William Shakespeare's Works Were not the Greatest
Born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564, William Shakespeare is at onceinstantly recognizable and an enigma. As one writer notes, "There seems tohave been a curious lack of recognition of his gifts in his own time, andfew of his contemporaries left any record of knowing him 'or even havinglooked upon him.' Moreover, he left no library or manuscripts after hisdeath - at least none are mentioned in his will" (Goode 9). In fact, thereare few records regarding Shakespeare the man and his life, and virtuallynone that point to his authorship of the many plays and sonnets credited to There are only six copies of his apparent signature, all on legal documents, where the name may have been written by a lawyer or clerk. Of the seventy-five known contemporary documents in which Shakespeare is named, not one concerns his career as an author. Most are legal and financial documents which depict him as a particularly cold, rapacious, and successful local businessman and property developerDozens of scholarly reports have looked at Shakespeare and his life, andcome up lacking in documentation that the man actually wrote anyth
Shakespeare seems to have anintimate knowledge of how madness affects the minds of those afflicted withthe disease, and those who surround them. Clearly, someone wrote these masterfulworks, but without knowing exactly who, it is difficult to brand them asthe greatest in the world. Changing identities was also a very commonplot device Shakespeare used, and perhaps this was because he was trulymad, and in his lucid moments he wished he was someone or somewhere elseentirely. For example, "King Lear" and "Macbeth" are attributed toShakespeare's later career, as is the little known "Timon of Athens," yetmany others find it difficult to believe Shakespeare could write as many asthree plays in one year so late in his career. It is clear the man William Shakespeare lived during the timethese plays were created. It is also clear he was attached to the theatersomehow, from actor to playwright to stagehand. To know more about the man is torecognize the brilliance of his career, but to also recognize thatShakespeare's work was great, but perhaps no one writer's work can ever bethe "greatest. He writes, "Both 'King Lear' and 'Timon of Athens' seemto show symptoms of mental disturbance. However, many others before and after have also createdmagnificent and compelling works. Probably the most interesting criticism of Shakespeare's work comesfrom a contemporary, who accused him of plagiarizing others' works. So many great writers have written marvelousand compelling works through the ages that it is nearly impossible to nameonly one. There is the shock at the writer's deception, theviolation of the trust between writer and reader" (Julius 40). Today, many students find Shakespearedifficult to grasp and plow through, and this is not the mark of a greatwriter. Thus, Shakespeare's works do not only inspire criticism, there isspeculation on just about every aspect of creating the plays, from whowrote them to when they were actually written and performed. For example, Juliet cannot effectivelycommunicate with Romeo so he kills himself thinking she has already died.
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Acceptance Essays
