• COMING NEXT WEEK: The Delaware Public Archives documents The First State

...yet ‘The Bard’is still as hip today as he was back in his heyday of the late 1500sBy Christine FaccioloSpecial to The News Journal

he language is archaic and 400 years have passed since his playswere first performed. So why are we still studying WilliamShakespeare?

Simply put, the Bard has not become obsolete because he hasrarely – if ever – been equaled by any other playwright or poet.

“He’s been the most popular author in the western world for the last400 years,” said Kristen Poole, professor of English at the University ofDelaware. “So there’s an element of just being culturally literate.

Shakespeare had an acute sense of what made good theater. “Peoplestill bother with Shakespeare for the same reason they watch block-buster films like “The Hunger Games,” when it’s done well, it’s exciting,it’s great entertainment,” said David Stradley, artistic director of theDelaware Shakespeare Festival.

Shakespeare remains popular because he wrote about timelessthemes that transcend generations and class. We see Macbeth ruined by

his own ambition and watch Hamletstruggle with the death of his father.And who doesn’t dream of finding lovelike Romeo and Juliet? The story of thestar-crossed lovers is such a classic thatthe balcony scene remains one of themost famous in literature.

Shakespeare’s characters also revealmuch about human behavior. “What’sreally amazing about the plays is thecharacters and how perceptively and inwhat detail Shakespeare is able to ren-der these characters,” said Poole. “So Ithink it gives us a way of studyinghuman beings and how people think,perceive and react to each otherwhich is valuable.”

Shakespeare gave voice to themarginalized, especially women.Many of his female characters playedcritical roles in his dramas. “Juliet is aninteresting character because she hasmore lines than Romeo,” said Poole.“She’s incredibly assertive and the only

way you can get her to look like what we expect her to look like, i.e.,demure, is to cut all of her lines, which is what most productions do.”

Shakespeare’s mastery of the English language has made him thesource of many phrases that have become mainstays in daily conversa-tion. “When I have a major life event I’m trying to figure out, frequent-ly the first thing that comes to mind is a Shakespeare quote,” saidStradley. Some of the phrases are so well known that we have often for-gotten the character that first spoke them: “seen better days,” “a roseby any other name,” “parting is such sweet sor-row” or “never a lender nor a borrower be.”

Shakespeare also on occasion created hisown grammar and vocabulary when he foundthe existing lexicon too limiting. “WhenShakespeare starting writing, English was notthe dominant language in the world,” saidStradley. “After he was done with it, English hadexploded into the language that could do any-thing because he could do anything with it.”

T

450HE COINED THAT PHRASE?For many English-speakers, the following phrases beloware familiar enough to be considered common expressionsproverbs or sayings. All of them originated with or werepopularized by Shakespeare.

THINGS YOU MIGHT NOTKNOW ABOUT SHAKESPEARE

10 MODERN ADAPTATIONS

‘House of Cards’ (2012)“House of Cards” is said todraw from Shakespeare'sMacbeth and Richard III, bothof which examine issues ofpower, ambition and corrup-tion. It stars Kevin Spacey andRobin Wright Penn.

‘Moonlighting’ (1985)This series starring BruceWillis and Cybill Shepherdspoofed Shakespeare in thefamous “AtomicShakespeare” episode, a femi-nist retelling of “The Tamingof the Shrew,” which waswritten in iambic pentameter.

‘Romeo + Juliet’ (1996)Baz Luhrmann’s moderniza-tion of the tale of star-crossedlovers replaces swords withguns and characters on motor-cycles that made Shakespearecool again. Leonardo DiCaprioand Claire Danes star.

‘Star Trek’ (1966)“Star Trek” may have includedmore Shakespeare referencesand plot lines than any otherTV series. Many episodes haveShakespearean titles, and per-formances of the plays wereworked into some episodes.

‘The Simpsons’ (2000)In its many years on the air,Shakespeare has been refer-enced dozens of times, includ-ing Bart as Prince Hamlet in“Do the Bard, Man,” andMarge playing Lady Macbethin the town play. Shakespearealso appears as a zombie.

