a thesis statement about william shakespeare

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A Guide to Writing an Outstanding Shakespeare Essay

By: Max Malak

There is hardly a person who has not heard the name of William Shakespeare, one of the greatest authors in history who has made a large contribution to the development of the English language. Given that Shakespeare's figure is monumental for English and global literature, it comes as a mandatory part of the curriculum in high schools and on other academic levels.

The Life of William Shakespeare: Information to Use in an Essay

Shakespeare essay sample, no clear thesis statement, lack of linking structures, not enough of essential details, weak conclusion, the theme of friendship in william shakespeare's play, the theme of wealth in shakespeare's play, the word's value as one of the leading themes of the merchant of venice, the power of love in the merchant of venice, merchant of venice essay sample (the character of shylock), tips for writing a merchant of venice essay.

If you don't have any prior knowledge of Shakespeare's works and his biography, worry not! This guide will take you through all the essential information needed to create an A+ William Shakespeare essay, alongside a written work sample, tips on improving it, and a list of topics to explore.

Research is one of the critical parts of the essay writing process that should not be disregarded. To make the task easier for you, we have collected some facts from William Shakespeare's biography that can prove to be useful in your essay:

• Full name: William Shakespeare, also known as the Bard of Avon
• Date of Birth: Unknown
• Baptized: 26 April 1564
• Hometown: Stratford-upon-Avon, England
• Date of Death: 23 April 1616
• Parents: Mary Arden and John Shakespeare
• Spouse: Anne Hathaway in 1582
• Children: twins Judith and Hamnet, daughter Susanna

William Shakespeare was the greatest playwright of his time and created around 37 plays . Here are some of the most renowned Shakespeare's plays sorted by year of writing:

• The Taming of the Shrew (1590)
• A Midsummer Night's Dream (1595)
• The Life and Death of King John (mid-1590s)
• Romeo and Juliet (1594-96)
• 1 Henry IV (1596)
• The Merchant of Venice (1596-98)
• Much Ado About Nothing (1598-99)
• Julius Caesar (1599)
• Othello (1603)
• King Lear (1605-06)
• Hamlet (1606)
• Macbeth (1609)
• The Winter's Tale (1609)
• The Tempest (1611)

Besides, here are a few of Shakespeare's most recognized quotes :

• " To be, or not to be, that is the question." - Hamlet
• "All that glisters is not gold." - The Merchant of Venice
• "If music be the food of love, play on." - Twelfth Night
• "Brevity is the soul of wit." - Hamlet
• "Hell is empty and all the devils are here." - The Tempest
• "It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves." - Julius Caesar

The aforementioned information can be used to create argumentative, expository, narrative, and descriptive essays. Check out an example below!

There is a wide variety of essay topics connected with the life of William Shakespeare. Here is one prompt sample:

Describe William Shakespeare's biography and life as an actor and playwright in Tudorian England.

Shakespeare is a globally beloved playwright with an intriguing biography, which makes such an essay topic rather common in educational institutions. Here is an example of a descriptive essay on this topic:

The Shakespeare biography is a mystery that contains a lot of uncertainty. The great writer's date of birth remains unknown, but it is clear that he was born in 1564, during the Tudor period in the town of Stratford-upon-Avon. There is not much information on William Shakespeare's early years. It is believed he had a good childhood. Seven years of records on his life, starting from 1585, are non-existent. This period is often called "the lost years" by historians.

In 1592 Shakespeare reappeared in London as an actor, where he first performed at "The Theatre". He was a part of the company known as Lord Chamberlain's Men at that time. However, after facing controversy with the landlord, the building was taken apart and rebuilt as "The Globe", an open-air theater across the river. Shakespeare's plays were extremely successful and earned him a big fortune. He was in favor of Queen Elizabeth I and performed his plays at the royal court.

William Shakespeare died on 23 April 1616, and there are speculations that it might have been his birthday. Even after death, the great writer, playwright, and actor managed to leave a mystic aura around his persona, leaving a curse written on his gravestone.

A Few Shortcomings and How Can This Essay Be Improved

The sample essay you have just read through is an example of a text that is likely to receive a B- or B grade. But what are the downsides of this written work that hold it back from receiving an A+ assessment?

A thesis statement of a descriptive essay must introduce the reader to the central idea of your essay. However, the sample Shakespeare essay provides a fraction of what the work focuses on. Here is an example of a better thesis statement:

William Shakespeare's life as a renowned dramatist, poet, playwright, and actor appears as a mix of glory and mystery.

This sentence provides the readers with brief information on the person to be discussed in the essay while highlighting the specific aspects of his biography that will be covered.

The sample essay sticks to the chronological order of events in Shakespeare's life. However, the transition from one paragraph to another is not gradual, making the structure seem inconsistent. This can be done by embedding linking words and phrases in the text, such as:

• In spite of
• Furthermore

The list goes on! Integrating such words would enable the essay author to avoid choppy sentences and improve the text flow. Here is an example:

While the great writer's date of birth remains unknown, it is clear that he was born in 1564, during the Tudor period, in the English town of Stratford-upon-Avon. Even though the information on William Shakespeare's early years is not sufficient, it is believed he had a loving upbringing. Besides , for seven years of his adulthood, the great playwright did not appear in any records. That is why this time of Shakespeare's life is often referred to as "the lost years" by historians.

As you can see, linking words make the text significantly easier to read and comprehend.

Besides, it is crucial to keep the thesis statement in mind throughout the whole written work and provide information to support it. The task requires to describe Shakespeare's life as a playwright, which is hardly possible without mentioning at least several of his plays beloved by the public. Here is an example of how the sample Shakespeare essay could be refined in this regard:

Shakespeare's plays were extremely successful already at his time and earned him a big fortune. Notably, early Modern London's public loved his historical plays Henry IV Part I and Richard III.

Even such small alterations create significant changes in the essay, providing more value to the reader.

The essay's conclusion should remind the reader of the thesis statement and be a summary of all the key ideas of the text. The sample essay's final paragraph appears as if it were a part of the written work's main body. Here is what could be added to wrap up the essay in a masterful manner:

While being a public person known to the majority of his contemporaries, Shakespeare remains a mysterious figure. Nevertheless, William Shakespeare's literary works, including his iconic plays, continue to amaze people generation after generation.

This version of the conclusion finalizes the essay while tackling all the topics that have been discussed in it.

An Essay About William Shakespeare: Possible Topics

Now that you've read through the tips to perfect your William Shakespeare essay, you will be able to create an excellent text deserving the top grade. What's left is to select an interesting topic for your essay if it has not been provided by your teacher or professor. Here are some ideas for your written work's theme:

• How Did Shakespeare Interpret Historical Events?
• The Impact Shakespeare's Acting Career Had on His Playwrighting
• The Perception of Women in Tudorian England As Shown in Shakespeare's Works
• What Do the Sonnets Tell Us About Shakespeare?
• Speculations on Shakespeare's Persona and Literary Works
• The Impact of Shakespeare's Masterpieces on Modern English Literature
• Why Are Shakespeare's Works Considered to Be a Significant Milestone in Literature?
• Shakespeare's Contribution to the Development of English Language

Let's see how we can write an essay on Shakespeare, taking Merchant of Venice as an example.

