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KLY WEE ATE DEB FirstNews The Weekly Debate Issue 456 13 - 19 March 2015 The Dilemma Why is Shakespeare still so popular? Background Shakespeare Week runs from 16–22 March 2015, a week-long primary school celebration of the life and times of the English writer William Shakespeare. The event brings together over 3,000 schools and organisations to introduce primaryage children to Shakespeare in a fun way. Shakespeare died in 1616, which is almost 400 years ago, so why do primary school children need to be introduced to this long-dead man? The simple answer is The portrait of Shakespeare that he is widely considered to be the greatest writer of all time. He wrote dozens from the First Folio, published of great plays in three different genres – history, tragedy and comedy – as well as in 1623 writing 154 sonnets and having an enormous influence on the English language. He is the most famous writer of all time and has been performed, read and studied all over the world for the past 400 years. His writing has been translated into almost every language on Earth and even some made-up alien ones: two of Genres – Types of literature or art in general, such as Shakespeare’s plays have been adapted into Klingon, a language tragedy, comedy, romance and history. in the Star Trek sci-fi franchise. Shakespeare festivals take place all over the world and it is likely that every day of every year, Sonnets – Short, 14-line poems that originated in Italy somewhere in the world, a Shakespeare play is being performed. and became popular in England in the 16th/17th But what exactly makes Shakespeare, whose nickname is The centuries. Bard, so popular to this day, and his influence on drama so huge? Shakespearean – Something relating to Shakespeare. glossary Shakespeare in Numbers Shakespeare lived at the end of the 16th century and start of the 17th century. He died 399 years ago on 23rd April 1616. The Bard wrote 16 comedies, 10 history plays and 12 tragedies. He also wrote 5 poems and 154 sonnets. There are over 400 film and TV versions of Shakespeare plays. Shakespeare was just 52 when he died, though at the time this wasn’t considered a particularly young age. It is believed that Shakespeare’s works have racked up sales of 4 billion+, making him the best-selling playwright of all time. The Shakespeare character with the most lines is Hamlet. He has an incredible 1,495 lines and over 11,000 words! The play itself is the longest of all The Bard’s works at over 4,000 lines. According to the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, The Bard appears in the school curriculums of 65% of countries worldwide and is studied by around half of the world’s schoolchildren every year. The MYSTERY W ILLIAM Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, a Midlands market town, in 1564. His exact date of birth is unknown, as are many aspects of Shakespeare’s life. At the time, it was not usual to keep precise records of theatrical events, and many documents have been lost or destroyed in the hundreds of years since Shakespeare lived. So theatre experts and historians have painstakingly tried to piece together different scraps of evidence – and sometimes guesswork – to figure out exactly what Shakespeare did and when. However, there is almost no evidence about Shakespeare’s life between 1578, when he left school, and 1582 when he got married, and also between 1585, when his twins were born, and 1592, when he was succeeding as a playwright in London. These periods are known as “the lost years”. KLY WEE ATE DEB The Weekly Debate FirstNews Issue 456 13 - 19 March 2015 The Dilemma Why is Shakespeare still so popular? Acting and writing It is thought that Shakespeare came to work in London in around 1590. He joined an acting company before beginning to write plays that were performed in the new theatres that were opening up around London at the time. Shakespeare joined a theatre group called the Lord Chamberlain’s Men soon after they were founded in 1594 and was a member throughout the rest of his career. It was with the Lord Chamberlain’s Men that Shakespeare’s plays were first performed. He would take on some of the smaller roles, while a famous actor, Richard Burbage, played some of Shakespeare’s main characters, such as Hamlet, Romeo and King Lear. The Lord Chamberlain’s Men became the most important company in London. When King James I became King of England and Ireland in 1603, the company’s named switched to the King’s Men. Shakespeare regularly saw his plays performed in the Royal Courts of both Elizabeth I and James I. Classic Shakespeare The best way to experience Shakespeare is to go and watch a play. Here are just three of his most famous ones… Macbeth – Macbeth is a Scottish nobleman and brave soldier. Encouraged by his crafty wife, Lady Macbeth, he kills the King of Scotland, Duncan, and takes the throne himself. As ruler, he resorts to violence and terror and further murders to keep his power. Macbeth ends the play dying in combat. Romeo and Juliet – A tragic love story, Romeo and Juliet are very much in love but their families hate each other, making the relationship impossible. Romeo thinks that Juliet has died, and so drinks a deadly poison. But Juliet was, in fact, only asleep. When she wakes to find the love of her life dead, she stabs herself with his dagger. Hamlet – Hamlet, the prince of Denmark, begins the play deeply saddened by the death of his father, the king. His father’s ghost tells Hamlet that he was murdered by Claudius, who is Hamlet’s uncle and the new king of Denmark. Hamlet vows revenge, but as the play goes on, he slowly goes mad as does his one true love, Opehelia, who ends up drowning. Shakespeare’s Brilliance Quantity Quality: success was hard Language What makes Shakespeare such a good writer? There were other wonderful writers at the time, such as Ben Jonson and Christopher Marlowe, whose works are also still produced worldwide. But Shakespeare was amazingly prolific, which means he managed to produce a lot of work. In fact, he averaged 1.5 plays per year between 1589 and 1613. He was also pretty productive when it came to poetry – he managed to write over 150 sonnets, published as a collection in 1609. Although it wasn’t until the 19th century that Shakespeare’s sonnets received a lot of attention and praise, they are now some of the most popular pieces of poetry of all time. Even though the theatre scene in England was new and exciting, it wasn’t easy to win over an audience. A play had to