by Effie Moore Salem

Created on: June 08, 2007   Last Updated: August 09, 2011

Shakespeare never goes out of style. He is as vibrant and up to the times today as he was in his time. He helps us appreciate English Literature. When we study his words on a regular basis, he comes alive and we can then sense his presence in the English language. He is alive and well in today's world. Four hundred years ago he wrote plays of common humanity for all ages! Of importance, he is outranked only by the bible. In fact, he too made good use of the bible and it seemed he wanted to rescue himself from everlasting damnation by throwing the credit back to God.

He ended his plays with a moral lesson, and these are ones we are still learning today. Just listen to these words from ' Measure for Measure': "Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall!"

Or, from 'As You Like It': "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players;; They have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts,...".

OK, OK, no more of these worn out words. I agree that they have been used to near death. The acting contagion has caught hold of us, or are in danger of being severed from reality. Is this his fault! Did he mean for us to take bits and pieces of his inspiration and to continually apply it to our own trials and troubles?

No. He simply wrote. He wrote as writers write today. He had to, it was what he did best. (Because he is so varied in style and technique, there have been claims that he was a composite of writers! Aren't all good messengers?)

That's why I delve into his plays and poems. I want to see who, and, or what occasion he wrote. As I read his thoughts, I f ind I both love and hate him. When he is shallow and silly and just wasting time, his and mine, and I grow weary , then I hate him for all this foolishness. But when I persist and I see what he meant for me to see, I am elated. Once again he has mocked me for my lack of faith in his ability.

He says in essence to perplexity, or this I imagine he could be saying: 'OK, I am overdoing it, but it is for a purpose. I am not playing God, so relax and try to see what it is I am showing you. Man's own folly and how it trips him up. I am just a spokesman for humanity. A mirror I see through. I do not lie to you. If what you see infuriates you , is it not yourself you hate?'

Getting acquainted with him is worthwhile, although he is not easy to read. What I often see when I am at my best understanding of Shakespeare is that evil is real and it is a force to be reckoned with

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