The Main Merchant of Venice Essay Topics

The main themes of the play are:

• honor and responsibility;
• the all-conquering power of love;
• help from friends in need;
• the value of words.

Bassanio and Antonio's friendship is merciful, as Antonio is willing to give his young friend everything that belongs to him, even that which he does not have. And this theme of friendship in this comedy is deeply connected with the dream of a more wonderful life in which money should serve a person without making him a slave.

The theme is best represented by the storyline of the main characters: Shylock and Antonio, residents of Belmont. Antonio, for all his generosity, carries out trading operations, treating them as a natural and completely noble business. Bassanio is openly seeking to marry a wealthy heiress. And Portia, a skillful and sensible hostess, is by no means indifferent to her property. But for all of them, money is only a means of providing them with a bright and free life, not an end in itself, as for Jewish moneylender Shylock, who is in love with money, obsessed with a thirst for accumulation and able to do anything to increase his capital.

The play tells about the value of the word and the obligations undertaken, for which one must be responsible. The plot revolves around an ill-conceived contract and unfulfilled obligations by Antonio. The merchant Antonio, despite the fact that he assumed obligations and did not fulfill the terms of the contract, was able to avoid punishment and revenge from his blood enemy.

In the comedy, the author praises true love. The feelings of Portia and Bassanio were able to defeat paternal authority; thus, Shakespeare says that parents have no control over their children. Portia was forced to marry a suitor, but "is the will of a living daughter curbed by the will of a dead father?" (Act I, Scene I).

Shakespeare did not write anything similar to The Merchant of Venice. However, it is similar to the work of Christopher Marlowe, the Jew of Malta. The real situation of Jews in 16th century England was deplorable: they suffered from mistreatment. In modern Shakespeare's London, only baptized Jews belonged to the country's indigenous population. The play has some hints of anti-Semitism.

The reason for writing the play is not known for sure. It is believed that during his trip to Europe, the author met with Jews in Venice. The prototype of Shylock is often called Michael Locke (1532–1615), a merchant of a Chinese company in which de Vere in 1578–1579 invested 3,000 pounds to finance one of the expeditions. The expedition failed, and Locke paid his debts all his life. That's why the 3,000 ducats in the play are a hint of just that. "Three thousand ducats, due unto the Jew."

Shylock's image is as follows: he is stingy, greedy, and the enemy of fun. Wealth for him is a means of self-affirmation and pressure on others. His bloodthirstiness is confirmed by rather strange usury: a pound of flesh. Shylock, the character of the Renaissance, is rich and multifaceted.

At the end of the play, half of Shylock's fortune is taken away, and he must convert to Christianity. The theme portrayed by the Merchant of Venice is in favor of Christians, whose power at that time was over the Jews. The play shows how both religions originated in antiquity.

• The play The Merchant of Venice is quite interesting and multifaceted. In order to successfully write an essay about this work, you need to choose the topic or character that most affects you. These can be, for example, female characters: Nerissa, Portia, and Elizabethan. No less interesting are the male characters: Lorenzo and Gratiano. Also, one of the most noteworthy topics for your essay may be the theme of a medieval carnival. In Shakespeare's comedy, the tradition of such a holiday is very clearly traced.
• If you find it difficult to get this kind of work, we advise you to seek help in writing services. Professionals will quickly and efficiently complete your assignment after just one click on the Write my essay button.
• Once you have chosen the vector for writing your essay, sketch out your main ideas. For example, here are some thoughts on the theme of depicting the holidays in the play:

The population of Shakespeare's time, with great pleasure, came to watch the play on a famous plot. Since the "Venetian merchant" is often called a tragedy, it is safe to say that it originates from elements of the church rite and is closely associated with Christian holidays. The spirit of the holiday is clearly traced in the play.

• Confirm your opinion with examples from the play and interesting quotes .

One of the brightest of these episodes is Shylock's concern for his home during a carnival celebration through the city streets:

"What, are there masques? Hear you me, Jessica:

Lock up my doors; and when you hear the drum

And the vile squealing of the wry-neck'd fife,

Clamber not you up to the casements then,

Nor thrust your head into the public street."

• Make sure your essay looks good. It should have a good structure: an introduction that is of interest; a body that contains theses and arguments; and a conclusion that summarizes what has been said. Also, note the absence of grammatical and punctuation mistakes in the text. If you have already written an essay and want it to look perfect, contact professional editors who will help you with essay editing .

You can use any of the mentioned topics as the basis for your essay about the life of William Shakespeare and his literary achievements. However, if you feel like you are in a bind and don't have enough time or energy to stick to the assignment deadline, you can always turn to the help of a writing service , such as Studybay.

Our experienced authors are ready to help you with any homework and will follow all requirements. Reach out now to get started!

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A Guide To Writing Shakespeare Essays, Including Pitfalls & Tips

William Shakespeare is undoubtedly one of the most significant personalities of the world and culture in particular. This dramatist is considered to be an inventor of literary English language, an inventor of modern theater, and the greatest poet in the history of England. Starting in the 15th century, Shakespeare’s poems and plays have been published in a lot of countries and translated into almost all languages of the world. It is no wonder that students have to write a Shakespeare essay despite their disciplines and specialization. The assignments vary. You might get a task to analyze the sonnets or a play of a famous playwright and writer, write a book report, or say some words about his life in a Shakespeare biography essay. No matter what is your writing about, experts from  ProHighGrades  collected some ideas and essential tips that will help.

How to Write a Shakespeare Biography Essay

If you are to write essays about the background of a great author, you need to know his biography, and the peculiarities of the time he lived in. Here are some ideas:

• Describe the town he was born and lived. Stratford-upon-Avon was a small English town, and his family was among the noble ones. You can analyze the primal education and the reasons to move to London.
• Literature resources give a little knowledge of young Shakespeare. No one knows the real day of birth. The authors know he was baptized in April. History did not save much about his school or university education. The period which starts in the year 1585 and finishes in 1593 is called “the lost years of Shakespeare.” An excellent attempt to analyze and make suggestions concerning his real life and a search for additional facts will amaze the professors.
• You can analyze the relationship between Shakespeare and other people. Some works and pages contain suggestions about his love, friends, etc. A good Shakespeare biography essay will try to study the stories related to the company surrounding him. Study the writers he mailed.
• Finally, his last years and death are covered in mystery as well. You can try to find a reason why Shakespeare left a big part of his property to his daughter Susanna. Write about a real reason to move back to Stratford.

A good story about a simple man, people to follow him, the political and historical circumstances and terms, the rights of a human of Shakespeare’s society, popular suggestions, and references to his biography from other sources deserve to appear in an excellent Shakespeare essay.

