Deba Prasad Misra
9435119236 (M)
&
Dr Arunav Barua
7578914637 (M)
More than one and a half centuries ago, in an outburst in praise of his hero, Thomas Carlyle, a great historian of the 19th century exclaimed, “The Indian Empire will go at any rate someday, but this Shakespeare does not go; he lasts forever with us. We cannot give up our Shakespeare!” Carlyle was, in fact, echoing the sentiments of his compatriots when he declared Shakespeare to be the brightest ornament and the most cherished treasure of the British Isles. “He is the grandest thing we have yet done,” Carlyle opined. Now for us in India, British rule is gone, and English is fast going. But this Shakespeare will not go; he will last forever with us. We cannot give up our Shakespeare. For though he is the pride and glory of an illustrious race, of a great nation, of a mighty empire, yet he is one of the chosen few whose mission transcends bounds of nation and country, whose work is rather the property of the whole of mankind.
William Shakespeare, the Bard of Avon, is the greatest dramatist the world has ever known, as well as the finest poet who has written in the English language. Shakespeare was born on the 23rd of April, 1564, and he died on the day of his birth, the 23rd of April, 1616. He wrote, on average, two plays in a year, thirty-seven in all, besides one hundred and fifty-four sonnets. Shakespeare lived in both the Elizabethan and Jacobean ages. Nearly more than four hundred and ten years after his death, Shakespeare’s plays are popular even today, and they are consistently performed in diverse cultural contexts throughout the world. In his plays, like tragedies, comedies, history plays and tragi-comedies, he addresses some of the burning issues of the day, like the element of love, friendship, class division, racism, sexuality, intolerance, the role of women, crime, war, death, disease and so on. Shakespeare’s influence extends beyond theatre and literature to present-day movies, Western philosophy, and the English language itself. Furthermore, his works continue to resonate with audiences of all ages and backgrounds.
Shakespeare’s universality as a literary figure and his enduring popularity can be attributed to various factors, including his mastery of character, plot, language and theme as well as the enduring appeal of his stories and the themes they explore. Shakespeare’s works will continue to be an important and relevant part of our cultural heritage for generations to come. We quote Shakespeare because he says things that are always true. He brings before us a panorama of people who are familiar with kings and clowns, heroes and villains, philosophers, idiots and criminals—a really mixed world, and his themes will continue to haunt us as long as human beings continue to live in this world. Some of the famous classical writers and critics have made apt comments on Shakespeare’s universality, emphasising the timelessness and relevance of his works across cultures and societies. For example, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, a poet and literary critic from the Romantic era, wrote of Shakespeare’s ability to capture universal human emotions and experiences: “Shakespeare’s plays are not, in the rigorous and critical sense of the word, either tragedies or comedies but compositions of a mixed kind, showing the real state of sublunary nature, which is neither strictly tragic nor strictly comic. They are a mirror in which everyone can see a reflection of the life he leads and the society he lives in.”
Harold Bloom, 1998, a prominent literary critic of the 20th century, depicted Shakespeare as “the inventor of the human” and argued that his works transcend time and culture. Shakespeare’s universality lies in his insight into the nature of human personality.” We love Shakespeare because we observe a Hamlet procrastinating in ourselves. There are people like Hamlet of Shakespeare who contemplate over past incidents but hesitate to go into concrete action. Apart from ‘Hamlet,’ there is ‘Macbeth,’ with unbridled ambition in each one of us. A very famous example of Shakespeare is the metaphor of “life is but a walking shadow” in Macbeth. In Act V, Scene V, Macbeth reflects on the transience of life, saying, “Out, out, brief candle! Life is but a walking shadow, a poor player...” This metaphor compares life to a shadow, emphasising its fleeting and insubstantial nature.
Shakespeare’s contribution to the proverbial world is laudable, with his works acting as a primary source for many idioms, phrases, and maxims that are still used in daily life conversations. He is often described as the most quoted author in the English language. For example, in The Merchant of Venice, we find the proverb “All that glitters is not gold.” In ‘As You Like It’, we encounter the phrases, “Sweet are the uses of adversity” and “All the world is a stage and all men are players...” In Hamlet, “To be or not to be, that is the question” and “Neither a borrower nor a lender be.” Again, we find there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” In Henry IV, Part II, “Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.” In Twelfth Night, it says, “Some are born great; some achieve greatness; and some have greatness thrust upon them.” One of his contributions to the common parlance is the following: In Taming of the Shrew, we find a phrase like “break the ice”. In Romeo and Juliet, “wild-goose chase”. In Othello, “foregone conclusion” and “wear your heart on your sleeve” In Merry Wives of Windsor, “The world’s my oyster”, etc.
Shakespeare’s plays depict not only the social characteristics of his time but also possess elements that make both the dramas and characters universal.
Shakespeare’s plays are timeless works of art that use the feelings of his characters to explore complicated ideas. The quote “He was not of an age, but for all times” best illustrates his ability to transcend time and place. This saying implies that his works speak to universal human experiences and emotions, making them relevant to all audiences, regardless of age or background. Thus, Shakespeare created a new epoch in world literature. His plays and sonnets, famous for their universality and timelessness, are still popular and have been incorporated into various cultures and curricula.