Shakespeare's work as an epic and lyric poet is of great independent interest.
Shakespeare's sonnet cycle consists of 154 poems. They were first published in 1609.
This is a true masterpiece of English Renaissance poetry. Humane thoughts, as well as genuine human feelings and great passions, broke through through a certain convention and artificial framework of form in these poetic works.
Even if Shakespeare had not written a single dramatic work, he would still have gone down in the history of world literature as a talented poet of the English Renaissance.
Kuvshinnikova O.
Shakespeare and the Dark Lady: [enslaved genius] /Olga Kuvshinnikova. - Moscow: Algorithm, 2007. - 236, p. ; 20. - (Biography of love).
Code:2008-3/4599
She was lovely, charming, flirtatious, vain, insincere and treacherous, created to squander happiness and torment, to make all the strings in the poet’s soul tremble.
He dedicated his best sonnets to her, full of passionate love and furious hatred.
She was a lady-in-waiting at the court of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth and was called Mary Fitton, and her lover's name was William Shakespeare - and even then he was considered the greatest playwright and poet.
Pervushina E. A.
Shakespeare's sonnets in Russia: translation reception of the 19th-21st centuries.: monograph /E. A. Pervushina. - Vladivostok: Far Eastern University Publishing House, 2010. - 352, p.
Code:2011-7/848
The monograph presents a detailed historical and literary overview of the history of Russian translations of Shakespeare's sonnets from the 19th century to the present day, proposes a detailed periodization of Russian translations of Shakespeare's Sonnets and a periodization of Russian sonnets as a phenomenon of translated literature.
Despite the extensive Shakespearean bibliography and a whole circle of predecessors, such a detailed study of the translation history of sonnets in Russia has not yet been undertaken.
The research was carried out within the framework of comparative literature, placed in the context of a wide range of problems of translated literature and translation reception of a foreign language work of art.
Stepanov S. A.
Shakespeare's sonnets, or the Game within the Game/Sergey Stepanov. - St. Petersburg. : Amphora O.V. Sedov, 2003. - 549, p. : il, portrait Fax.
Code:2004-5/1955
Book by St. Petersburg translator S.A. Stepanova is devoted to the problems of Shakespearean studies. It focuses on the “Sonnets” of W. Shakespeare, which are presented in this edition translated by S. Stepanov, and the problem of authorship famous book, prototypes lyrical heroes.
Despite the fact that the scientific literature on “sonnets” is enormous, the author tries to give his own answers to the main questions of Shakespearean studies, abandoning the usual postulates and building his research on a different foundation.
Chupis I. E.
Two Spirits, Two Loves: Shakespeare's Sonnets. Play/Irina Chupis. - Kharkov: Fakt, 2008. - 215 p., l. portrait
Code:2012-3/25406
William Shakespeare's immortal "Sonnets" have been translated many times into all languages of the world, but they continue to be translated again and again.
Irina Chupis’s translations are characterized by careful attitude to the original source, the desire to remain within the framework artistic techniques great poet.
“Sonnets” is complemented by a play by Irina Chupis, which presents a version of William Shakespeare’s relationship with his lovers, which the translator came up with after a careful reading of “Sonnets”. This version is confirmed by the texts of the Sonnets.
Shakespeare W.
Sonnets = Sonnets: all 154 sonnets translated [from English] by Felix Dymov/William Shakespeare; [art. Alexander Teplov]. - Ed. 2nd, revised.. - St. Petersburg: Buslay, 2008. - 174 p. : ill.
Code:2009-3/1319
William Shakespeare's 154 sonnets, each of which is an indissoluble fusion of philosophy and lyricism, express universal human problems that concern people to this day.
It is not surprising that one hundred many talented translators continue to turn to Shakespeare’s sonnets. This book is a translation made by the St. Petersburg poet Felix Dymov in 2004.
It gives an idea of both the brilliant Shakespearean sonnet heritage and the titanic work of the translator of these wonderful poems.
Shakespeare W.
Shakespeare's Sonnets: original texts. Modern translation.
Literary translation [various authors]. - Novosibirsk: b. i., 2011. - 191, p. : color ill.
Code:2011-5/6762
The book presents two versions of the English sonnet - the traditional Shakespearean one, and its adaptation into modern English, as well as the best translations of one or another sonnet by such poets as S. Stepanov, S. Trukhtanov, A. Finkel, N. Gerbel and others.
At the end of his life, Master of Arts R. Greene irritably complained to his brother Marlowe that plays were written by anyone they pleased, even the comedians themselves; he was especially outraged by Shakespeare - “an upstart crow, decorated with our feathers, with the heart of a tiger under the guise of an actor.” His anger was caused by the fact that Shakespeare's plays had eclipsed the works of the "university playwrights", and popular comedian Kemp proclaimed from the stage: “Our comrade Wil Shakespeare has taken them down.”