How to Write an Essay About Shakespeare’s Works

Everybody read the author. Students compose tons of writings, where they give information about his collection of works. In order to claim some originality and score free points on exclusiveness, you need to consider many things:

• All the essays about Shakespeare’s literature are written. People wrote about the classic plays after his sonnet or plots. Scholars read, search, and research the significance of his works in almost every paper. You need something contemporary. New plays and interpretations of the texts appear today (for example, a fresh Hamlet play with Benedict Cumberbatch). New movies come from Hollywood and other countries. Take them into account. Many original Shakespeare essay topics are reserved for you
• If you are in despair, choose a way that worked for centuries. Analyze the title of a particular poem or play. A Midsummer Night’s Dream , the plays entitled by names ( Romeo and Juliet , Macbeth , Much Ado About Nothing and others are a reason to write a good, short essay about William Shakespeare.
• A good idea is to analyze the characters of Shakespeare. His plays are not all full of action, but characters are deep. Conflicts, emotions, experience, and background stand behind every one. To make a Shakespeare paper better, reading work is not enough. Try to watch the performance of actors from plays and movies. Usually, they do not make an exact copy of the text but bring the new interpretation.
• Good Shakespeare essay examples choose famous critics for referencing. A catchy quote or a properly referenced idea will make your essay worth money and effort. Remember that the question you ask in the Shakespeare paper must find its answer despite the length of a paper, and a number of essay pages needed.
• Adjust your essay to a discipline. In every Shakespeare text, you can find something for a history, sociology, culture, linguistics, psychology, arts, mythology, and literature essay.

Shakespeare was not a simple person and now has a truly global identity. His impact on his and further times are great. Many people study him, and increasingly significant numbers will no doubt do so in the future. You can also count on the guys from EditProofRead to check out your paper to make sure it’s good.

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Essay on William Shakespeare

500 words essay on william shakespeare.

William Shakespeare was certainly a very famous writer. The man is credited with an unbelievable thirty-eight plays, two narrative poems, several other poems and a whopping one hundred fifty-four sonnets. So let us take a peek inside the life of this genius with this essay on William Shakespeare.

                                                                                                                               Essay On William Shakespeare

Early Life of William Shakespeare

Shakespeare is the world’s pre-eminent dramatist and according to many experts is the greatest writer in the English language. Furthermore, he is also called England’s National Poet and also has the nickname of the Bard of Avon. Such a worthy reputation is due to his top-notch unmatchable writing skills.

William Shakespeare was born to a successful businessman in Stratford-upon-Avon on 23rd April in the year 1564. Shakespeare’s mother was the daughter of a landlord and came from a well-to-do family. About the age of seven, William Shakespeare began attending the Stratford Grammar School.

The teachers at Stratford were strict in nature and the school timings were long. One can say that William Shakespeare’s use of nature in his writings was due to the influence of the fields and woods surrounding the Stratford Grammar School on him.

Warwickshire was an interesting place to live, especially for those who were writers. Furthermore, the river Avon ran down through the town and because of this Shakespeare later got the title ‘Bard of Avon’. At the age of eighteen, William Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway, a woman who in age was eight years older than him.

Illustrious Career of William Shakespeare

After his education, William Shakespeare became engaged in theatrical life in London. Furthermore, it was from here that his career likely took off. Moreover, by the year 1592, the popularity of William Shakespeare had grown to be very much.

Shakespeare became a member of one of the famous theatre companies in the city. Moreover, this company was ‘the Lord Chamberlain’s Men’. Also, the theatre companies during that era were commercial organizations that were dependent upon the audience who came to watch the plays.

From the year 1594, Shakespeare became the leading member of the acting group and remained that for almost the entire rest of his career. By the year 1594, the production of at least six plays had taken place by William Shakespeare.

Evidence shows that Shakespeare became a member of a well-known travelling theatre group. After joining this theatre, Shakespeare did plays in the presence of many dignitaries in various places.

Shakespeare, throughout his life, came up with some outstanding pieces of English literature , involving memorable timeless characters with human qualities. Furthermore, the human qualities and struggles of Shakespeare’s characters are such that one can relate with them even today. Shakespeare retired from his acting profession in 1613 and became completely devoted to writing many excellent plays.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

 Conclusion of the Essay on William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare is, without a doubt, one of the greatest writers of all times. Furthermore, his excellence in story writing, narrative building, and character development is of the highest order. Individuals of such a high calibre appear once in a century or are even rarer than that.

FAQs For Essay on William Shakespeare

Question 1: Why is William Shakespeare so famous?

Answer 1:  William Shakespeare’s story writing skills are of an extremely high-quality. Furthermore, his works are characterized by outstanding narrative building around the topics of jealousy, mystery, love, magic, death, murder, life, revenge, and grief. That is why William Shakespeare is so famous.

Question 2: What are some of the most famous works of William Shakespeare?

Answer 2: Some of the most famous works of William Shakespeare are as follows:

• Romeo and Juliet
• The Merchant of Venice
• Much Ado About Nothing

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• Shakespeare Research Guide

This guide is designed for Harvard students and faculty doing research on Shakespeare. Because of the vast number and range of Shakespeare studies, this guide is only an introduction to the field, a survey that is nowhere near exhaustive. The principle of selection was that "less is more": What are the essential readings someone needs to know about to begin research on a topic? It's usually not much more than a couple of classic studies and one or two recent entries in the discussion.

This guide includes reliable editions and key scholarship as well as useful databases, reference works, and research tools (Shakespeare studies is such a vast field that you need a research guide to the research guides). Most of the below items are specific to Shakespeare studies, but sometimes resources used for literary studies more generally are included if they frequently arise when researching Shakespeare. Efforts have been made to provide links, including links to full access for Harvard affiliates, whenever possible.

• Gary Taylor, John Jowett, Terri Bourus, and Gabriel Egan (Eds.), The New Oxford Shakespeare (2016)
• Stephen Greenblatt, Walter Cohen, Jean E. Howard, and Katharine Eisaman Maus (Eds.), The Norton Shakespeare (3rd ed., 2015)
• The Arden Shakespeare Series
• The Pelican Shakespeare Series
• The Norton Shakespeare Series
• The Shakespeare in Performance Series
• World Shakespeare Bibliography   [ Harvard Access]
• The MLA International Bibliography   [ Harvard Access]

Dictionaries

• Oxford English Dictionary   [Harvard Access]
• Lexicons of Early Modern Englis h  [Harvard Access]
• Ben and David Crystal,  Shakespeare’s Words  (2002)
• Stanley Wells,  A Dictionary of Shakespeare  (2 nd  ed., 2005)
• Gordon Williams,  A Glossary of Shakespeare’s Sexual Language  (1997)

