William Shakespeare lived 400 years ago, but even today he is considered, loved and passionately remembered as the greatest dramatist and the icon of English drama and poetry.
His language was amazing that surprised the world. One writer referred to him thus “Thou art the “Muse” among the living and the dead.”
He came to light as a sudden shooting star in the 16th Century. With hard work and perseverance, he became a star among the dramatists and poets. The literary men were shocked to see and hear his work. Even today, his works are read and performed all over the globe. He was a gentleman of the true word and he was and is the greatest and extraordinary playwright ever known.
Tragedies and comedies
He was a great master in creating tragedies and comedies. His plays were colossal, spectacular and vibrant. England had never seen or heard of such magnificence or seen them on stage. Every day of his life, he gathered experiences. In his heart, every mood thrilled into a melody and every conception clothed itself in dramatic form.
Shakespeare was a child of the county. He was born on April 23, 1564 in Stratford-on-Avon. It was a clean pleasant country town set in the midst of gently swelling uplands, tall woods, green hedgerows, rich pastures and fertile fields. The little town sloped gently to a fair and placid river which meandered through willow fringed meadows.
There were no artificial industries save brewing and brick making. It was rich with wild flowers, swans swimming and water lilies on the bosom of Avon. These natural features had a tremendous influence and created deep impressions.
His poems are thus full of natural descriptions.
“There’s a willow grows aslant the brook............ of cornflowers, nettles, daisies and long purples.”
In “Midsummer Night’s Dream, he’s full of praise for the simple woodland birds,
“The ousel cock, so black of hue
with orange tawny hill,
The throstle with his note so true,
The wren with little quill
The finch, the sparrow and the lark
The plain song cuckoo grey....”
He goes on to describe nature his first love,
“I know a bank where wild rhyme blow,
Where oxlips and nodding violets grow
Quite over canopied with luscious wood bine
With sweet musk roses and the nodding violet grow”
In Merchant of Venice,
“How sweet the moon light – sleep upon this bank
There we will sit and let the sound of music
Creep in our ears, soft stillness and the night
Become the touches of sweet harmony.”
There are few examples of his experiences in the country. His great poetical impressions have been gathered from the folk songs of the peasantry.
Both on his mother’s and father’s side, the poet descended from yeoman families of Warwickshire. Though his grandfather lived at Snitterfield where he rented a small property, Shakespeare’s father moved to Stratford and started his business as a tanner and glover. Very soon, he became a flourishing businessman but later got into great problems.
Shakespeare was his parent’s third child. Two sisters died in their infancy. Neither of Shakespeare’s parents had any school education, neither of them knew even how to write his or her names. They decided however to give their son an education which they had been deprived of.
They sent young Shakespeare to a free school or grammar school of Stratford. The school had teaching the whole day, with intervals for meals and recreations. Most of his school experiences are found in “The Merry Wives of Windsor.”
Historical memories
The district in which the child grew-up was rich in historical memories and monuments, renowned castles, residencies of distinguished people; all influenced Shakespeare. It was the scene of regular theoretical representations organised by the Church that attracted him most. He saw many religious drawings where he saw the massacre of the innocent souls burning in hell, which he took to heart.
Even in his childhood, he had the glimpses of Royal and Princely splendour. When he was eight years,he saw Queen Elizabeth visiting London in the neighbourhood of Stratford. He saw the great festivities organised in the Queen’s honour.
When he was just 14 years, his father removed him from school to join him in his business. He lost all his positions and was even imprisoned. Shakespeare was highly moved by all this and helped his father the way he could. Thus he became a clerk in an attorney’s office. Whatever difficulties he had to face, his literary powers revealed themselves very early. He took to writing verses very early in life and became a genius in every respect.
Along with all these, he had many dreams. After some years, as a teenager, he felt lonely and as all young men, he thought of marriage and at 18, he married Anna Hathaway eight years his elder. Within a short period, they had a daughter Susana who died in no time. After two years, Judith was born and later Hamnet. This made things difficult economically. He began to move with bad friends and even visited taverns. He was even caught for deer stealing.
The beginning of “Merry Wives of Windsor” gives a fine description of it. Anyway, a man who loved and admired love and taught the world what love is could not enjoy it himself. Is it due to fate or some power as he believed?
May be with the idea of earning money, Shakespeare moved from Stratford to London. He was never happy here. Therefore, he came back to his village, where he knew everybody and everything.
Besides the dramas, Shakespeare wrote a different kind of poems called Sonnets 154 in number. They were all personal and beautiful. All sonnets were vivid and concrete. They all describe the four seasons. Up to now nobody exactly knows why he wrote these and for whom. Anyway, some believe he wrote these for a “dark lady” he loved or for a handsome young man of a high rank.
These beautiful lyric poems made Shakespeare more popular as a genius lyric poet. Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Comparing this person to the most beautiful and busy season with sunshine and enjoyment he beautifully expresses his love more strongly in
“Sometimes too hot the eye of heaven shines;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade.”
He presents anything with skillful diction and artistry.
In all his dramas, he gave an important place to the female (ladies). It is so surprising as to how Shakespeare studied the nature of ladies or woman so well, only thing is all these ladies belong to the upper class of the society. They were queens, princesses or ladies of the highest calibre.
It was not just a lady by nature that he loved and admired but one with high qualities. As it is not possible to talk about all let us see a few important examples. The qualities he admired in a woman were purity, honesty, innocence, dignity, faith, pride, intelligence, brevity, sincerity and true love.
He went so deep into the heart of man so well that even today we see the same type of happenings in the world politically as well as in society. For example, innocent and untouched women suffer in the hands of brutal men. So was life of “Desdemona” in “Othello”. Another woman who sacrificed her life for love was Juliet in “Romeo and Juliet”.
Hermion in “Winter’s Tale” who found solace due to her patience and purity, “Perdita” chased away but found and saved by a shepherd, “Viola” one of the most admired and beautiful characters created by Shakespeare. Paulina is a character created with unbelievable faith, sincerity and brevity. Olivia is another innocent lady who cried for an unreturned love and so many like these.
Cleopatra is a very special character. Shakespeare admired her exceptional beauty and loyalty. But through her character, Shakespeare shows the world, when a woman is too close and free with men, too jovial, cracking jokes, too talkative and playful, what happens.
Exemplary women
Among all these great, admired and exemplary women, Shakespeare also shows the world women like Girtrude, who through a conspiracy murders her husband, the king of Denmark and marrying his brother, giving shock and sorrow to her son who spares her life because she is his mother.” Another is “Lady Macbeth”, one of the worst characters ever shown in his plays.
William Shakespeare actor, poet and playwright who had a whole range of human emotions at his fingertips died on April 23, 1616 on his birthday, leaving a void that nobody so far has been able to fill. He was buried in the Parish Church and the epitaph written by himself inscribed on his tombstone says thus,
“Good friend, for Jesus’ sake forbear
To dig the dust enclosed here
Blest be ye man who spares these stones
And crust be he who moves my bones.’
Thus ended the life of William Shakespeare, the genius who has no other parallel in the history of the world’s literature. Shakespeare’s simple grave is arranged in splendour once a year covered with brilliant fragrant flowers by countless people who revere the memory of this literary force the world has ever known.