What Would Shakespeare Think of Us?

  In this TED talk, Dan Poole and Giles Terera introduce the ideal of Shakespism, or the fear of Shakespeare. They think that today's society suffers from it, but not because we want to, rather because we have not had the proper education of Shakespeare that makes it engaging to learn. From a young age, today's society gets the impression that Shakespeare is too hard to read, or comprehend. So, in turn they avert from the entire topic of Shakespeare all together. Poole and Terera state that with the proper education that Shakespeare is relatable not just to one group of people, but to all people. They state that with the tools the messages of the Shakespeare are not just meant for one era, but for eternity, but due to the recent aversion to Shakespeare many will not know the themes and messages that Shakespeare's work provides. They state that in order for the Shakespeare's work to be valued that an intriguing education of Shakespeare needs to be provided in order to nurture growth and perseverance in that subject. I agree with their statement. I believe that today's society classifies Shakespeare in a level above everyone else, so that they do not have to take the time to effectively learn Shakespeare. I believe that Shakespeare conveys themes and messages that are valuable and relevant in today's society.

Shakespeare is Everywhere

   In Christopher Gaze's TED talk "Shakespeare is Everywhere", he brings up the points that although the formal language of Shakespeare is not present in today's society, it still very much alive. Upon giving background of Shakespeare's life, he relates it to the major plays that he wrote, such as Hamlet. He also states that many of our sayings derive from Shakespeare and that these phrases are now commonly used by everyday people. One of these sayings includes "dead as a doorknob." Gaze also brings up the point that Shakespeare is relevant to today's society because of the themes it holds and the variety of dimensions that Shakespeare has. He reenacts a side to Shakespeare that not many know about due to their knowledge of only Shakespeare's famous works, which in turn shows the audience, as well as all the viewers, that Shakespeare was more than just the tragedies and heroes. All of this evidence that Gaze presents lends to the idea that Shakespeare has not gone extinct, but in fact is still alive and relevant to today's times as well in the language that is spoken today and in the diverse themes that his works present.

Is Hamlet Actually Insane?

 There is debate on whether or not Hamlet is actually pretending to be mad or if he has actually lost his mind. I firmly believe that Hamlet started out as sane and only pretending to be insane, but eventually his act caught up with him and he became obsessed with unveiling what his uncle did that he lost his mind. In the beginning of the movie, Hamlet had periods of time that his sanity would shine through, however, as the movie continued forward those periods become less and less frequent. He also acts unstable when others are not around, unlike he did in the beginning of the movie. I also believe that Horatio now believes that Hamlet is actually insane now too. When Hamlet speaks to him it is in haste and not always coherent thoughts, which lead him to believe that Hamlet has gone mad for real. Throughout the movie there are little hints that show to me that Hamlet has stopped pretending to be mad, but is now legitimately insane. Do you believe that Hamlet is pretending or that he has actually lost it?

Hamlet

Upon the start of watching Hamlet, I was rather bored by the plot and found the language to be very hard to understand, but as the movie went on I understood the language better and the plot picked up. I especially liked the comedic entities of the movie, which added humor to serious situations and made it enjoyable as a viewer to watch. On the plot of the play, I think the mother is quite idiotic for marrying her late husband's brother. That just makes me feel disgusting. If I were Hamlet I would have just gone mad over their marriage, but then to find out from the ghost of my father that my new father/uncle has murdered him. I do not blame Hamlet from going mad, even if it was just an act. This movie picked up quite dramatically and now all these events are happening and I just hope that the Uncle gets killed because honestly his actions are sickening.

Shakespeare's Sister

  I firmly believe that there were women during Shakespeare's time with the same genius as Shakespeare, but due to the societal limitations for women, there would be no way for these women to pursue that knowledge and passion. Like Virginia Woolf's A Room of One’s Own, Woolf states that if Shakespeare had a hypothetical sister that she may have come to develop the same interests as Shakespeare did. For example, a love for theatre may have developed, but during those times women were not actresses so there would have been no way for her to pursue that passion, thus no way to reach the fame and recognition that Shakespeare's works have reached. I believe that this relates to that fact that women are expected to stick to different roles. In early times, women were supposed to take care of the domestic tasks, while men were off in school becoming educated men. As time passes, women start to migrate toward the roles of men, but still have to remain inferior to them. This carries over to modern times as well. Men get defensive and feel as though women are not able to competently complete a task, but this is just to this predisposition idea that women equal to men. This all correlates to the main starting point which Woolf made that women were not given the same opportunities as men from a young age to pursue their passion. Because of this, the women during Shakespeare's time were not able to make themselves known, thus allowing them to be forgotten as well as all the other female geniuses of the past.

Is Shakespeare Still Relevant?

  Upon reading this piece, I began thinking why in English classes all over the country are still reading Shakespeare if it is not easily comprehensible. Petri makes a good point that the modern technology makes it hard for the stories to be easily understandable and translated into modern times. If Romeo and Juliet were to have occurred in modern times, then Romeo and Juliet would have texted secretly about the fake death of Julie. Romeo and Juliet would have escaped the death that they were destined for in Verona. So, this piece of writing makes me wonder "is Shakespeare still relevant?"

  My initial thought is yes. I believe that reading these plays, though they are not easily comprehensible, enriches ones reading comprehension. It allows the me to understand the language and broaden my palette of literacy. It also gives a glimpse into the Elizabethan English that was common speech during that time, thus is a part of our history. Reading Shakespeare is important and relevant today because they are timeless tragedies, romantics and histories that will go down in history. I believe that the tales of Shakespeare still have lessons that still are applicable to today's times; Romeo and Juliet carries the message that love is powerful, which is demonstrated by both Romeo and Juliet taking their lives to be with each other. Shakespeare, however, is very hard to comprehend, especially if the reader has not been exposed to this form of speech before. Thus, forcing students to turn to help books, which in the end completely take out the poetry and beauty of Shakespeare's works. 

  I firmly believe that,Shakespeare is  still relevant, despite how outdated it may seem to students.