Concordances

• Marvin Spevack, The Harvard Concordance to Shakespeare (1973)
• Open Source Shakespeare
• Michael Dobson and Stanley Wells, The Oxford Companion to Shakespeare (2001) [  Harvard Access   ]
• David Scott Kastan, A Companion to Shakespeare (1999)
• Andrew Dickson, The Rough Guide to Shakespeare (2005; revised 2009)
• Richard Dutton and Jean E. Howard, A Companion to Shakespeare’s Works (2003)
• Samuel Crowl, Shakespeare and Film: A Brief Norton Guide (2008)
• Arthur F. Kinney (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Shakespeare (2012)
• The Cambridge Companions
• Margreta De Grazia and Stanley Wells (Eds.), The New Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare (2nd ed., 2011) [  Harvard Access ]
• Claire McEachern (Ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Shakespearean Tragedy (2nd Ed., 2013) [  Harvard Access ]
• Alexander Leggatt (Ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Shakespearean Comedy (2001) [  Harvard Access ]
• Michael Hattaway (Ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare's History Plays (2002) [  Harvard Access ]
• Catherine M. S. Alexander (Ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare's Last Plays (2009) [  Harvard Access ]
• Patrick Cheney (Ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare's Poetry (2007) [  Harvard Access ]
• Ton Hoenselaars (Ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare and Contemporary Dramatists (2012) [  Harvard Access ]
• Stanley Wells and Sarah Stanton (Eds.), The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare on Stage (2002) [ Harvard Access ]
• Russell Jackson (Ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare on Film (2nd ed., 2007) [  Harvard Access ]
• Robert Shaughnessy (Ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare and Popular Culture (2007) [  Harvard Access ]

Annotated Bibliographies

• David Bevington, "William Shakespeare," in  Oxford Bibliographies: Renaissance and Reformation   [ Harvard Access ]
• Andrew Hadfield and Amy Kenny, "William Shakespeare," in  Oxford Bibliographies: British and Irish Literature   [ Harvard Access ]
• Larry S. Champion, The Essential Shakespeare: An Annotated Bibliography of Major Modern Studies (1986; 2nd ed., 1993)
• The Garland Shakespeare Bibliographies
• David Bevington, "English Renaissance Drama," in  Oxford Bibliographies: Renaissance and Reformation   [ Harvard Access ]
• Shakespeare Quarterly  [ Harvard Access  ]
• Shakespeare: Journal of the British Shakespeare Association   [ Harvard Access ]
• Shakespeare Studies  [  Harvard Access ]
• Shakespeare Jahrbuch  [  Harvard Access ]
• Borrowers and Lenders: The Journal of Shakespeare and Appropriation  [  Harvard Access ]
• Shakespeare Bulletin  [  Harvard Access ]
• Shakespeare Survey
• Shakespeare International Yearbook  
• Multicultural Shakespeare

Associations

• Shakespeare Association of America
• British Shakespeare Association
• Folger Shakespeare Library
• Shakespeare's Globe

Life and Times

• S. Schoenbaum, William Shakespeare: A Compact Documentary Life (1977; revised 1987)
• Katherine Duncan-Jones, Ungentle Shakespeare: Scenes from his Life (2001)
• Stephen Greenblatt, Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare (2004)
• James Shapiro, 1599:A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare (2005)
• David Bevington, Shakespeare and Biography (2010)
• E.M.W. Tillyard, The Elizabethan World-Picture (1943)
• J. D. Cox and D. S. Kastan, A New History of Early English Drama (1997)
• John Morrill (Ed.), The Oxford Illustrated History of Tudor & Stuart Britain (1996)
• John Cannon (Ed.),  The Oxford Companion to British History (2009)
• Geoffrey Bullough, Narrative and Dramatic Sources of Shakespeare (1957–73)
• Kenneth Muir, The Sources of Shakespeare’s Plays (1977)
• Stuart Gillespie (Ed.), Shakespeare’s Books: A Dictionary of Shakespeare's Sources (2001)

Language and Style

• Sister Miriam Joseph, Shakespeare’s Use of the Arts of Language (1947)
• M. M. Mahood, Shakespeare’s Wordplay (1957)
• Richard A. Lanham, The Motives of Eloquence: Literary Rhetoric in the Renaissance (1976)
• Russ McDonald,  Shakespeare and the Arts of Language  (2001)
• David Crystal,  Think on my Words: Exploring Shakespeare's Language (2008)
• Peter Mack, Reading and Rhetoric in Montaigne and Shakespeare (2010)
• Lawrence Danson, Shakespeare’s Dramatic Genres (2000)
• Anthony R. Guneratne (Ed.),  Shakespeare and Genre: From Early Modern Inheritances to Postmodern Legacies (2011)
• C. L. Barber, Shakespeare’s Festive Comedy (1959, revised 1972)
• Northrop Frye, A Natural Perspective: The Development of Shakespearean Comedy and Romance (1965)
• Franquois Laroque, Shakespeare’s Festive World: Elizabethan Seasonal Entertainment and the Professional Stage (1993)
• A. C. Bradley, Shakespearian Tragedy (1904)
• Stanley Cavell, Disowning Knowledge in Seven Plays of Shakespeare (1987)
• Paul Kottman, Disinheriting the Globe: Tragic Conditions in Shakespeare (2009)
• E. M. W. Tillyard, Shakespeare’s History Plays (1944)
• Lily B. Campbell, Shakespeare’s Histories (1947)
• Peter Saccio, Shakespeare’s English Kings (1977, revised 2000)
• Phyllis Rackin, Stages of History: Shakespeare’s English Chronicles (1990)
• Romances/Tragicomedies
• F.S. Boas, “The Problem Plays,” in Shakespeare and His Predecessors (1896)
• Russ McDonald, Shakespeare’s Late Style (2006)
• Joel Fineman, Shakespeare’s Perjured Eye: The Invention of Poetic Subjectivity in the Sonnets (1986)
• Helen Vendler, The Art of Shakespeare’s Sonnets (1997)

Stephen  Orgel and Sean Keilen (Eds.),  Shakespeare’s Poems (1999)

Textual Issues

• Textual Editing
• Margreta de Grazia,  Shakespeare Verbatim: The Reproduction of Authenticity and the 1790 Apparatus  (1991)
• Leah Marcus, Unediting the Renaissance (1996)

Sonia  Massai,  Shakespeare and the Rise of the Editor (2007)

• David Scott Kastan, Shakespeare and the Book (2001)
• Lucas Erne,  Shakespeare and the Book Trade (2013)
• Ron Rosenbaum, The Shakespeare Wars: Clashing Scholars, Public Fiascoes, Palace Coups (2006)
•  Hugh Craig and Arthur F. Kinney (Eds.),  Shakespeare, Computers, and the Mystery of Authorship (2012)
• The Authorship Question
• Jonathan Hope, The Authorship of Shakespeare’s Plays (1994)
• Brian Vickers, Shakespeare, Co-Author (2002)
• James Shapiro,  Contested Will: Who Wrote Shakespeare?  (2011)
• The Shakespeare Authorship Page

The Critical Tradition

• Brian Vickers, Shakespeare: The Critical Heritage (1974–81)
• Jonathan Bate, The Romantics on Shakespeare (1992)
• Ann Thompson and Sasha Roberts, Women Reading Shakespeare, 1660-1900 (1997)
• Michael Dobson, The Making of the National Poet (1992)
• Michael Taylor (Ed.), Shakespeare Criticism in the Twentieth Century (2001)
• John Gross, After Shakespeare (2003)

Shakespeare and ...

