I think I've already mentioned it a couple of times, but there are an endless amount of allusions to Shakespeare throughout our culture. I've even heard allusions to Shakespeare on the soap opera The Young and the Restless! (Yes, I watch it. It's trash. I love it. But hey--if they're quoting Shakespeare it can't be that bad!!!) Why? Because Shakespeare's plays, plots, and characters are real life. Even though we may not see actual ghosts on the top of our castles, we (as a society) deal with step-parents, lost love, jealously, mental illness, war, murder, and all of the countless other subjects of his plays, on a daily basis. I think that's why Shakespeare is used so much still today. His plays mirror the many aspects of our lives.
What do you think? What allusions can you remember? Did any of those listed in the chapter sound familiar? Why do you think Shakespeare is so popular?
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I think that allusions really deepen literature when they're used properly. I guess the only major allusion I can think of is "The Chronicles of Narnia"...I know its sad that that's the only one I can think of. But, I know that it refers to the Bible. I personally haven't read any of the literature that he refers to in the chapter, so none of them sounded familiar. I think that Shakespeare is so popular because, just like you said, pretty much everything he's written portrays things that we deal with everyday. Therefore making it extremely easy to relate to, and throw into a story/play.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what the author is saying in this chapter. You are always coming across a Shakespeare quote in literature. I haven't personally read very many of Shakespeare's works, so I don't recognize them all, but one that is very prevalent is, "To be or not to be," from "Hamlet." I also agree with the author saying that using quotes from Shakespeare's works in your literature makes you seem more intelligent and shows that you've bettered your understanding of classic literature and have read his stories and plays. This would stand out to me, because Shakespeare is quite challenging to read. I think Shakespeare is so popular because he uses everyday experiences and puts them into plays using wonderful imagery and great writing abilities that we can all learn to love and relate to.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the author here, although I did not really like this chapter. He has a good point though, most things do come from Shakespear. I cannot remember any allusions from any books I have read recently, but I did recognize several of the Shakespear quotes in the chapter. I honestly do not know why Shakespear is popular. He is a brilliant writer, but you would think that after all these years someone would outdo him. And I think that many have, but those writers get overlooked just because people recognize the name Shakespear, even if they dont know a lot about him. It really all has to do with name recognition I think.
ReplyDeleteI can't think of any books I've read with allusions in them right off the top of my head, but I know I've read several. There were some quotes in this chapter that I recognized, but there were also several I had never heard before. I haven't read much Shakespeare, so many of them were unfamiliar. I think Shakespeare is so popular because authors know that most people have read at least one work by him in their lifetime. Most of the time, high school students will read several of his works in class, so authors with incorporate those widely-known stories into their own works.
ReplyDeleteI liked this chapter and it has opened my eyes and caused me to realized that there is a lot more references to Shakespeare than I originally thought. i cant think of any books off the top of my head that have made Shakespeare references, but some of the quotes in this chapter looked somewhat familiar. I think shakespear is popular dues to the fact that in some way, most people can somehow today still relate to this works.
ReplyDeleteOf the quotes in the chapter, I knew about half of them. I have not read much of Shakespeare because it is so hard to understand, but I'm still able to recognize many of the quotes. I can't remember any allusions to Shakespeare that I've read, but many authors use quotes from his plays. I believe that quotes from his work are used so much because most people should be able to relate to them.
ReplyDeleteI think that Shakespeare wrote his works to be adaptable and reused on purpose. An allusion that comes to mind for me is the book "Animal Farm". What the book alludes to is the Nazi Regime of the Third Reich. An example of the book is how when the puppies of the dogs on the farm were taken away right after birth and raised in a supremacist environment, just like the Hitler Youth and the SS. I believe that Shakespeare wrote plays to mirror all of history and relate it to everyday life. That is why his works are so often used even today. He hit the nail on the head with his themes and stories so perfectly that people can't help but use his works.
ReplyDeleteThis chapter opened my eyes to the many allusions to Shakespeare in modern day culture. I can say for myself, I have came across many of them. Many stories today, are based on Shakespeare’s work. Lion King? That was based on Hamlet. West Side Story, as mentioned in the chapter, was a rework of Romeo and Juliet and ended up becoming very popular. I haven’t read all of the pieces mentioned, but a lot of them sound familiar. As well as the quotes. Shakespeare has become famous for his quotes form his works. Agreeing with what was said already, I believe Shakespeare is still so popular, because the concept of his stories can still relate to all of us to this day.
ReplyDeleteI didn't like this chapter very well. It did open my eyes to realize how often Shakespeare is referred to in literature. In this chapter i recognized a lot of the quotes in this chapter. I agree with Cassie, you would think that by now someone new and better would have came along and his quotations would be used more than shakespeare. I can't think of any literature off the top of my head that have used his quotes.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion this chapter kind of ran on. It babbled alot because Shakespeare is so cliche now a days. i agree if you watch tv on a daily basis you will hear shakespeare. I believe the quote of "To be or not to be that is the question" is the one i've most commonly heard. As for a reference to hearing shakespeare if you watch The N channel or Disney channel about high school students you'll see them reenacting shakespeare.
ReplyDeleteI liked this chapter but it told me something i already new. Everything copies off some other story and everyone uses each others stuff. This is no different with Shakespeare. His work "Romeo and Juliet" was adapted into "Westside Story". Also the movie "The Outsiders" borrowed immensely from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. I believe Shakespeare is so popular because he pioneered the style of writing and play making that is very popular today. He made so many works of literature that were before his time that his name stood the test of time.
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ReplyDeleteI didn't really like this chapter because it basically repeats what it said in a previous chapter, to be original is very difficult so nearly everything that an author writes has been used before. The story that stands out to me the most when talking about using Shakespeare is when "Romeo and Juliet" is transformed into "Westside Story" which we studied in middle school.
ReplyDeleteI didn't really understand why this chapter was needed in the book because the book talked about all stories being based off one. There are many movies and stories are based on Shakespeares short stories and plays. The elements he used in his plays during his time are still used today, such as a love story in "Romeo and Juliet", and "Westside Story" which have been recreated numerous times and are still popular today.
ReplyDeleteThis chapter seemed a little out of the way compared to what I've read so far, but the allusions to Shakespeare does make sense to me. Shakespeare is popular, I think, because his works have taken and captured emotion in words in a way that no one else has. His style is one that no one can copy perfectly, but alluding to his works can convey a package of emotion and ideas that almost anyone can recognize.
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