W. Shakespeare (1564-1616) came from the family of a wealthy townsman, his youth was spent in Stratford-upon-Avon, but around 1585 this respectable townsman suddenly changed his fate: he left his home, family, three children and went to the capital, where he joined the restless tribe of comedians.
Playing in Burbage's troupe, at first he was only engaged in reworking old plays and adapting popular plots for his comrades, but soon began to write original works. Their success allowed him to eventually become a shareholder and co-owner of the troupe along with Burbage, and at the end of his life to acquire his own house in London and a noble title.
The exact number of plays he created is impossible to determine. Based on the first posthumous edition of Shakespeare's legacy, undertaken by his actor friends Herminge and Condell in 1623, Shakespeare scholars have identified a so-called canon of 37 plays by his pen and proposed probable dates for their composition.
Shakespeare's legacy is astonishing in its strength and diversity. In the first period of his creativity (1590-1600), he wrote a number of sparkling lyrical comedies: “The Comedy of Errors”, “The Two Gentlemen of Verona”, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, “Much Ado About Nothing”, “The Merry Wives of Windsor” - both purely everyday and and with elements of romantic fairy tale, imbued with Renaissance optimism, glorifying the joys of life and love.
At the same time, he tried his hand at the genre of classical tragedy: “Titus Andronicus” and especially “Julius Caesar” brought him enormous success. During the period of patriotic upsurge in the 90s, Shakespeare forced the English audience to immerse themselves in their own history, creating historical chronicles one after another (“Henry VI”, “Richard II”, “Richard III”, “King John”, “Henry IV”, “Henry V”), revealing either the darkest and most tragic, or the glorious and exciting pages of England’s past.
In historical chronicles, Shakespeare reached the heights of genuine ancient drama. Their main issues are the individual and power, force and law in politics, state interest and personal ambitions, monarchy and people, legitimate rule and tyranny, that is, the whole range of issues that have worried modern political thought.
In his plays, the playwright acted as a lawyer for the strong, but legal and fair royal power, condemning tyranny, as well as the riots of the “crowd”. He condemned the strife and feudal unrest that threatened peace and harmony in society. He considered their cause to be the boundless ambition of magnates who ignored national interests.
After the resounding success of his chronicle plays, Shakespeare had no equal on the English stage. His contemporary playwright Ben Jonson expressed the general opinion: "You have eclipsed our Lily and Kid, and Marlowe's mighty line." The first period of Shakespeare's work ends with the tragedy "Romeo and Juliet" - evidence of the true flowering of his genius - a hymn of love opposing the conventions and prejudices of society.
At the turn of the XVI-XVII centuries. Shakespeare's worldview, like that of many Elizabethans, changed, taking on darker and more tragic tones. The decline of Elizabeth’s “golden age,” which was replaced by a new one, the “iron age,” gave rise to a pessimistic view of a society experiencing moral degradation, professing new ideals of selfishness and acquisitiveness, and of the nature of man himself, obsessed with vices and passions and unable to achieve harmony with his surroundings. peace.
At this time (1601-1606) the playwright created wonderful traditions, full of deep philosophical meaning and reflections on the essence of man, the confrontation between good and evil in the world - “Hamlet”, “Othello”, “King Lear”, “Antony and Cleopatra”, “Coriolanus”. An excellent understanding of psychology allowed Shakespeare to demonstrate to the viewer the real anatomy of human passions - blinding love and jealousy, thirst for fame and envy, greed and deceit.
Like Marlowe, he saw the tragedy of his characters not in the vicissitudes of fate or the machinations of inveterate egoist villains, a vivid gallery of which he brought out in the plays of his late period (in the theater of his time they were played by comic actors), but in the own mistakes of noble and decent people, like Macbeth, Othello, Laertes or Lear, who allowed themselves to be led astray by passion.
Reason that curbs passions is a guarantee of a person’s inner harmony and happiness. A call for reasonable individualism, when the release of human strength and emancipation of the individual will not cause conflict with others - this is Shakespeare's ethical ideal.
IN last years life of the playwright (1608-1612), the tone of his works changed again, which was to some extent determined by the movement of his troupe from the public Globe to Blackfriars - a private theater favored by a more sophisticated and educated public, to whom he addressed his romantic fairy tale dramas " Cymbeline", "The Tempest", " Winter's Tale».
In them, Shakespeare does not betray his dream of a harmonious, beautiful man, the crown of nature, who will rule the world, but with a tinge of aching sadness he recognizes its utopianism: only through the power of magical spells does the owner of the magic books Prospero (“The Tempest”) manage to make the villains repent and reward them according to their deserts virtue and crown the play with the triumph of love.
Shakespeare's work embodied the best features of Elizabethan drama: realism and psychologism, intellectual depth and preaching of humanistic ethical ideals. His works are multi-layered, they combine the aristocracy and nationality inherent in the century, finding a way to any viewer. The classical principles of dramaturgy were perceived by him creatively; Shakespeare did not strictly follow them and relied on the actor’s own intuition and excellent sense of the stage; he mixed genres, introducing a comedy line into high tragedy.
