I've always wanted to know what other people think on this particular topic. Is William Shakespeare a 'classic', or is he just in a league of his own? Perhaps because he's a playwright you don't think he is. Or maybe he was just too early.
I'm not sure where I stand, but I'd love to see what you all think!
Is Shakespeare Classic?
9 posts in this topic.
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I definitely wouldn't consider it too early, but then there are classics like the Odyssey, the bacchaem Oedipus etc, and they're substantially earlier.
I would consider him a classic, and like many classical writers, he brought his own unique take to his work.
Rubric -
I think of him as a classic. It is a little different because he wrote plays, but there classics!!
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I definatly think his plays are classics. If you think about how they changed the way so many people look at literature now, and how widely known and read (and acted!) his work is.
I really believe that literature wouldn't be the same without his work, which is also true of many other authors such as Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters. I think it's those qualities that make a book a classic and Shakespeare's plays definatly live up to that. -
I may be speaking out of my league as I have never, willingly, read any Shakespear but he is the classic writer. His characters can be seen in every work you read today and the plot in his plays is timeless.
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That's an interesting question actually. Technically speaking, Shakespeare's plays are definitely classic works; there's no way getting around that. But when I think of classics, I always tend to think of works that have no relation or bearing to the modern world. Shakespeare, on the other hand, is timeless; his works have as much resonance today as they did 400 years ago.
So I would say Shakespeare is in a league of his own; kind of like the Beatles and the Bible.
"A classic is a book everyone wants to have read but nobody wants to read." - Mark Twain -
Actually, Nate, I think that quote is only true about Mark Twain and Charles Dickens. *shivers* Or it's just me; I don't know.
I do like Shakespeare's plays, but are they so much literature, as scripts? I'm not sure. But I think that classics have ideas that can be placed in any of their categories, and reflect it; for example, 1984 depicts society, Catcher in the Rye shows rebellious teenagers, and such and such.
So I'd say yes, it's classic, because plays like Macbeth teach about jealousy and you've got other themes in other plays. I think. -
Definitely. I don't know what technically determines whether a book and/or work of writing is a classic, but Shakespeare has wormed his way into our everyday society. People use his words and phrases all the time, and who do you know hasn't heard the name Shakespeare? They don't have to know who he is, but they've heard of him.
Also, his works, just like every other classic, teach us. We may all get different morals out of them, and sometimes maybe nothing at all, but there is the potential that Shakespeare has to teach, if we take the time to really read him.
So yes, in my opinion, Shakespeare is a classic. As unique as classics can get.
~Sunny -
Yes, I think, that Shakespeare is classic, because he's plays are about problems, which exist since he lived and they stay in our time.
For example, Othello and Iago. This characters exist in our time. This is problem of faith in family. Otello says he believes his wife, but he tell Emilia to watch Otello's wife. It is not write. It is widespread thing in our time.
So, literature, which is actual in all times is classic. Shakespeare is actual in all times, and he is classic.
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