• Shakespeare and English Literature
• Lukas Erne, Shakespeare as Literary Dramatist (2003)
• Shakespeare and Drama
• Anne Righter, Shakespeare and the Idea of the Play (1962)
• Shakespeare and Literary Theory
• Patricia Parker and Geoffrey Hartman (eds.), Shakespeare and the Question of Theory (1985)
• Alternative Shakespeares (3 vols.: 1985, 1996, and 2007)
• Jonathan Gil Harris, Shakespeare and Literary Theory (2010)
• Shakespeare and the Classics
• Jonathan Bate, Shakespeare and Ovid (1994)
• Heather James, Shakespeare’s Troy: Drama, Politics, and the Translation of Empire (1997)
• Charles Martindale and A. B. Taylor (Eds.),  Shakespeare and the Classics (2004)
• Shakespeare and Philosophy
• Arthur F. Kinney, Shakespeare and Cognition: Aristotle’s Legacy and Shakespearean Drama (2006)
• A. D. Nuttall, Shakespeare the Thinker (2007)
• Jennifer Bates and Richard Wilson (Eds), Shakespeare and Continental Philosophy (2014)
• Shakespeare and Politics
• Jonathan Dollimore and Alan Sinfield (Eds.), Political Shakespeare: Essays in Cultural Materialism (1994)
• Louis Montrose, The Purpose of Playing: Shakespeare and the Cultural Politics of the Elizabethan Theatre (1996)
• Andrew Hadfield, Shakespeare and Republicanism (2005)
• Shakespeare and Law
• Bradin Cormack, Martha C. Nussbaum, Richard Strier (Eds.),  Shakespeare and the Law: A Conversation among Disciplines and Professions (2013)
• Andrew Zurcher,  Shakespeare and Law (2014)
• Shakespeare and Religion
• Jonathan Dollimore, Radical Tragedy: Religion, Ideology, and Power in the Drama of Shakespeare and His Contemporaries (1984)
• Allison Shell, Shakespeare and Religion (2010)
• Shakespeare and Psychology
• Ernest Jones, Hamlet and Oedipus (1949)
• Norman Holland, Psychoanalysis in Shakespeare (1966)
• Julia Reinhard Lupton and Kenneth Reinhard, After Oedipus: Shakespeare in Psychoanalysis (1992)
• Harold Bloom, Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human (1998)
• Shakespeare and Race
• James Shapiro, Shakespeare and the Jews (1996)
• Peter Hulme and William H. Sherman,  ‘The Tempest’ and its Travels (2000)
• Ania Loomba, Shakespeare, Race and Colonialism (2002)
• Shakespeare and Gender
• Juliet Dusinberre, Shakespeare and the Nature of Women (1975)
• Patricia Parker, Literary Fat Ladies: Rhetoric, Gender, Property (1987)
• Janet Adelman, Suffocating Mothers: Fantasies of Maternal Origin in Shakespeare’s Plays, Hamlet to the Tempest (1992)
• Stephen Orgel, Impersonations: The Performance of Gender in Shakespeare’s England (1996)
• Bruce Smith, Shakespeare and Masculinity (2000)
• Shakespeare and Sexuality
• Jonathan Goldberg, Queering the Renaissance (1994)
• Bruce R. Smith, Homosexual Desire in Shakespeare’s England: A Cultural Poetics (1994)
• Madhavi Menon (Ed.),  Shakesqueer:  A Queer Companion to the Complete Works of Shakespeare (2001)
• Shakespeare and the Arts
• W. Moelwyn Merchant, Shakespeare and the Artist (1959)
• Jane Martineau (Ed.), Shakespeare in Art (2003)
• Tarnya Cooper, Searching for Shakespeare (2006)
• Shakespeare and Music
• David Lindley, Shakespeare and Music (2006)
• Julie Sanders, Shakespeare and Music: Afterlives and Borrowings (2007)
• Shakespeare and Dance
• Alan Brissenden,  Shakespeare and the Dance  (1981)
• Shakespeare and Modernity
• Jan Kott, Shakespeare Our Contemporary (1964)
• Richard Halpern, Shakespeare Among the Moderns (1997)
• Marjorie Garber,  Shakespeare and Modern Culture (2008)

Performance

• Early Modern Performance
• E. K. Chambers, The Elizabethan Stage (1923)
• Andrew Gurr, The Shakespearean Stage, 1574–1642 (Fourth Edition, 2009)
• Andrew Gurr, Playgoing in Shakespeare’s London (Third Edition, 2004)
• Modern Performance
• J. R. Mulryne , ‎ Margaret Shewring , ‎and  Andrew Gurr (Eds.),  Shakespeare's Globe Rebuilt  (1997)
• Jonathan Bate and Russell Jackson (eds.), The Oxford Illustrated History of Shakespeare on Stage (revised 2001)
• The Actors on Shakespeare Series
• Film and Television Performance
• Lynda E. Boose and Richard Burt, Shakespeare, The Movie: Popularizing the Plays on Film, TV and Video (1997)
• Kenneth S. Rothwell, A History of Shakespeare on Screen (1999, revised 2004)
• Mark Thornton Burnett and Ramona Wray, Screening Shakespeare in the Twenty-First Century (2006)
• Barbara Hodgdon, The Shakespeare Trade: Performances and Appropriations (1998)
• Ton Hoenselaars (Ed.), Shakespeare and the Language of Translation (2004)

Internet Resources

• Shakespeare Magazine
• The Shakespeare Standard
• Shakespeare Post
• Folger Online Resources
• Mr William Shakespeare and the Internet
• Internet Shakespeare Editions
• Royal Shakespeare Company’s Online Resources
• Shake Sphere
• Play Shakespeare
• Encyclopedia Britannica’s Guide to Shakespeare
• The British Library, Shakespeare in Quarto
• The Furness Collection
• JSTOR, Understanding Shakespeare
• Hamlet Works
• Shakespeare’s Globe, The Globe Player
• The English Short-Title Catalogue
• Early English Books Online
• Records of Early English Drama
• The British Universities Film and Video Council, The International Database of Shakespeare on Film, Television and Radio
• Shakespeare Documented
• Shakespeare Unlimited
• LUNA: Folger Digital Image Collection
• Furness Theatrical Image Collection
• Victorian Illustrated Shakespeare Archive
• Royal Shakespeare Company YouTube Channel
• Globe Theatre YouTube Channel
• Shakespeare in Performance
• Kanopy Shakespeare Series
• MIT Global Shakespeares
• Theatre in Video
• Shakespeare Across the Disciplines
• Shakespeareana
• Public Shakespeare

William Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18 Analysis: Tone, Imagery, Symbolism, and More

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• As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
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Sonnet 18: Introduction

Sonnet 18 analysis: literary devices, sonnet 18: tone and themes, symbolism and imagery in the sonnet 18, literary analysis of sonnet 18: conclusion, works cited.

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? The Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare is one of the most known Shakespeare’s sonnets. Want to learn more about the themes, tone, and imagery in Sonnet 18 ? Read the literary analysis below!

This essay analyzes Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18 . The sonnet is a captivating love story of a young man fascinated by the beauty of his mistress and affectionately comparing her to nature. The first stanza, ‘Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?’ opens the poem with an indication of a young man deeply in love (Shakespeare 1). He envisions her as a beautiful creature and even wonders whether one can compare her beauty to any summer season.

