Shakespeares World Essay -- essays research papers

Shakespeares World     Almost invariablyy nation on earth reads, studies and performs the works ofWilliam Shakespeare. No writer of any country, nor any age, has ever enjoyedsuch global popularity. Neither has any writer been so praised. As WilliamHazlitt observed, "The most striking peculiarity of Shakespeares mind was itsgeneric quality, its power of communication with all opposite minds." It is possiblythis quality that has earned Shakespeare the supreme accolade, that of lendinghis name to an era. Other than a monarch or an emperor, few can boast that atime or place is so exclusively theirs. As we talk about Napoleonic Europe orVictorian England, so we speak of Shakespearean London or the Age of Shakespeare.No other artist, let alone writer, has had their name inscribed on such atowering edifice. "Thou in our wonder and astonishment, hast built thyself along-live monument," wrote Milton, in praise of Shakespeare.     S hakespeare is by far and without doubt the most popular and successfulwriter of all time. But what of the man himself? Who was William Shakespeare?     The life of William Shakespeare is shrouded in mystery. There is no set down of him receiving an education, buying a book or writing a single letter,and no original manuscript of a Shakespeare shoo-in survives. There is no directrecord of his conversations, and no one in his home town seems to have knownthat he was a successful playwright spell he was alive. There is not even acontemporary portrait to reveal his true appearance. Although a number ofmentions of William Shakespeare the poet-dramatist appear on record during the1590s and early 1600s, they comment only briefly on his writings, telling usnothing about the man. Less is known about Shakespeare than almost any otherplaywright of his time.     The orthodox version of William Shakespeares life is probably the mostwidely accepted Shake speare legend of them all. According to it, he was born on23 April 1564, in an upstairs room of a Stratford house in Warwickshire. He wasborn to John and Mary Shakespeare, and was baptized Gulielmus filius JohannesShakspere (William, son of John Shakespeare) three days later. His get ran asuccessful g whop making business on Henley Street. In 1565, his father ... ...ow range could hope to rise to a high position whilesomeone in a high position could expect to fall to a low position. All thesewould be brought about by a salmagundi in requirement or fortune. Some people believed thatthe people rose to a higher position during the spring and the summer, whilethey sank to a lower position during the autumn and the winter. However, it waslater noticed that such beliefs were very unpredictable. Like the belief in thezodiac, the Wheel of Fortune opposed the theory that fate was controlled by man.Instead, fate was believed to be controlled by the stars. This is why in theopening chorus of Romeo and Juliet, both of them are described as " starcrossed lovers" This suggests that the stars had already destined them to loveand then to die.     Shakespeare is arguably the best writer of all time, yet it isinteresting to know that so little is known about him. Perhaps no-one will everknow who the real William Shakespeare was. Only one thing is certainShakespeare may be dead, but his great works never cease to astound us and itmakes us wonder if any person will ever come to rival the maestro of EnglishLiterature.