The Plays of William Shakespeare

A third blog entry? I had rather chop this hand off at a blow, And with the other fling it at thy face! (King Henry VI, part 3)

Oh, who am I kidding? Writing these blogs are the highlights of my weekends! It beats stressing over which IB subjects to select ANY DAY.

This week’s topic is Shakespeare’s Plays. A very vast though intriguing subject.

Shakespeare, along with the title of "Playwright", was also an accomplished poet and actor. When people hear the name Shakespeare, automatically they think, “Dude, isn't that the guy who wrote like a lot of plays about people falling in love and people dying.” I can’t argue with that definition as for the most part it is correct. More 'elaborately', William Shakespeare wrote around 37 plays and 157 sonnets. No one has come to a conclusion regarding whether or whether not Shakespeare wrote all 37 plays.

The plays that William (yes, we are on first-name basis now) wrote range across a few different topics: comedies, histories and the ever-popular tragedies. On several occasions the plays would blur in between topics. For instance, the comedies would contain elements of tragedy. One of the main reasons why William was such a conversed and highly noted playwright was due to the depth and range of his characters and how well he portrayed them and their social standing with their dialogue. The language used in his plays had to be highly descriptive of the surroundings and environment as a lot of the time, the plays would be performed without props and a proper set. Old Scottish castles, battlefields, barren landscapes and streets filled with bustling amounts of people are examples of what had to be described successfully for the viewer to conjure the scene up in their own minds.

                     

A few other reasons why William’s plays were commended of so highly was due to their great stories and compelling characters. Many say, to this day, that no one has lived up to Shakespeare’s level of generating a story. His characters are all moulded so well into the stories whether they were a supporting role or a main character. All characters are said to be so complex and well-constructed; no one is perfect, every single one has their own faults or inabilities, real human emotion is present and each character has their own weaknesses. Most modern actors deeply admire William’s creations and consider playing a Shakespearean role to be the most difficult, though most rewarding.

A favourite among William’s plays were his tragedies (especially among Elizabethan viewers). Typically the story lines of the tragedies would follow the rise and fall of a powerful lead role, typically a nobleman. A common characteristic of the protagonists are that they have a fatal flow that propels them towards their bloody end. Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth are among Shakespeare’s most popular tragedies.

Shakespeare’s comedies were another popular genre of his plays. They were driven often by language and complex plots involving mistaken identity. For example, Shakespeare’s play Twelfth Night revolves around a man and a woman in which she is later revealed to be a disguised man. She’s The Man (2006) is a movie based on this play of William’s. Some say that if you are watching a play of Shakespeare’s and it includes a character dressing or pretending to be the opposite sex, BINGO! It’s a comedy.

The histories that William Shakespeare wrote were not necessarily historically accurate or correct. They were written rather to make social and political commentary on events that have occurred in the past. Popular histories include Henry V and Richard III.

Shakespeare had to be very careful when writing his plays as politics were a very controversial topic and most of his plays include the theme of politics heavily. With the addition that women couldn't originally perform the plays in theatre during Elizabethan times, very few of his female roles were constructed differently to those of men. This was only a minor defect in Shakespeare’s mind as often he disregarded this when writing.

Personally, my favourite play by William Shakespeare is Macbeth. Before studying Macbeth I was familiar with the story lines of several other plays by man himself such as Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet though Macbeth is just so versatile and filled with interesting characters who help form the complex story line. My favourite character is either Macbeth or Lady Macbeth as I find it very intriguing to see the development of a person’s personality and actions completely flip upside down. The journey to that point and the consequences are very interesting to monitor and discuss why it occurred (maybe I just like power-hungry people). Also, who doesn't like to see one of their favourite characters either commit suicide and end up a pile of broken bones on the ground or get hanged only to be beheaded? I certainly do! The way Shakespeare constructed Macbeth is very odd in ways when it explores politics and incorporates the super-natural aura of the witches. Now that I have seen Macbeth performed adaptively, I would love to see the regular version performed identical to the original script. 

Happy 450^th Birthday, William Shakespeare! *

You’re now one year closer to the grave.

Oh wait...

*It is 26^th of April (when I wrote this) which marks the day William Shakespeare was baptised. No one knows his exact birth date so people celebrate his birth on the 26^th.