This love sonnet falls under the lyric genre, with the author expressing deep emotional feelings for his mistress throughout the poem. The first stanza gives an assumption to the reader that the poet is not sure of what is more beautiful, a beautiful summer day or his mistress.

However, the air is cleared in the preceding stanzas that see the poet overcome by flamboyant feelings and admits that his lover is even lovelier than the summer itself (Shakespeare 2). The poem embeds an image of an undying and eternal kind of beauty as visualized by the poet.

The poet adopts a thematic structure technique to express his lover’s beauty. A line-by-line analysis of Sonnet 18 shows that the first stanza acts as an eye-opener of the poet’s attempt to compare his lover with summer. He goes on to state why his lover is better. Stanzas 1-6 give a solid reason as to why one cannot compare his lover to summer. Though summer appears to be beautiful, it is not constant and can be very disappointing if solely relied upon. It also does not last as long as his lover’s beauty would.

The stanzas give detailed answers to his rhetorical question posed at the beginning of the poem. The poet’s praises and awe are well expressed in these stanzas by revealing all the beautiful qualities seized by his mistress. Her beauty is constant and can neither be shaken by strong winds nor can it become unpredictable like the hot sun. It doesn’t waiver in the eyes of the beholder like the clouds swallow the summer hence losing its beauty.

Stanzas 7-14 indicates everlasting beauty, which he says cannot be claimed by anything, not even a natural calamity such as death. In the conclusion of the Sonnet 18 , W. Shakespeare admits that ‘Every fair from fair sometime decline,’ he makes his mistress’s beauty an exception by claiming that her youthful nature will never fade (Shakespeare 7). Interestingly, the author takes a different twist in the ending when he no longer compares the beauty to the summer but rather to the immortality of his poems (Shakespeare 14).

The poem features an affectionate mood portrayed by the poet throughout the poem. The tone of the Sonnet 18 is that of the romantic intimacy of a young man intrigued by a woman’s beauty. The mood and the tone, therefore, play a significant role in describing the setting of the poem.

The poet is sitting in a field on a warm summer day (Shakespeare 1). Though the weather seems ideal, it is breezy, with rough winds’ shaking the buds of May’ (Shakespeare 3). That is an indication that the poet is sitting under a tree enjoying the scenery on a hot afternoon. The poet enjoys the unpredictable weather till the clouds swallow the sun, and as he states, ‘By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm’ d,’ nature always seems to take its course during sunset and sunrise (Shakespeare 8).

The poet uses metaphor and personification to bring life to the Sonnet 18 . For example, he uses figurative speech to presume change, fate, and immortality. He speaks of how he will internally save his lover’s beauty from fading from the face of the earth (Shakespeare 12). ‘Summer’ as a literary device is used to mean the life of the mistress that should be safe from fate. Fate, in this case, is portrayed by the use of scorching sun and rough winds.

The imagery of the Sonnet 18 includes personified death and rough winds. The poet has even gone further to label the buds as ‘darling’ (Shakespeare 3). Death serves as a supervisor of ‘its shade,’ which is a metaphor for ‘after life’ (Shakespeare 11). All these actions are related to human beings. ‘Eternal lines to lines though growest’ (Shakespeare 12) is a praise of the poet’s poems which he says will last forever so long as ‘men can breathe or eyes can see,’ a metaphor symbolizing ‘poet lovers’ will be there to read them (Shakespeare 13).

He views beauty as an art that cannot diminish despite all the hurdles in life. However, beauty does not apply to everything but only to images that appeal more to the eyes of the beholder than nature itself. That kind of beauty is immortal and surpasses all tribulations caused by nature itself.

This essay on the Sonnet 18 by Shakespeare analyzed the poem’s tone, imagery, meaning, and main themes. In summary, the poet is fascinated by his mistress’s beauty, such that he cannot imagine that very beauty fading from his eyes. He argues that beauty is constant and, unlike a ‘summer day,’ is not affected by any changes or fate at all. He, however, seems to be praising his poem as characterized at the end of the poem, where he only compares the everlasting beauty to his text. The Sonnet eighteen’s conclusion indicates that beauty can only end only when the poem ceases to exist.

Shakespeare, William. “ Shakespeare Sonnet 18. ” Shakespeare Sonnets . 1564. Web.

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IvyPanda. (2018, October 11). William Shakespeare's Sonnet 18 Analysis: Tone, Imagery, Symbolism, and More. https://ivypanda.com/essays/shakespeares-sonnet-18/

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IvyPanda . 2018. "William Shakespeare's Sonnet 18 Analysis: Tone, Imagery, Symbolism, and More." October 11, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/shakespeares-sonnet-18/.

1. IvyPanda . "William Shakespeare's Sonnet 18 Analysis: Tone, Imagery, Symbolism, and More." October 11, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/shakespeares-sonnet-18/.

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Home — Essay Samples — Literature — Writers — William Shakespeare

Essays on William Shakespeare

What makes a good william shakespeare essay topic.

When it comes to crafting an exceptional essay on the works of William Shakespeare, the choice of topic is paramount. The right topic can breathe life into your essay, making it captivating, unique, and unforgettable. Here are some innovative tips to help you brainstorm and select an essay topic that will mesmerize your readers:

- Research and Immerse Yourself: Begin by immersing yourself in the vast repertoire of William Shakespeare's works. Dive into his plays, poems, and sonnets. This deep exploration will provide you with invaluable insights into his themes, characters, and writing style.

- Personal Passion: Opt for a topic that ignites a genuine spark of interest within you. When you are truly passionate about the subject matter, it will shine through in your writing, captivating your readers and making your essay more compelling.

- Unveiling the Unexplored: Seek out uncharted territory and lesser-known aspects of Shakespeare's works. Instead of treading the well-worn path of common themes or characters, venture into the hidden gems that lie within his literature.

- Contemporary Connections: Explore the relevance of Shakespeare's works in today's society and connect them to modern-day issues. Examining the timeless themes and their impact on the present can render your essay thought-provoking and engaging.

- Characters and Relationships Under the Microscope: Shakespeare's characters are multifaceted and intricate. Choose a topic that allows you to analyze their motivations, relationships, or character development within his plays.

- Comparative Analysis: Engage in a comparative exploration of Shakespeare's works alongside other literary pieces, historical events, or even contemporary movies or plays. This fresh perspective will make your essay stand out from the crowd.

- Social and Cultural Context: Delve into the social and cultural milieu that shaped Shakespeare's plays. Discuss how his works were influenced by the Elizabethan era and how they mirror the society of that time.

- Unveiling Symbolism and Imagery: Shakespeare's works are a treasure trove of symbolism and vivid imagery. Select a topic that allows you to analyze and interpret these literary devices, offering profound insights into the text.

- Controversial Contemplations: Shakespeare fearlessly explored contentious themes such as power, love, and morality. Choose a topic that tackles these provocative issues, sparking a lively debate among your readers.

- Unconventional Interpretations: Present a fresh and unconventional interpretation of a particular play, scene, or character. Challenge conventional ideas and encourage critical thinking with your unique perspective.

Remember, a remarkable Shakespeare essay topic should be captivating, original, and thought-provoking. By considering these recommendations, you will be able to select a topic that will enrapture your readers and showcase your exceptional analytical skills.