‘Tempest’ (2010)This adaptation changes thegender of the main character,Prospero, from male tofemale. An American fantasyfilm, it features Helen Mirrenin the principal role ofProspero. The film is directedby Julie Taymor.

‘Ten Things I HateAbout You’ (1999)Heath Ledger and Julia Stilesstar in this smart moderniza-tion of “The Taming of theShrew.” Don’t let the teenagepackaging fool you – this is atremendously fun and endear-ing retelling of a play.

‘The Lion King’ (1994)Disney’s animated feature isreally just Shakespeare's“Hamlet” in the animal king-dom. Simba's uncle Scar killsMufasa to become king, thena grown-up Simba seeksvengeance on Scar.

‘Warm Bodies’ (2013)Yes, a zombie adaptation of“Romeo and Juliet.” The twolovers come from dueling“families” so to speak and fallin love against all odds.Adding comic touches, there’seven a balcony scene.

‘West Side Story’ (1961)The beloved musical based on“Romeo and Juliet” re-imag-ines the Montagues and theCapulets as two New YorkCity gangs. Everyone knowsthis version mainly for itschoreogaphy.

SOURCES: moviefone.com

‘dead as a doornail’

‘he will givethe Devil his

due’

‘neither here nor there’

‘A LAUGHINGSTOCK’

‘OFF WITH HIS HEAD’

‘be all and end all’

Here are 10 recent Shakespearean film and TV adap-tations that are worth watching.

ÔIn a pickleÕ

‘TOO MUCH OF AGOOD THING’

‘FIGHT FIREWITH FIRE’

‘At one fell swoop’

‘rhyme or reason’

‘all that glittersis not gold’

‘woe is me’‘I will wearmy heartupon my

sleeve’

‘Vanishinto thin

air’

‘up in arms’

‘seen betterdays’

‘THE WORLD IS MYOYSTER’

‘what’s doneis done’

‘heart’s content’

‘break the ice’

‘knock! knock!Who’s there’

‘good riddance’

DESIGN AND ILLUSTRATION/DAN GARROW

• Shakespeare’s plays feature the first instances of hun-dreds of phrases and words. Examples include thewords “fashionable” (“Troilus and Cressida”), eyeball(“A Midsummer Night’s Dream”), and lackluster (“AsYou Like It”).

• Shakespeare died a rich man, having been a success-ful businessman in addition to being an actor, play-

wright and director.

• There are only two repre-sentations of

Shakespeare thatare unambigu-ously identified

as him. The 1622Martin Droeshout engrav-ing portrait at top andShakepeare’s FuneryMonument on the bottom.

.• Some scholars maintainthat Shakespeare did notwrite the Shakespeareplays, suggesting at least 50authors as the “real” writer.However, the evidence forShakespeare’s having written the plays is verystrong.

• Shakespeare is the second most quotedwriter in the English language – after the writ-

ers of the Bible.

‘wild goosechase’

• ONLINE QUIZ AND INTERACTIVE GRAPHICTest how much you’ve learned about SHAKESPEARE at delawareonline.com/didyouknow

‘to be or notto be’

BIO• Born: April 23, 1564 ( thesame year as Galileo)• Died: April 23, 1616 (fouryears before the Pilgrimsanchored in Plymouth Rock)• Married: Anne Hathaway,November 1582.• Children: Susanna in 1583,twins Judith and Hamnetborn in 1585.• Born and raised:Stratford-upon-Avon,England, but moved toLondon in the late 1580s.• Works: His 37 plays and154 sonnets are consideredthe most important andenduring ever written.

DELAWARE EVENTS• “I Am Hamlet” project: During April andMay artistic director David Stradley and leadactor Griffin Stanton-Amelsen will visit highschools and retirement homes to read scenes,encourage folks to record videos for YouTubeand conduct a 500-word student essay relatingto “Hamlet.”• Performance: DSF’s production of “Hamlet”is July 11-27 at Rockwood Park.• More info: http://www.delshakes.org/

S H A K E S P E A R E ’ S B I R T H D A Y A N N I V E R S A R Y

yearsold...