Question Home

Position:Home>General - Arts & Humanities > Why do Shakespearse's plays still have meaning and impact today?


Question:Because the plays use universal human emotions as the driving force of the poetry. Love, hate, lust, jealousy, ruthlessness, desperation, greed... they are known to us just as well as they were known to the viewers of Shakespeare's time.

The other reason is that the man defined his language and not just barely used it. The resulting impact of his works on generations of intellectuals is enormous and seems to have lost nothing of its power.


Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Because the plays use universal human emotions as the driving force of the poetry. Love, hate, lust, jealousy, ruthlessness, desperation, greed... they are known to us just as well as they were known to the viewers of Shakespeare's time.

The other reason is that the man defined his language and not just barely used it. The resulting impact of his works on generations of intellectuals is enormous and seems to have lost nothing of its power.
Because they are great works of art and literature!!!
Art is timeless. It resonates with the humanity in us.
Because the things he wrote about are still relevant today... Love, lust, anger, greed, rejection, insanity, wealth, power, and many other aspects of humanity that resound with audiences no matter what century it is. AND if you read closely you will see that Shakespeare actually peppers his plays with quite a few jokes and humourous anecdotes. He's a cool guy. One of my favourite authors.
Because, It has been adopted as General Literature over the world...
because he beat everyone to it. plus he was even given credit for some things he didn't even actually write. just makes it easier for history to use his name that's all
because he dealt with all aspects of the human condition, and they dont change
Shakespeare helped shape the direction of his medium. Think of the effects you can see that some musicians have had on pop/rock... in your lifetime. its the same thing but on a grand scale.
He also managed to touch the intangable things that people consider to be at the source of hummanity itself, if they understand him that is. i, personally, find it hard to relate to him and many other greats of the arts. But i see in Homer what other people see in Shakespeare. Usually it takes education on the life and times of Shakespeare (this goes for others as well) but eventually, when people can deal with him as if he were working today, people find some understanding in much of his work that just goes deeper than the work of his peers. maybe you can relate when you look at a different author?
....if that doesn't do it for you, then keep in mind that he did CREATE more than 2000 words that are used in modern english. thats a direct impact.
Shakespeare wrote about historical dramas, tragedies and created plays, in the best language of his time. We have a developed concept of characters and plot lines in the wittiest verse of the time. Not only are his writings historically significant, the mastery of the language is superb. Poetry in prose is a highly developed art form. Shakespeare gives us deep lines with multiple subtleties. As a writer, he's a playwrite and a poet, a master storyteller and wordsmith. He manages to capture nuances in every word, while imbuing every story with rhythm and detail. He said so much, in few perfect words.
because they are timeless tales of situations and tradgedy that people still go threw and can relate to and human beings love a good story!