Shakespeare is an infamous poet, playwright, actor and so much more. But the fact is, his writing is largely taught to uninterested teenagers in very traditional ways, making it easy to ignore his true genius. In this article, I hope to inform you of his true skill and wit.
Romeo and Juliet
Perhaps his most popular play, Romeo and Juliet is a classic story of two troubled lovers, who try to navigate their relationship throughout their two combating families feud. What many people misinterpret is that it is some great, whimsical, and idyllic love story. Shakespeare wrote it to commentate on the negative sides of love as well. Over the course of the story, six characters are killed due to Romeo and Juliet’s relationship, including the lovers themselves. Many characters represent certain things, an example being Benvolio representing calmness and Mercutio being quite the opposite. This just proves that there are hidden meanings everywhere in this play.
Macbeth
Another commonly taught play by Shakespeare is Macbeth. In the play, Macbeth climbs to power by committing many crimes, a major one being homicide. He sacrifices many things close to him just to gain status, and it works for him… until it does not. In the end, Macbeth faces his fate and is killed by an enemy of his, Macduff. The point of this play is to comment on appearances vs realities and can teach many lessons applicable to modern life. It deals with guilt, and a deep philosophical question, does anything matter? Overall, Macbeth is a masterpiece and can truly help us question our own selves and our flaws.
Hamlet
Hamlet may be Shakespeare’s most renowned and respected works. The lead Hamlet questions the meaning of life whilst planning to avenge his father’s death. A famous saying “to be, or not to be” was created by Shakespeare in the play and it can take you to a whole new level of deep thought. Some of the themes focused on are love, loss, grief, betrayal, and family. All these elements are still relevant and despite the heightened plot of the play, it asks the questions, are humans really all that different? And is there truly any meaning behind our existence?
Sonnet 18
Sonnet 18 is likely Shakespeare’s most straightforward sonnet, as it is also his shortest. He writes of the subject in a most poetic way that is immediately detectable upon reading the sonnet. In the beginning, he begs the question, “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”. Even from that first verse, the sheer admiration is clear. By the end of it, it is Shakespeare hopes that his friend shall be eternally remembered, long after his passing by the sonnet. The person in question need not be described in a physical form, as we are drawn in by the emphasis on their beautiful soul and spirit. A strong theory is that the subject of many of Shakespeare’s first poem is in fact a young man. The fact of the matter is that regardless of the person he was writing about, Shakespeare could write about them eloquently and lovingly, a way I believe we all hope to someday be thought of.
Written by Orange Juice Stan
The Anonymous Helpers (TAH)
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