William Shakespeare and Humanism by Nora Ward

Performance Task

nward3 — 2015-04-02 03:26:52 UTC

William Shakespeare and Humanism

nward3 — 2015-04-02 03:37:29 UTC

William Shakespeare was born in 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon. Nicknamed ‘The Bard of Avon,’ Shakespeare wrote plays, sonnets, and two narrative poems. Of his plays, Shakespeare wrote comedies, histories, and tragedies. Some of his most famous works include Hamlet, Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo & Juliet, and Macbeth. Shakespeare’s works demonstrate a powerful use of the English language and show a rich understanding of human emotion. Shakespeare grew up in a dynamic world where humans were now the center of the universe. Humanism is defined as an outlook that stresses the importance of the value and goodness of human beings. In Hamlet, Shakespeare writes, “What a piece of work is a man, how noble in reason, how infinite in faculties, in form and moving, how express and admirable in action, how like an angel in apprehension, how like a god! the beauty of the world; the paragon of animals.” Shakespeare emphasizes the god-like qualities humans possess and demonstrates his humanistic views. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Polonius advises Laertes: “To thine own self be true.” Shakespeare conveys to his audience to not conform with society. Shakespeare, influenced by humanism, reveals the values people of the Renaissance had.

Connection to Today

nward3 — 2015-04-02 04:08:08 UTC

Although Shakespeare died over 400 years ago, his work remains as relevant as it was 400 years ago. With numerous adaptations, Shakespeare's plays have been remade and retold again and again. For example, She's the Man, staring Amanda Bynes, is a modern day story telling of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. West Side Story was based on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet (which is considered to be the most classic love story of all time). The movie the Lion King is based off of Hamlet. Shakespeare's works prove to be timeless. He wrote to everybody, not the just the rich. Because of the fact that everybody could enjoy him 400 years ago, everyone can enjoy him now. He wrote for everybody because of the humanist belief that everyone is important.

Fun Facts about Shakespeare

nward3 — 2015-04-02 05:19:45 UTC

Married a woman named Anne Hathaway who was about 6 years older

Had three children

Had his own theatre, the Globe Theatre

Invented a bunch of words we use today

Never attended a university

Women were not allowed to act in his plays (only men, even for girl parts)

Wore only one earring

Believed to have died on his birthday

Tomb is inscribed with a curse

Sources

nward3 — 2015-04-02 05:30:44 UTC

http://absoluteshakespeare.tripod.com/homepage/id1.html

http://www.saylor.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/SAYLOR.ORG-ENGL401-RENAISSANCE-HUMANISM-SHAKESPEARE.pdf

https://humanism.org.uk/humanism/the-humanist-tradition/renaissance/shakespeare/

http://www.cliffsnotes.com/cliffsnotes/literature/what-are-the-renaissance-featurescharacteristics-in-hamlet

Nora Ward / Seat #19 / P.6

nward3 — 2015-04-02 05:33:20 UTC

William Shakespeare

nward3 — 2015-04-02 05:37:05 UTC

The man himself

William Shakespeare

nward3 — 2015-04-02 05:39:43 UTC

The English language owes a lot to this man. He created over 1700 new words for his plays. To this day, we still use most of them.

Adaptations

nward3 — 2015-04-02 05:45:58 UTC

Did you ever notice that Hamlet and the Lion King have almost exactly the same plot line? Shakespeare's work is timeless and can fit into many different scenarios and time eras, even animals.

The Globe Theatre

nward3 — 2015-04-02 05:50:23 UTC

Shakespeare even had his own theatre where he got to perform with his acting troop. The Globe Theatre could sit everyone- rich and poor.

Shakespeare Writes for Royalty

nward3 — 2015-04-02 05:55:20 UTC

Shakespeare truly appealed to everyone. Even Queen Elizabeth I loved Shakespeare.

Shakespeare's Works

nward3 — 2015-04-02 06:04:09 UTC

Shakespeare wrote an astounding total of 37 plays in his lifetime.