William Shakespeare was dead more than 400 years ago. High school and university students still have to read his sonnets and plays. In 12th grade, I was one of those students who lost himself in the endless stream of “thy”, “thou” and “doth’s. I was at the time finding Shakespeare’s works complicated and unimportant to my daily life. But I was unaware of how wrong I was. Et tu?
Even though Shakespeare’s works are adapted from mythology, history, and the Bible, his writings remain fascinating to people, despite the consensus of scholars. Why? Perhaps because his timeless stories continue to resonate with us today through new interpretations and reinventions in popular culture such as West Side Story, Mean Girls and 10 Things I Hate About You. Although I may not have been able as a teenager to fully appreciate the ideas of William Shakespeare’s early 17th-century works, that does not mean they are irrelevant today.
It’s quite the opposite. Maggie Trapp, Shakespeare instructor, explains how Shakespeare’s writings have been around for so long and why it is important to study them in today’s cultural context.
His adaptations are a great way to reinvent the current work we love.
Shakespearean references and influence continue to be a prominent part of modern entertainment, with The Lion King’s plot loosely being inspired by Hamlet’s.
Trapp says that Shakespeare’s plays are open-ended. Trapp says that Shakespeare’s plays inspire thought and allow for new ideas. Shakespearean plots, such as Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth, Hamlet, King Lear and Macbeth, are based on myths, stories and histories that he transformed into his own material. Shakespeare was an expert adapter and his work is heavily based on borrowing and interpretation. His plays have been endlessly reworked.
Not only are there movie stories that adapt Shakespeare’s plots, but many other media outlets as well. Game of Thrones (link is external) and other television shows are being influenced by Shakespearean culture. In turn, these TV shows have become a popular cultural phenomenon. Part of the reason for that could be seeing Shakespearean-inspired drama performed on screen–the modern equivalent of the stage from The Bard’s own time. It is a great way to appreciate Shakespeare’s work, even if it has been prerecorded for TV.
“As George R.R. Trapp explains that Martin stated in a Rolling Stone interview that Shakespeare had borrowed nearly all of his plots. Martin is open about the fact his immensely popular story (both in books and on TV) was adapted from other stories, including Shakespeare. Game of Thrones fans can easily see the traces of Lady Macbeth, Falstaff, Iago, and Robert Baratheon in Game of Thrones. Game of Thrones’ characters are multifaceted, complex and vibrant. They are reminiscent of the rich, multifaceted characters found in Shakespeare. These characters have become so familiar that we know them from every context. Although these characters are easily recognizable, they can become stale and uninteresting over time. However, in Martin’s and Shakespeare’s hands, the characters remain fresh, real, rich, and memorable.
For school Shakespeare workshops visit Sky Blue Theatre.
Modern books also reimagine Shakespeare’s world for today.
Trapp states that “The Hogarth Shakespeare (link is external) project” is a fantastic new series of books where Anne Tyler, Jeanette Winterson and Anne Tyler, among others have reinterpreted Shakespeare’s plays and reimagined them in light of modern sensibilities.
“In Atwood’s version of The Tempest, a disgraced and aging Shakespeare producer ends up staging Shakespeare’s play inside a prison in an elaborate revenge plot against former theater colleagues. Jane Smiley’s novel A Thousand Acres is another amazing adaptation of Shakespeare. Smiley uses the King Lear plot to great effect in this novel.
Shakespeare’s works are relevant no matter what time they are read.
Trapp says that Shakespeare’s contemporan Ben Jonson said Shakespeare’s work was “not of an age, but for all times,” which has been proven to be accurate. The plays are more relevant than they are of their time. They have a lot to teach us about politics and psychology in our time, about the intricacies and fluidity of desire, blind ambition, and the joys of true connection. For hundreds of years, these plays have been able to communicate complex truths to many audiences and readers.
Trapp says, “We can see our postmodern predicament through Richard III’s power games; our culture can grapple with gender binary in Twelfth Night”‘s probing gender roles and expectations.” “Shakespeare probably did not think that his works would become so integral to our culture four hundred years after his death.”
Shakespeare is our guide to understanding the meaning of our lives.
Each of us is a reflection of his characters and themes.
