The poetry of William Shakespeare can’t be compared in the history of literature. He was a versatile English poet, play writer and dramatist. He has written about 38 plays, 154 sonnets and innumerable verse forms between the years 1582–1612, which are read and discussed even to this day. They had important impact on English literature and western theater. All of his works have been interpreted into various languages and they are performed around over the world more than a million times.
Though many of his writings are for the English audience the appeal was universal. His writing style was greatly influenced by Christopher Marlowe. In 1594, Shakespeare became part owner of Lord Chamberlain’s Men, a dramatic play company. By then he had even started acting, along with writing plays. Under his tutelage the company became popular which the reason why King James buy the company and and have it renamed as King’s men.
His plays revolved around tragedy, romance, comedy, and history. He started working with other writers which was common at that time. Since then he helped the playwrights to finish their work fast. Like Hamlet was the new adaptation of a lost play named Ur-Hamlet and King Lear was the new version of King Leir. His plays on history were inspired by the Greek, Roman and English history. Plays like Plutarch’s Parallel Lives and Raphael Holinshed’s The Chronicle of England inspired plays like Macbeth and King Lear. Tempest was his original work.
Shakespeare’s early works of 1590s were based on romantic comedies and historic nostalgia which were the storyline of works like A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Henry IV, Part I. After the plague, he started including rhymed couplets and dramatic dialogues in his work. His middle period plays focused around betrayal, murder, egoism, power, ambition, lust, tragedy and comedy. Plays like Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello King Lear, Troilus and Cressida were were on these genres. His later works were mostly romantic and fantasies such as The Winter’s Tale and The Tempest. His works were also published in press as a series of quartos. Two actors named John Heminges and Henry Condell embarked on First Folio to award and publish Shakespeare’s work exclusively during the year 1623. Categories such as comedies, tragedies and histories were made in First Folio. Modern critics have added categories like tragic-comedies and problem-play.
The exact order of plays is unknown and has been the subject of debate during that period, plays weren’t authoritatively printed. Many of his plays had many different blueprints and because of technical glitches like printing errors and reading mistakes, so the recognition of his original work is a problem. Shakespeare coined many words. He had a habit of writing his plays number of time using those different words and spellings. After he died, there came the questions on the authenticity of his work. There are only little accounts about his life and nor even his will gives details on his ownership of the Globe theater. There were rumors that Christopher Marlowe or Francis Bacon wrote them.
His works that have been lost are Quixote, Cardenio, and Love’s Labour’ Won. Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, King Lear, As You Like It, Hamlet, The Taming of the Shrew, Othello, Julius Caesar, The Tempest, The Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night, Macbeth and Richard III are some the critically acclaimed works of William Shakespeare.
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