William Shakespeare

 

William Shakespeare (1564–1616)

Life and Career

Ø  Born in Stratford-upon-Avon on 23 April 1564; died on 23 April 1616.

Ø  Married Anne Hathaway in 1582; had three children (Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith).

Ø  "Lost years" (1585–1592): uncertain records until he emerged as a playwright in London.

Ø  Associated with Lord Chamberlain’s Men, later The King’s Men under James I.

Ø  His theatre: The Globe Theatre (1599) and later Blackfriars Theatre.

Works

Plays (Grouped Traditionally)

  1. Comedies

A Midsummer Night’s Dream, As You Like It, Twelfth Night, The Merchant of Venice, Much Ado About Nothing, The Tempest (last play, often called a “romance”).

  1. Tragedies

Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, Antony and Cleopatra, Timon of Athens, Coriolanus.

  1. Histories

Henry IV (Parts 1 & 2), Henry V, Richard II, Richard III, King John, Henry VI (Parts 1–3).

  1. Romances / Late Plays

Pericles, Cymbeline, The Winter’s Tale, The Tempest.

Poetry

Sonnets (1609): 154 sonnets, addressed partly to a “fair youth,” a “dark lady,” and a “rival poet.” Themes: love, time, beauty, immortality.

Long Narrative Poems: Venus and Adonis (1593), The Rape of Lucrece (1594).

Major Themes

                 i.          Human Nature & Psychology: Hamlet’s delay, Macbeth’s ambition, Lear’s madness, Othello’s jealousy.

                ii.          Power & Kingship: Seen in histories and tragedies.

              iii.          Love & Desire: Romantic comedies, but also darker sides in tragedies.

              iv.          Fate vs. Free Will: Prophecies in Macbeth, destiny in Romeo and Juliet.

                v.          Appearance vs. Reality: Deception, disguise, and performance (Hamlet, Twelfth Night).

Style and Technique

                 i.          Blank Verse (unrhymed iambic pentameter): flexible, natural flow.

                ii.          Prose: often used by common characters, for humor or informality.

              iii.          Soliloquies: insight into inner thoughts (Hamlet’s “To be or not to be”).

              iv.          Wordplay & Puns: frequent in comedies.

                v.          Imagery: nature, time, body, corruption, light/dark.

Critical Reception

                 i.          Ben Jonson: praised Shakespeare as “not of an age, but for all time.”

                ii.          Samuel Johnson (18th c.): admired his representation of universal human nature, criticized lack of moral purpose and violation of unities.

              iii.          Romantics (Coleridge, Hazlitt): focused on imagination, character depth.

              iv.          Victorians (Tennyson, Browning, Swinburne): idolized Shakespeare as a cultural icon.

                v.          Modern Criticism:

·       New Criticism: close reading of imagery and paradox.

·       Psychoanalytic: Freud on Hamlet’s Oedipal conflict.

·       Marxist & New Historicist: power, ideology, politics (Greenblatt).

·       Feminist: gender roles in Lady Macbeth, Desdemona, Ophelia.

·       Postcolonial: The Tempest (Prospero vs. Caliban) as imperial allegory.

Broader Critical Reception and Theories

Neoclassical (17th-18th Cent.): Critics like Dryden and Dr. Samuel Johnson praised Shakespeare's knowledge of human nature but criticized him for ignoring the classical unities and mixing comedy with tragedy.

Romantic (Early 19th Cent.): Samuel Taylor Coleridge championed Shakespeare. He introduced the concept of "willing suspension of disbelief" and praised Shakespeare's organic form and imaginative genius.

A.C. Bradley (Early 20th Cent.): In Shakespearean Tragedy, he applied character analysis, treating the tragic heroes as real people. This is a cornerstone of traditional criticism.

Modern & Postmodern Criticism:

G. Wilson Knight (The Wheel of Fire): The "spatial" approach; analyzing plays through patterns of imagery and symbols (e.g., the storm in King Lear, disease in Hamlet).

G.B. Harrison (New Criticism): Focused on close reading of the text.

F.R. Leavis: Scrutinized the language and moral vision of the plays.

  • Contemporary Critical Lenses:

Feminist Criticism: Kate Millet (Sexual Politics), Coppélia Kahn. Examine the portrayal of women (Ophelia, Lady Macbeth, Desdemona), patriarchy, and gender roles.

Marxist Criticism: Analyze class conflict, power structures, and economic forces (e.g., the "have-nots" vs. the "haves" in Coriolanus or King Lear).

Psychoanalytic Criticism: Freudian (Oedipus complex in Hamlet), Lacanian (desire and the mirror stage).

Postcolonial Criticism: As mentioned, re-reading The Tempest and Othello through the lens of empire, race, and colonialism. Key critics: Edward Said, Ania Loomba.

Cultural Materialism & New Historicism: Stephen Greenblatt. Examine the plays in their historical context, seeing them not as timeless works but as products of Elizabethan/Jacobean culture and power structures.

Why is Shakespeare "Not of an Age, but for All Time"? (Ben Jonson)

  • Universality of Themes: His exploration of love, hatred, jealousy, ambition, power, and mortality remains relevant.
  • Psychological Depth: His characters are complex and multifaceted, allowing for endless interpretation.
  • Richness of Language: He coined over 1700 words and countless phrases still in use today. His use of metaphor, imagery, and wordplay is unparalleled.
  • Dramatic Genius: His plot construction, use of subplots, and comic relief are masterful.

Important Facts

1.     First Folio (1623) published by John Heminges and Henry Condell: 36 plays preserved.

2.     Quartos: early unauthorized editions of plays.

3.     Shakespeare’s Influence: reshaped English language (introduced 1700+ words).

4.     The “Shakespeare Authorship Question”: debates on whether he truly wrote the plays (but majority scholarly consensus affirms he did).

 

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