be really strong, because if the rowdy crowd didn’t like what they saw they made their views known – often by throwing fruit at the actors or shouting their disapproval! Shakespeare managed to capture his audience’s attention and thrill them, whether with a tragedy, comedy or history play. He knew how to write great pieces of drama with tension, humour and really exciting, detailed plots. Like any good writer, he understood people and used his plays to reflect truths. In other words, Shakespeare was a great storyteller. He was popular with a very broad audience: poor and rich, royals and peasants – his plays appealed to all sections of society. At the time, people could see a play for about the cost of a loaf of bread. Nowadays, an average top price theatre ticket in London’s West End costs about £85! The Bard wrote his plays in the English that was spoken at the time, which may seem a little daunting nowadays. Shakespeare Week says that it wants to take away the fear of understanding Shakespeare’s language. The language has changed a lot over the centuries into the form that we use now, but hundreds of the words and phrases Shakespeare invented are still in use today. In fact, no writer has contributed more words to the English language than Shakespeare. He coined new words such as assassin (somebody who is paid to kill another person) and courtship (when two people are going out with each other) as well as inventing phrases that are very common in modern English, such as good riddance, foul play and all’s well that ends well. KLY WEE ATE DEB The Weekly Debate FirstNews Issue 456 13 - 19 March 2015 The Dilemma Why is Shakespeare still so popular? The Legacy Although Shakespeare was a popular writer within his lifetime, it is after his death that his work became appreciated on a large scale. This was largely thanks to the publication of the First Folio – a collection of Shakespeare’s plays put together by two actors from The Lord Chamberlain’s Men. The First Folio, which also contains one of two portraits of Shakespeare widely thought to be accurate and genuine, was published in 1623, seven years after The Bard died. A total of 36 plays appeared in it, 17 of which were appearing in print for the first time. The folio was titled Comedies, Tragedies, Histories and it cost 15 shillings. Playwriting and public theatre was still a relatively new form of entertainment and literature at the time, so Shakespeare’s grand collection stood out and his work soon became admired far and wide. Thousands of editions of Shakespeare’s plays have since been published. The First Folio Shakespeare Off-stage With the advent of cinema in the 20th century, Shakespeare was re-born for a new, bigger audience. As theatre has become less accessible to a wide audience, mainly due to the cost of tickets, Shakespeare has seen his popularity boom in cinemas and on TV. With over 400 adaptations of his work for the screen, it’s clear that Shakespeare still appeals to a lot of people. What’s more, many famous film and TV actors have turned their hands to The Bard’s plays: Benedict Cumberbatch, David Tennant, Judi Dench, Patrick Stewart, Russell Brand and Kate Winslet have all played Shakespearean roles. Another of the reasons that Shakespeare is still so important is that he has written some of the best characters in theatrical history. It is most male actors’ dream to play Hamlet, and most female actors’ dream to play Lady Macbeth, two of Shakespeare’s most famous tragic roles. Actors love to sink their teeth into these classic characters and their wonderful dialogue. A great performance of one of Shakespeare’s characters can turn an unknown performer into an instant star. Why Celebrate Shakespeare? Shakespeare Week is co-ordinated by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, an organisation that preserves homes and buildings connected to Shakespeare in Stratford-upon-Avon. The Trust makes it possible for the public to visit the home Shakespeare grew up in and other buildings in the area. The organisation believes that, “Shakespeare is not only for all time, but for everyone, and that having a great first experience of Shakespeare should be something every child experiences.” The Trust says that it is important to introduce children to Shakespeare so as to understand his plays and not regard his language as difficult. “All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts” – William Shakespeare, As You Like It, act II, scene VII KLY WEE ATE DEB The Weekly Debate FirstNews Issue 456 13 - 19 March 2015 The Dilemma Why is Shakespeare still so popular? Adrian Lester as Hamlet X-Men star Patrick Stewart in a production of Macbeth 1. Have you seen a Shakespeare play or film? 2. What is it about Shakespeare that interests you? 3. What is it about Shakespeare that puts you off or that you find a little scary? 4. What would make Shakespeare easier for you to get into? The cover of Shakespeare’s sonnets, published in 1609 5. Would you like to see a production of a Shakespeare play? If so, why, and if not, why not? The Stratford-upon-Avon house Shakespeare grew up in, which you can visit The portrait of Shakespeare from the First Folio, published in 1623 A sketch of a typical theatre in Shakespeare’s day The First Folio KLY WEE ATE DEB The Weekly Debate FirstNews Issue 456 13 - 19 March 2015 The Dilemma Why is Shakespeare still so popular? I think Shakespeare should be introduced to children for the following reasons: Introducing Shakespeare to children has the following problems: 1. 1. 2. 2. 3. 3. FINDING FASCINATING FACTS ABOUT SHAKESPEARE I think the following facts about Shakespeare’s life and writing are the most interesting: My reasoned opinion The dilemma: Why is Shakespeare still so popular? In my opinion, the main reasons why Shakespeare is still so popular, are: FirstNews To mark almost 400 years since the death of England’s greatest ever playwright, First News is taking an in-depth look at the fascinating life and times of Shakespeare with a 32-page special edition. In Focus: Shakespeare explores what we know about Shakespeare himself (his birth, death, marriage and creative writing) while putting his life into context by looking at Tudor society and big news stories that broke throughout his lifetime – from the plague to the Gunpowder Plot and everything in between. It contains everything you need to know about England’s beloved playwright, who went on to become an international legend with writing that’s still relevant today. 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