyone can relate to. Things that we face and have to deal with in our every day lives. Things like betrayal, jealousy, love, death, etc.
ReplyDeleteShakespeare relates to our lives today. He wrote about comedies, tragedies, and romance, which all relate to our life some how and in someway. Every human experiences one of these things, if not many at least once in their life and can relate. Shakespeare writing about these things, makes him come up more and more. Romeo and Juliet comes to mind when I think of Shakespeare, and in literature the story line often comes up.
ReplyDeleteShakespeare wrote things that were part of life, he just wrote them in a different and unique way. People can generally relate to something in his stories and they usually remember it. Im sure that almost everyone can quote a line from him. People relate to other people in different ways.
ReplyDeleteShakespeare was the genius of his age, He watched what humans did and he wrote about it. He was the albert einstein of his age. So, just because his plays were all about the human experience, they were easy to make allusions to. Without shakespeare, we might not have ever been able to make these connections in literature.
ReplyDeleteI think Shakespeare’s so popular because he hit the nail on the head. He’s one of those people that was just able to produce literature that really captivated people and inspired them. He was able to make such a strong connection from life, that he could produce literature that people just love. I personally haven’t voluntarily read and Shakespeare, because I’m absolutely terrible at reading Ye Olde English, but I’m pretty sure that I’ll get to voluntarily reading most (if not all) of his works before I die. Anyway, the reason we see so much of Shakespeare, even in today’s society, is because he made such an impact in his own time.
ReplyDeleteShakespeare is so popular because he talked about real stuff, thinks that happen everyday. People want to read real characters who have similar situations to the real world. That is why he is so popular. I had heard tons of those phrases listed in the chapter, you see them all the time. I believe I may have even said them once or twice. I overall thought this chapter was good. I do like some of Shakespeare's work especially Romeo and Juliet. I agree with Sarah Mccracken though I have a hard time reading that "Ye Olde Enligh."
ReplyDeleteI liked this chapter. I agree with what the author is saying. Shakespeare's work can be found EVERYWHERE!!! Movies, TV shows, Books, you name it. I can recall many examples, but i will only list a few. Allusions are found throughout all of Star Trek, the TV shows and movies, including plots and quotes from Macbeth, Hamlet, and many others. Another example is Lion King. The plot is loosely based off the plot of Hamlet. There were a few of the allusions listed in the chapter that were familiar. One of those was Moonlighting. I really like that TV show. I remember watching the episode described in the book. But, one thing that the author left out was that the whole TV show was based off of the play Taming of the Shrew. Brave New World was also familiar. I have not read it yet. But it is next on my list. I am planning on checking it out of the library first time i get a chance. I think Shakespeare is so popular because of all the plots and archetype characters found in his plays. There are so many things for people to base their ideas off of.
ReplyDeleteI don't think people try to relate things to Shakespeare but since Shakespeare did so much most thinks can be related to one of his works. Also just about everyone knows of Shakespeare's work, making it easy to relate to.
ReplyDeleteShakespeare is so widely know because he wrote about things that happen all the time. Like in Romeo and Juliet, guys and girls fall in love all the time but aren't allowed to be together because of some conflict, such as parents not liking the guy or girl, the guy going off to war, or one/both of them dying in an accident.
ReplyDeletei think that Shakespeare is so popular and is referenced to so much because he wrote about things that everyone goes threw, anyone can read Shakespeare story, may not understand how they talk, but they can all understand and relate to the main point. I agree with victoria romeo and juliet is a good example, no not all of us are gonna fall in love and then have our love fake dead and then kill ourselves but the basic idea is true, people fall in love with people they aren't suppose to sometimes. I'm sure everyone can think of someone they have liked and they knew for a fact that their parents wouldn't approve.
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ReplyDeleteShakesepeare wrote about lives we envy. We're infatuated with love, the pain that's often a side effect, the fall, betrayal by those we trust the most. All of it. We can all relate to liking someone we can't have. Whether due to social standing, race, or religion. Maybe our families aren't at war, maybe we don't have amazing parties at our homes, but we can understand the unattainable person. Put yourself in Juliet's mind. You're, what, 14? You're being set up to marry a man far older than you. Your parents have a party, and low and behold, you meet a handsome fella. You quickly fancy this fella. Of course you do. Given your circumstance, being forced to care about someone, you'd become a lot more desperate to feel something for someone. It's basic teenage rebellion. He's the son of your fathers enemy? Sweet. Point is, we can relate to Shakespeare. That thrill that you get when you're hearing about Romeo and Juliet for the first time, that hope that they'll both live, that happily ever after? We crave it in our own lives. The edge of your seat feeling. The excitement over living a life worth telling about. I think maybe Romeo and Juliet is so popular because people love beauty in their tragedy. Self-sacrifice is near always deemed beautiful. We see enough tragedy that's a result of hate, ignorance, racism, anything like that. Tragedy from love? It sits a bit different in us.
ReplyDeleteGranted, I think Romeo and Juliet is just a tad overrated.
One Shakespeare allusion I can think of is Kahlan and Richard in Terry Goodkind's novels. Basically, they get together, the world comes to an end. Long story. As with Romeo and Juliet, their life, and their death, is far bigger than them.