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Why is William Shakespeare so famous?
While William Shakespeare’s reputation is based primarily on his plays, he became famous first as a poet. With the partial exception of the Sonnets (1609), quarried since the early 19th century for autobiographical secrets allegedly encoded in them, the nondramatic writings have traditionally been pushed to the margins of the Shakespeare industry.
When did Shakespeare die?
Shakespeare died on April 23, 1616, on what may have been his 52nd birthday.
How long did Shakespeare work in London?
William Shakespeare had probably been working as an actor and writer on the professional stage in London for four or five years when the London theaters were closed by order of the Privy Council on June 23, 1592.
What is the meaning of the verse form in Shakespeare's Venus and Adonis?
Venus and Adonis is unquestionably a work of its age.
What was the attention directed toward in the sonnets?
Attention was directed toward “problems” such as the identity of Master W. H., of the young man, of the rival poet, and of the dark lady (a phrase, incidentally, never used by Shakespeare in the sonnets).
Where did Shakespeare go to school?
It is conventionally assumed (though attendance registers do not survive) that Shakespeare attended the King’s New School in Stratford, along with others of his social class. At the age of 18, in November 1582, he married Anne Hathaway, daughter of a local farmer.
When did Shakespeare first appear on the title page of his plays?
It was only in 1597 that Shakespeare’s name first appeared on the title page of his plays— Richard II and a revised edition of Romeo and Juliet. While the London theaters were closed, some actors tried to make a living by touring outside the capital.
What is Shakespeare's poetic technique?
And so, Shakespeare’s poetic techniques can be described as the use of every device available to a poet but stretched, subverted and transformed to meet his needs. It is the genius with which he approaches the available poetic devices that produces his poetic technique.
What is the point of Shakespeare's use of verse?
This is a central point in Shakespeare’s technique: his use of verse to make his characters appear to be talking in the natural language of speech while at the same time being highly poetic.
What pentameter does Shakespeare use?
In both examples Shakespeare sticks strictly to iambic pentameter. His manipulation of it demonstrates his poetic technique. His use of blank verse iambic pentameter allowed him to go deeper and deeper, and so we have the tumultuous mind of Hamlet and the chaotic madness of Lear, expressed, using the same technique.
How does Shakespeare use the language of blank verse?
Shakespeare used the flexibility of blank verse combined with iambic pentameter, together with poetic devices like assonance, alliteration, extended similes and personification to present characters with varied motivations expressed through their individual patterns of speech. For example, in Othello, the tension and conflict are created by the interaction of two protagonists who have opposing motivations and outlooks on life. Othello speaks with round, open vowels and formal, poetic images, full of allusions, delivered in measured sentences in a stately manner which, put together, present a picture of a noble, educated man. Iago is a linguistic chameleon who infiltrates the minds of his victims by mimicking their speech patterns when he talks to them. However, when Iago is alone and expressing himself with only the audience hearing him his language is something completely different. Here is Othello addressing the Venetian senate, explaining how it was that Desdemona fell in love with him:
What is the assonance of Shakespeare's poems?
Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds to create internal rhyming within phrases or sentences, and together with alliteration and consonance serves as another of the building blocks of verse.
What is Shakespeare's simile?
Shakespeare frequently uses a device that is known as the Homeric Simile – an extended simile that compares two unlike things and draws particular attention to a number of ways in which they are alike. For example, in the Iliad: So in a rush each Argive captain killed his man.
How many sonnets did Shakespeare write?
William Shakespeare is generally considered as one of the greatest poets who ever lived: This isn’t confined to the relatively small body of poems he produced, or his 154 sonnets but also to the poetic content of his plays. Throughout his works Shakespeare used many classic poetic devices:
What is the significance of Shakespeare's sonnets?
Nearly all of Shakespeare's sonnets examine the inevitable decay of time, and the immortalization of beauty and love in poetry. In his poems and plays, Shakespeare invented thousands of words, often combining or contorting Latin, French, and native roots.
What was Shakespeare's most famous playhouse?
In 1599 Shakespeare joined a group of Chamberlain's Men that would form a syndicate to build and operate a new playhouse: the Globe, which became the most famous theater of its time. With his share of the income from the Globe, Shakespeare was able to purchase New Place, his home in Stratford.
Why did Shakespeare go to London?
Shakespeare may have taught at school during this period, but it seems more probable that shortly after 1585 he went to London to begin his apprenticeship as an actor. Due to the plague, the London theaters were often closed between June 1592 and April 1594.
How many sonnets are there in Shakespeare's sonnets?
Shakespeare's sonnets were composed between 1593 and 1601, though not published until 1609. That edition, The Sonnets of Shakespeare, consists of 154 sonnets, all written in the form of three quatrains and a couplet that is now recognized as Shakespearean.
Where was William Shakespeare born?
read more about his influence. William Shakespeare was born on April 23, 1564, in Stratford-upon-Avon. The son of John Shakespeare and Mary Arden, he was probably educated at the King Edward VI Grammar School in Stratford, where he learned Latin and a little Greek and read the Roman dramatists. At eighteen, he married Anne Hathaway, ...
Who recognized Shakespeare's achievements?
Nonetheless, his contemporaries recognized Shakespeare's achievements. Francis Meres cited "honey-tongued" Shakespeare for his plays and poems in 1598, and the Chamberlain's Men rose to become the leading dramatic company in London, installed as members of the royal household in 1603.
How many daughters did Shakespeare have?
Together they raised two daughters: Susanna, who was born in 1583, and Judith (whose twin brother died in boyhood), born in 1585. Little is known about Shakespeare's activities between 1585 and 1592. Robert Greene's A Groatsworth of Wit alludes to him as an actor and playwright.
What is concrete poetry?
Concrete poetry is designed to take a particular shape or form on the page. Poets can manipulate spacing or layout to emphasize a theme or important element in the text, or sometimes they can take the literal shape of their subjects.
What is the meaning of ekphrastic poetry?
Ekphrastic Poems. Ekphrastic poems don’t really have specific rules, but they do speak of another work of art. Ekphrasis comes from the Greek word for “description,” and that’s exactly what this poem should do: vividly describe a painting, statue, photograph, or story.
What is an epitaph?
An epitaph is much like an elegy, only shorter. Epitaphs commonly appear on gravestones, but they can also be humorous. There are no specific rules for epitaphs or their rhyme schemes.
What type of poem is written in mourning?
The elegy is another type of poem that lacks particular rules, but it usually is written in mourning following a death. They can be written for a particular person, or treat the subject of loss more generally.
What is free verse?
Free verse is exactly what its name implies. There are no rules, and writers can do whatever they choose: to rhyme or not, to establish any rhythm. Free verse is often used in contemporary poetry.
How many lines are in a sonnet?
Each type contains 14 lines but comes with its own set of rules.
Who said every poet is a fool but you yourself may serve to show it?
An example of this wit is provided by Samuel Taylor Coleridge: Sir, I admit your general rule, That every poet is a fool, But you yourself may serve to show it, That every fool is not a poet. Epigrams are not exclusive to poetry. They are also commonly used as literary devices and in speeches.