Trapp says that Shakespeare’s poems and plays still matter because their plots resonate, his characters leave an impression, and his language moves and startsles. His characters are people we can identify with. We can identify with Hamlet’s despair; Othello’s jealousy is something we can understand; Lear’s decline is something we can feel. These characters are both types and revelations at the same time. Shakespeare’s characters are familiar but they also surprise us out of complacency. This is why they are endlessly fascinating.
We can all relate and feel the emotions evoked in his stories.
Trapp adds, “Shakespeare’s language is beautiful, his characters complex, and the themes-love, honor betrayal envy jealousy fear pride lust grief–are all topics that matter to us today.”
Shakespeare is the one we look to to understand our experiences. And our experiences–concerning everything from gender, family and political intrigue to fame, race and class–are nimbly and memorably explored in these plays. Shakespeare’s characters are as timeless and relevant today as they were in Shakespeare’s time. His plays help us see ourselves in a new light.”
Today’s audiences can connect with each other onstage as well as through his words on paper.
Shakespeare’s themes are timeless and universal, so many interpretations of his work will appeal to different audiences. Andrew Dickson, author Worlds Elsewhere – Journeys Around Shakespeare’s Globe explores how one Shakespeare play can appeal to different audiences (link is external). “One afternoon Shakespeare would see his work performed before the royal court. The next day, the same piece would be performed before the groundlings at Blackfriars.”
Trapp says that Shakespeare’s audience was more attentive to words and aurality in Shakespeare’s day. Trapp says that they experienced the plays live and would not have read them. Today, we experience the plays more in our minds than in a single act of reading. While we attribute much to the generative power and meaning of the words on the pages, Shakespeare’s audience, who were more interested in the moment of entertainment being performed in front of them–and they are not anymore–were primed for his language.
It can be difficult to understand The Bard’s work because of the disconnect between live performance, and “in our minds’ eye” performance. However, it is possible to bring his fascinating work to life by teaching it in a way that is relevant to current events.
Trapp says that Shakespeare wanted his audience react in the moment and he was open to physical connections to his work. He wrote plays for live audiences. Although the plays provide plenty of material for classroom analysis, we should also see the plays in action to gain a better understanding of his work.
“In class (link is external), we discuss the plays’ plots and characters with attention to the plays and performance. We encourage students to attend live performances whenever possible.”
When you take a course, it is not always possible to see live Shakespeare plays. Trapp states, “By including videos of local Berkeley Shakespeare actors and dramaturges, as well as academics and other experts who dig into specific staging issues and plot points in the plays, students learn to respond to these recordings by writing mini-essays. They also comment on how they can put the ideas they hear to use in new viewings.
This is only one of the many ways Trapp’s Shakespeare Course (link is external) makes it relevant for each of her students.
Trapp says, “Students can also draw from their own experiences as students in high school who have watched the plays.” “We examine what their previous viewings have meant in light of what they are learning now or how students can see these issues in terms of our political views and political machinations (for example, when students read Richard plays and compare the plots to Trump and House of Cards).
We can learn a lot about ourselves through Shakespeare’s plays and also connect with other people through the humor and drama of daily life. Are you still adamant that understanding Shakespeare is not valuable and relevant for today’s society?
Even though we don’t know it, Shakespeare is often cited.
Did you ever say “with bated breathe” that something was the “be all and the end-all”? Or that you wanted “break the ice?” Do you remember saying, “Knock! You have probably asked Shakespeare who’s there.
Trapp states that students should learn Shakespeare if for no other reason than to understand how much of our everyday discourse is his wordsmithery. “If you have ever used the words green-eyed monster’, in a pickle’,?tongue-tied’,?wild goose chase’, ‘wild goose chase’, ‘wild goose chase’, ‘wild to be kind’, ‘wild goose chase’, ‘wild goose chase’, ‘wild to be kind’, ‘hoodwinked’, ’it’s Greek,’ ‘the clothes makes the man,’ ‘,’,’,’, ‘, ‘, ‘, ‘, ‘, ‘, ‘, ‘, ‘, ‘, or any of these now-common a day, ‘, ‘
“His phrases were innovative and inventive, and they have incorporated so deeply into the English language that it seems they are beyond coinage. We are so ensnared in Shakespeare that it’s almost hard to remember. He was an excellent writer of English language metaphors, which have made us all richer as writers and readers.
