Why has Shakespeare proved so enduring?
William Shakespeare (1564–1616), one of the world’s most enduring writers and its greatest dramatist is so famous, he hardly needs an introduction.
But why has his legacy lasted when many of his peers are either forgotten or only read by specialists?
Shakespeare’s works span many genres and include within them general themes that still and will continue to apply to human nature including love, loss, grief, lust, anguish and even revenge.
But Shakespeare’s genius also lay in his delivery.
Writing in iambic pentameter, Shakespeare could drip where his lesser known contemporaries could dazzle leaving a far more enduring legacy of biting humor, compelling characters and vivid atmospheres.
His dialogue zipped with clever quips and cutting insults that have proven so masterful that they have entered and remain — often unconsciously — part of modern speech.
His works have thus remained relevant and speakers can easily recognize such titles as Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, and Macbeth.
But Shakespeare is also known for his sonnets which remain as enduring as they were in his own day.
Although no longer quite as popular a medium today, Shakespeare’s sonnets nonetheless hold their intensity conveying the essence of love.
Love is also the core theme of one of Shakespeare’s most enduring plays — Romeo and Juliet — which has gone down as one of the most famous love stories of all time and has spawned more stage productions and films adaptations than perhaps any of Shakespeare’s other plays.
