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Shakespeare’s relevance is debated, but his contributions to the English language, poetic form, and characterization make him enduringly important. His work transcends traditional boundaries and continues to be performed because of its vivid and relatable characters and timeless themes. Without Shakespeare, the English language and society would be very different.
Some people, especially people who have been given Shakespeare’s plays as school assignments, have wondered whether or not Shakespeare is still relevant. The importance of Shakespeare and many other writers and artists who worked in earlier eras is also a popular topic among educators and researchers who focus on literature. Many people argue that Shakespeare’s enduring popularity is a testament to his relevance and that, furthermore, he made important contributions not only to the English language, but to the way people think and behave. Shakespeare literally shaped society in many ways, making Shakespeare relevant in a very real way.
From a purely linguistic point of view, Shakespeare is definitely relevant. Shakespeare introduced thousands of words and phrases into the English language, along with new grammatical concepts and structures. While Shakespeare’s language sometimes seems antiquated to modern eyes, for the time it was quite bold and forward-looking, and Shakespeare literally coined words to describe previously unimaginable situations and events, thus enriching the English language immensely. People wondering what makes Shakespeare relevant might want to consider that many common phrases, from “path of primroses” to “all’s well that ends well,” come from Shakespeare’s works.
His explorations of poetic form and grammar also broadened the scope of English, laying the groundwork for other authors to work after him. Shakespeare’s work has also transcended traditional boundaries. His tragedies, for example, include a great deal of comedy, a marked departure from the traditional presentation of tragedies. Likewise, his plays included deeply tragic and very human moments. While the intermingling of genres is widely acceptable and sometimes even expected today, it was not in Shakespeare’s time, and it was a radical shift in the way plays were presented.
The characterization in Shakespeare also stands out, making Shakespeare relevant on a personal level to many people. His plays continue to be performed not because Shakespeare is famous, but because his characters feel very vivid and alive to the spectators. While they may be kings and queens and princes, they struggle with the same issues that many viewers do and have very multidimensional human characterizations on stage that people can associate with. Shakespeare’s stories are timeless, as evidenced by the fact that many of the themes he deals with crop up repeatedly in modern literature, film and theatre.
Shakespeare had a number of contemporaries, some of whom were quite talented, but it’s his work that has endured being performed and celebrated for centuries. For English speakers and residents of English-speaking nations, what makes Shakespeare relevant is the fact that the world would be very different without him. Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets have contributed substantially to modern society, from the behaviors that were shaped by the object lessons found in Shakespeare to the words and sentence structures used in this same article.
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