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Date: 10/16/2009 3:47:00 PM ( Admin )
Here is a lot of information about him, history and other information. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Shakespeare You can get more questions about him from reading the article and then research your questions for your report. Like what happened to his wife and children. How many plays of his have been translated into different languages? All kinds of questions.. -Rad. |
Date: 10/16/2009 4:06:00 PM
From Authorid: 55967
Rad has a great idea. You know, plays in theaters back then in England were as popular as sitcoms on TV today. The Globe Theater and the others were quite popular, and they aimed to bring in money just as programs today do. Shakespeare, as part owner of the Globe, was also in it for the business as well as for the artistry. Maybe you could form a thesis along the lines of what he did to bring in business to the Globe. I read somewhere (but please validate this somewhere) that the seats were very close together. It was common in those days to use oranges to suck on to keep the odor of the person next to you away. During breaks between acts, people would get up and go to the hall behind the seats to buy more oranges. Now, most plays were 3 or 4 acts. Shakespeare's were around 12 to 14 or more. Hmmmm. You may also get into the symbolism in just ONE play and cover seven to ten pages. Pick your favorite one. The guy always has a lot of symbolism. Or get into the idea of comedy back then and compare it to comedy today. How is it different? People from different times don't laugh at the same things. One more I can think of off hand is that device (can't think of what it is called) where a writer uses modern things and incorporates them purposely into a historic play for some symbolism or meaning. The one I can think of is bells chiming in Julius Caesar. There were no bells in the emperor's time. Don't know what the thesis could be for this last one, but if you study the point a bit and are interested in it, you should be able to come up with one. The man's social life in London is also interesting, but records are scanty. Did you know that there are STILL piles of old records in buildings in London that go back to that time that have not yet been gone through? There is so much that no one has completed that job, and something on Shakespeare could still come up. And then there's the way he may have spelled his own name, which could differ from our spelling...okay. I'll stop here. If you don't use any of these ideas, I hope they at least may jar something in you and take you down your own road to a good thesis and starting point for your paper.  |
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Date: 10/16/2009 4:13:00 PM
From Authorid: 55967
Oh yeah! You could also look at the idea that Shakespeare was always fawning on the crown. A good idea, I guess, but you can see evidence in his plays how he always bowed to the crown. Maybe that's why he had such a long career, hehe. |
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Date: 10/16/2009 5:00:00 PM
From Authorid: 64747
Rads and G have really good suggestions. Shakspeare is one of the most fascinating men in history. There is so much you could write about him. Where he got his ideas for play and such. I wish you luck Irish Lass  |
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Date: 10/16/2009 5:17:00 PM
From Authorid: 55967
Another quick one: Shakespeare's career spanned two reigns, those of Queen Elizabeth and King James. Was his work affected by the differing rulers? I'm not sure, but that may be intriguing. |
Date: 10/16/2009 5:27:00 PM ( From Author )
From Authorid: 35430
Thank you so much!!  Your suggestions will really help. <3 |
Date: 10/16/2009 6:46:00 PM
From Authorid: 37150
What about Shakespeare do you need to know? His plays? I LOVE Shakespeare. I did a play analysis on Macbeth. I want to teach A Midsummer Night's Dream. I have a poster of him on my wall. I also got my degree in English, so woot woot!  Good luck! You just let me know what kind of ideas you are looking for. What's the prompt for the paper?  |
Date: 10/16/2009 6:49:00 PM
From Authorid: 37150
Look up what Shakespeare did when the Globe often was threatened to be closed or was closed whenever there were plague Outbreaks. You could compare and contrast his plays and how they are still relevant today because he demonstrates the human condition and universal themes. Human flaws, emotions, such as ambition, greed, envy, desire, love, hate, grudges, death, murder, revenge... You get the idea.  |
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Date: 10/16/2009 6:56:00 PM
From Authorid: 37150
S*Add jealousy to that list of human emotions (Othello is based on that). Something inriguing to me is even Shakespeare's sonnets can allude to a male lover he may have had. It may have been part of the culture, I mean I know he was married and had a daughter, which it's interesting because in his will he left his wife "the second best bed." Anyway, my point is, often in his plays, such as "Twelfth Night" or "As You Like It" he has women who dress as men. Even in Romeo and Juliet, Mercutio was in love with Romeo. I didn't learn that until college!! So, maybe that is something you'd like to explore. Or you can take a quote and relate it to today, such as from "As You Like It": "All the world's a stage and all the men and women merely players." That quote is about disguises, that we as human beings wear. We put up a front, we have our roles. This rings true today. I miss being an undergrad and writing papers like this!! You can nail it down to genre: Tragedy or Comedy. Each has its own traits. For example, comedies ended in happy endings, revealed themes of rebirth, continuing life, and marriage. Comedies are always about a couple whose relationship is threatened, but they live happily ever after. In tragedies, we see how the flaws of humanity bring us down. Those end all in death. There are more characteristics. |
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