Essay Topic Ideas for William Shakespeare

Prepare to be dazzled by these outstanding essay topics on William Shakespeare:

• The Empowerment of Women in Shakespeare's Tragedies
• Fate and Its Grip on Romeo and Juliet
• The Fine Line Between Madness and Sanity in Hamlet
• Love's Intricacies and Deception in Much Ado About Nothing
• Unraveling the Allure of Power and Ambition in Macbeth
• Exploring the Dark Depths of Evil in Othello
• Shakespeare's Brave Confrontation of Racism in The Merchant of Venice
• The Mighty Influence of Language and Wordplay in A Midsummer Night's Dream
• Revenge and Justice Collide in Titus Andronicus
• The Greek Mythology Odyssey within Shakespeare's Plays
• The Symbolic Tapestry of Nature in King Lear
• Gender Roles and Identity in Twelfth Night
• Time's Elusive Spell in The Tempest
• The Supernatural's Sinister Dance in Macbeth
• The Illusion of Appearance versus the Reality of Truth in Measure for Measure
• The Complexities of Love's Dominion in Antony and Cleopatra
• The Intricate Weaving of Politics in Julius Caesar
• Jealousy's Venomous Touch in Othello
• The Struggle between Duty and Desire in Hamlet
• A Profound Exploration of Human Nature in Troilus and Cressida

Provocative Questions for Your William Shakespeare Essay

Prepare to embark on an intellectual journey with these thought-provoking essay questions on William Shakespeare:

• How does Shakespeare challenge traditional gender roles in his plays?
• What is the significance of the supernatural elements in Macbeth?
• How does Shakespeare explore the theme of power and its corrupting influence in his tragedies?
• Analyze the portrayal of love and relationships in Shakespeare's comedies.
• To what extent does fate play a role in Romeo and Juliet, and are the characters responsible for their own destinies?
• Discuss the concept of madness and its impact on the characters in Hamlet.
• How does Shakespeare employ symbolism and imagery to convey his themes in The Tempest?
• Analyze the role of loyalty and betrayal in Julius Caesar.
• How does Othello's race affect the outcome of the play?
• Discuss the portrayal of revenge in Shakespeare's plays.

Creative William Shakespeare Essay Prompts

Ignite your creativity with these captivating essay prompts on William Shakespeare:

• Imagine you are a director staging a modern adaptation of one of Shakespeare's plays. How would you interpret the setting, costumes, and overall production to make it relevant to a contemporary audience?
• Write a heartfelt letter from one of Shakespeare's characters to another, expressing their deepest desires, fears, or regrets.
• Create a powerful monologue from the perspective of a minor character in any of Shakespeare's plays, unveiling their untold story or hidden emotions.
• Write a riveting dialogue between Shakespeare and a modern-day playwright, discussing the enduring appeal and relevance of his works.
• Imagine you are a literary critic tasked with analyzing a previously undiscovered Shakespearean sonnet. Interpret its meaning and discuss its significance within the context of his other works.

William Shakespeare Essay FAQ

Q: How should I begin my essay on William Shakespeare?

A: Commence with a captivating introduction that sets the stage for your essay and introduces your thesis statement. You can start with a compelling quote, an intriguing fact, or a thought-provoking question.

Q: Can I choose a lesser-known play by Shakespeare as my essay topic?

A: Absolutely! Exploring lesser-known plays can provide a fresh perspective, allowing you to delve into unexplored themes and characters. Just ensure that you provide enough context and background information for your readers.

Q: Should I include direct quotes from Shakespeare's works in my essay?

A: Including quotes can enhance your analysis and provide evidence to support your arguments. However, make sure to seamlessly integrate and analyze the quotes, rather than using them as mere filler.

Q: Can I incorporate modern examples or references in my essay on Shakespeare?

A: Yes, incorporating modern examples or references can help readers connect with the themes and relevance of Shakespeare's works. Just ensure that the examples are relevant and enhance your analysis, rather than overshadowing it.

Q: How can I make my Shakespeare essay stand out from others?

A: To make your essay shine, choose a unique and thought-provoking topic, offer fresh interpretations, and employ engaging language and writing style. Support your arguments with evidence and provide a well-structured analysis.

Remember, writing a Shakespeare essay is an opportunity to showcase your critical thinking and analytical skills. Embark on a thrilling journey through the world of Shakespeare and let your creativity illuminate your writing!

Deception in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: a Critical Analysis

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Racial Discrimination and Sexism in William Shakespeare's Plays

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April 1564, Stratford-upon-Avon, United Kingdom - April 23, 1616, Stratford-upon-Avon, United Kingdom

Playwright, Poet, Actor

English Renaissance

Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Julius Caesar, The Tempest, Much Ado About Nothing,Twelfth Night, Macbeth, etc.

William Shakespeare, widely regarded as one of the greatest playwrights in history, possessed a unique and influential style of writing. His works demonstrate a mastery of language, poetic devices, and dramatic techniques that continue to captivate audiences centuries later. Shakespeare's writing style can be characterized by several distinctive features. Firstly, his use of language is rich and vibrant. He employed a vast vocabulary and crafted elaborate sentences, often employing complex wordplay and puns to create layers of meaning. Shakespeare's writing is renowned for its poetic beauty, rhythmic verse, and memorable lines that have become ingrained in the English language. Secondly, Shakespeare excelled in character development. His characters are multidimensional, with complex emotions and motivations. Through their soliloquies and dialogues, he explores the depths of human nature, delving into themes of love, jealousy, ambition, and morality. Each character's speech and mannerisms reflect their unique personality, contributing to the depth and realism of his plays. Lastly, Shakespeare's dramatic structure and storytelling techniques are unparalleled. He skillfully weaves together intricate plots, incorporating elements of comedy, tragedy, romance, and history. His plays feature dramatic tension, unexpected twists, and powerful climaxes that keep audiences engaged and emotionally invested.

One of Shakespeare's major contributions was his ability to delve into the depths of human emotions and the complexities of the human condition. Through his plays, he explored themes such as love, jealousy, ambition, revenge, and moral dilemmas, offering profound insights into the human psyche. His characters, like Hamlet, Macbeth, Juliet, and Othello, are iconic and have become archetypes in literature. Shakespeare's language and wordplay revolutionized English literature. He introduced new words, phrases, and expressions that have become an integral part of the English lexicon. His plays are a testament to his mastery of language, employing poetic techniques such as metaphors, similes, alliteration, and iambic pentameter to create rhythm, beauty, and depth in his writing. Moreover, Shakespeare's plays transcended the boundaries of time and place, showcasing universal themes and resonating with audiences across cultures and generations. His works continue to be performed and adapted in various forms, including stage productions, films, and literary adaptations, further solidifying his contribution to the world of literature.

