Saturday, March 22, 2008
Is William Shakespeare overrated?
In terms of him being one of the masters of the English language and a true literary genius Shakespeare in not overrated. I believe that his mastery of the English language cannot be denied and his plays as well as sonnets such as Julius Caesar and Macbeth contain themes such as desire for political power which are very much applicable today and this is a factor in why Shakespeare is regarded with reverence by many. However, i do not believe that Shakespeare is the be all and end all of the English language and the elevation of Shakespeare to such a high status can cause other poets and playwrights of that period to be overlooked. The emotional and poetic breadth of Shakespeare’s work is great however the idea of Shakespeare being a genius should not be taken for granted and each of his individual works should be studied separately for their literary merit to be assessed.
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3 comments:
Well done hani :D I do agree that shakespeare is definitely not overrated when it comes to his literary works. He is given the credit he deserves phenomenal writing! I also concur that he is "the end all of the english language" because there will be many great writers in history yet to come!
Great Job Hani! Your reponse was concise and to the point!
Shakespeare no doubt is "the master of the English Language". However you seem to contradict yourself, at first you said he is "a true literary genius" and then you concluded that "the idea of Shakespeare being a genius should not be taken for granted"?!!
I agree that Shakespeare is not the " be all and end all of the English language" and that there are many other plays that hold more meaning and morals that deserve to be overvalued.
One of the few posts that actually give Shakespeare the merit he deserves. I agree with the statement that "each of his individual works should be studied separately for their literary merit to be assessed". His work is complex and for one to reach the level of understanding that it deserves, its content must be studied. One argument that I found on many blogs was one you used yourself: "the elevation of Shakespeare to such a high status can cause other poets and playwrights of that period to be overlooked." It is true that when discussing literature, Shakespeare is definitely a highlight but doesn't he deserve merit for his accomplishments? You make it sound as if Shakespeare stole the limelight from the other writers of his time whereas I think his fame was a result of his incredible talent. It is true that his themes are "very much applicable today" which explains why he still plays a big part in his literature. Your post was brief yet it tackled the main points. Bravo!
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