Shakespeares Language in his Works Essay -- essays research papers

Shakespeare's plays are full of references to what is now obscure- classical myth, falconry, astrology, or the theory of 'humors' that were thought to determine personality within so many of his characters (?S??Far?). Shakespeare wrote about themes and events we can relate to even now nearly 500 years later. 'He wrote about us-you and me, our friends, our families, the people we work with and play with and argue with and go to bed with, the characters we see on the evening news and elect to public office' often times comparisons are often scary (Seder iii). Shakespeare also liked to make fun of many of his characters. His plays show that he can be funny and has a humorous personality, often times even in his tragedies in which tears would flow from not only depression but from laughter. 'Shakespeare is full of humor, not only the broad clowning of the likes of Falstaff, but the deft little jabs and needles, sly and subtle jests' found in his vocabulary (Seder iv). The meanings of words Shakespeare used have changed and some have totally disappeared. The word ?bootless to Shakespeare did not mean lacking footwear, but useless or meaningless? (?So?..Far?). In our time we use expressions like LOL and IDK that stand for ?laugh out loud? and ?I don?t know or understand? when writing text messages or instant messages. If these expressions were during Shakespeare?s time the people would not have understood their meaning. Another such expressions could be ?Cool beans!? that basically means ?this is neat.? Terms that Shakespeare used have either fallen out of use or have different meanings, thus confusing the reader if he or she is not familiar with the Shakespearean style of writing. A great example of a word meaning chan... ...iting letters or messages and sometimes you will hear a person say ?tis?. It is amazing to look at the influence that he has contributed to our world and language today. He even has influence on current plays and movies and even poems. Shakespeare also uses themes in his plays. For example the main themes in Romeo and Juliet would be love and fate. Most people have at least heard of Romeo and Juliet and know it is a love story. Women and girls think Romeo is the perfect man or husband, so today girls are looking for their Romeo. In Romeo and Juliet fate just would not let them be together. There were problems arising all through the play with the fighting families and the tragic deaths of Romeo and Juliet. We knew there were going to be problems or death in the beginning when they say "A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life" (Glencoe McGraw-Hill).