Film Adaptations: Many of Shakespeare's plays have been adapted into films, bringing his stories to life on the silver screen. Notable examples include Franco Zeffirelli's "Romeo and Juliet" (1968), Kenneth Branagh's "Henry V" (1989), and Baz Luhrmann's modernized version of "Romeo + Juliet" (1996). TV Series and Episodes: Shakespeare's works have been featured in TV series and episodes, either through direct adaptations or by incorporating his themes and characters. For instance, the popular TV show "The Simpsons" has parodied Shakespeare in episodes like "A Midsummer's Nice Dream" and "Tales from the Public Domain." Shakespearean-Inspired Films: Some films draw inspiration from Shakespeare's works without being direct adaptations. Examples include "Shakespeare in Love" (1998), which explores the fictionalized romance between Shakespeare and a noblewoman, and "10 Things I Hate About You" (1999), a modern-day adaptation of "The Taming of the Shrew." Literary References: Shakespeare is often referenced in literature, showcasing his enduring influence. For instance, Aldous Huxley's dystopian novel "Brave New World" features characters who quote Shakespeare, and Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale" includes a clandestine resistance group called "Mayday," derived from "May Day" in Shakespeare's "The Tempest."

1. Shakespeare is known for writing 39 plays, including tragedies like "Hamlet," comedies like "A Midsummer Night's Dream," and histories like "Henry V." 2. Shakespeare is credited with introducing over 1,700 words to the English language, including popular terms such as "eyeball," "fashionable," and "lonely." 3. Shakespeare's works have been translated into more than 80 languages, making him one of the most widely translated playwrights in history. 4. Shakespeare's plays continue to be performed and studied worldwide, with an estimated 17,000 performances of his works every year. 5. Despite his literary fame, little is known about Shakespeare's personal life. There are gaps and uncertainties surrounding his birthdate, education, and even the authorship of his works. 6. The Globe Theatre: Shakespeare's plays were performed at the famous Globe Theatre in London, which he co-owned. The reconstructed Globe Theatre stands in London today and offers modern audiences a glimpse into the world of Elizabethan theatre. 7. In addition to his plays, Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets, which are celebrated for their lyrical beauty and exploration of themes such as love, time, and mortality.

William Shakespeare is an essential topic for essay writing due to his immense significance in the world of literature and his enduring influence on various aspects of human culture. Exploring Shakespeare's works provides a rich opportunity to delve into themes of love, tragedy, power, and human nature. His plays and sonnets continue to captivate readers and audiences with their universal themes and timeless relevance. Studying Shakespeare allows us to gain a deeper understanding of the English language itself, as he contributed numerous words and phrases that are still in use today. Additionally, his innovative use of language, poetic techniques, and complex characterizations showcase his unparalleled mastery as a playwright. Furthermore, Shakespeare's impact extends beyond literature. His works have been adapted into numerous films, theater productions, and other art forms, making him a cultural icon. His plays also provide a valuable lens through which to analyze historical and social contexts, as they reflect the values, beliefs, and conflicts of the Elizabethan era.

"All that glitters is not gold." "By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes. Open, locks, Whoever knocks!" In William Shakespeare's Hamlet, "to be, or not to be, that is the question." In the 21st century, "to code, or not to code, that is the challenge.

1. Shakespeare, W., Shakespeare, W., & Kaplan, M. L. (2002). The merchant of Venice (pp. 25-120). Palgrave Macmillan US. (https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-137-07784-4_2) 2. Shakespeare, W. (2019). The tempest. In One-Hour Shakespeare (pp. 137-194). Routledge. (https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429262647-9/tempest-william-shakespeare) 3. Johnson, S. (2020). The Preface to The Plays of William Shakespeare (1765). In Samuel Johnson (pp. 423-462). Yale University Press. (https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.12987/9780300258004-040/html?lang=de) 4. Denvir, J. (1986). William Shakespeare and the Jurisprudence of Comedy. Stan. L. Rev., 39, 825. (https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/stflr39&div=38&id=&page=) 5. Demmen, J. (2020). Issues and challenges in compiling a corpus of early modern English plays for comparison with those of William Shakespeare. ICAME Journal, 44(1), 37-68. (https://sciendo.com/article/10.2478/icame-2020-0002) 6. Liu, X., Xu, A., Liu, Z., Guo, Y., & Akkiraju, R. (2019, May). Cognitive learning: How to become william shakespeare. In Extended Abstracts of the 2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp. 1-6). (https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/3290607.3312844) 7. Xu, W., Ritter, A., Dolan, W. B., Grishman, R., & Cherry, C. (2012, December). Paraphrasing for style. In Proceedings of COLING 2012 (pp. 2899-2914). (https://aclanthology.org/C12-1177.pdf) 8. Craig, H. (2012). George Chapman, John Davies of Hereford, William Shakespeare, and" A Lover's Complaint". Shakespeare Quarterly, 63(2), 147-174. (https://www.jstor.org/stable/41679745) 9. Zhao, Y., & Zobel, J. (2007, January). Searching with style: Authorship attribution in classic literature. In Proceedings of the thirtieth Australasian conference on Computer science-Volume 62 (pp. 59-68). (https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=3973ff27eb173412ce532c8684b950f4cd9b0dc8)

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King Lear Thesis Statements and Essay Topics

Below you will find four outstanding thesis statements / paper topics for “King Lear” by William Shakespeare that can be used as essay starters. All four incorporate at least one of the themes found in “King Lear” and are broad enough so that it will be easy to find textual support, yet narrow enough to provide a focused clear thesis statement. These thesis statements offer a short summary of “King Lear” in terms of different elements that could be important in an essay. You are, of course, free to add your own analysis and understanding of the plot or themes to them. Using the essay topics below in conjunction with the list of  important quotes from”King Lear”  on our quotes page, you should have no trouble connecting with the text and writing an excellent essay.

Thesis Statement #1: Parallel Characters

In  King Lear , there are many similarities between the characters of King Lear and the Earl of Gloucester. Lear’s daughters Regan and Goneril seek to betray him, much like Gloucester’s illegitimate son Edmund does him. Lear and Gloucester both end up in the heath in exile. Many parallels exist between the two characters. Explore their similarities as well as their differences.

Thesis Statement #2: The Purpose of Self-Exile

When King Lear realizes the mistakes he has made in judging his daughters, as well as the depth of Regan and Goneril’s betrayal, he runs away to the heath. He wanders around in the storm in full blown madness. He has already divided his kingdom and given up his power. He is ashamed to go to Cordelia because of how he treated her. Is it better for Lear to have resorted to self-exile? What purpose does the self-exile serve for Lear and the plot?

Thesis Statement #3: The Shakespearean Tragedy

True to Shakespearean tragedy form, almost all of the main characters are dead by the end of the play. Explore the various means by which each character dies. Discuss the possible reasons for choosing to leave Albany and Edgar alive to take over from everyone else’s deaths.

Thesis Statement #4: The Duke of Albany and His Role

The Duke of Albany is married to Goneril in  King Lear . Although he remains on the same side as his wife, he often disagrees with her actions and decisions. During the battle with France, Albany tries to spare Lear and Cordelia, but is unknowingly undermined by Edmund. Then Albany encourages Lear to resume the throne, which Lear refuses. Throughout the play, Albany often tries to diffuse the severity of Goneril’s actions. Trace how Albany’s influence affects the other characters in the play.