On the other hand, the types of jester, braggart, and revelers familiar to the English stage never remained with him as impersonal mask-functions, like the characters of Italian comedy. Under the pen of Shakespeare, they acquired pronounced individual traits, and their actions acquired deep psychological motivation.
None of the poets and playwrights of that time mastered language with such amazing freedom: Shakespeare could be a “euphuist” and decorate the speeches of his characters with complex metaphors and rhetorical figures, and at the same time express his thoughts precisely and succinctly; he freely created new words, brilliantly combining blank verse with rhymed and prose to highlight the nuances of moods and characters. His work became an important step in the development of literary English in modern times.
The purpose of the lesson
Lesson objectives:
Organize the activities of students to master the spiritual and moral potential of William Shakespeare’s works;
Create conditions for cultivating interest in the works of William Shakespeare;
To promote the development of creative thinking, motivation to read and watch film adaptations of William Shakespeare's plays.
View document contents
"The Legacy of William Shakespeare"
Technological map of the MHC lesson in grade 10 “The Legacy of William Shakespeare.”
Teacher: teacher of MHC MAOU "Secondary School No. 8" Elizaveta Aleksandrovna Kutuzova.
Lesson topic: "The Legacy of William Shakespeare."
The lesson is designed for 2 lessons and is conducted as part of the study of the artistic culture of the Renaissance.
Target: expand students’ understanding of Shakespeare’s heritage, determine the significance of his works in the modern world.
Lesson objectives:
organize students’ activities to master the spiritual and moral potential of William Shakespeare’s works;
create conditions for cultivating interest in the works of William Shakespeare;
promote the development of creative thinking, motivation to read and watch film adaptations of William Shakespeare's plays.
Lesson type: lesson of discovering new knowledge.
Technologies used: technology of student-centered learning, development technology critical thinking, ICT.
Results:
subject(understanding the peculiarities of the language of different types of art; mastering the spiritual and moral potential of William Shakespeare’s works; the ability to build a dialogue with artistic phenomena of the past to understand their significance in the modern world);
meta-subject:
cognitive (formulation of a cognitive goal, search and selection of information, analysis, comparison, establishment of cause-and-effect relationships, construction of a logical chain of reasoning);
communicative (planning, asking questions (initiative cooperation), conflict resolution);
regulatory (goal setting, planning, forecasting);
personal(at the ability to listen to your classmate, be attentive and active in class; develop your own worldview positions).
Lesson equipment: computer with SMART Notebook software installed, multimedia projector, speakers, interactive board, Handout.
During the classes
| Lesson stage | Teacher activities | Student activities | Result |
| Organizing time. | The teacher greets the students. | Students greet the teacher. | Readiness for the lesson, positive attitude towards the lesson. |
| Stage of motivation and updating of knowledge. | Arouses interest in the lesson by offering to work with the interactive board. | While completing interactive tasks, children match the names of cities with states; London is found on the map; Having deciphered the anagram, they will find out the last name of the key person who will be discussed in the lesson. | Inclusion in the business rhythm, search and selection of information. |
| What do we know about London? About William Shakespeare? | |||
| Introduction to the topic with a statement of the purpose of the lesson. | Formulate the topic of the lesson. What will be the goal? Tasks? Today we have to build a dialogue with the works of William Shakespeare and determine the role of his legacy. | The guys formulated the topic as follows: “The role of Shakespeare in world art”; They also set the following tasks: 1) to get acquainted with the personality and work of Shakespeare; 2) analyze excerpts from famous works Shakespeare. | Development of the ability to formulate the topic and objectives of the lesson; the ability to set goals and understand the topic of the lesson. |
| Finding a solution. Discovery of new knowledge. | The teacher organizes communicative interaction to achieve results. As the guys perform, you fill out the table. See which fields need to be filled out. The table will need to be titled and pasted into your notebook. What is the purpose of filling out the table? Why will we do this? | The guys perform with messages mi (performances geographer, linguist, tour guide, historian, literary critic) about London and Shakespeare, the Globe Theater and Shakespeare’s contribution to world culture. Next, the art critics will perform (“Shakespeare adaptations” with a screening fragment and from the play "Macb" e t" (one of the students tells the story, then we turn on the fragment for 3 minutes 25 seconds). Guys fill out the table. | Development at the ability to listen to your classmate, to be attentive in class; proactive cooperation; expanding ideas about Shakespeare's work. |
| A moment of rest | Listen to calm music. | ||
| The teacher organizes work with literary text and video clips. How do plays convey a character’s thoughts and feelings about other characters? (monologues, speech) The slide shows monologue Hamlet, the hero of Shakespeare's play of the same name. What does the hero think about, what feelings does he have towards other heroes? Look fragment Grigory Kozintsev's film "Hamlet" (2 minutes 49 seconds). In the role of Hamlet - Innokenty Smoktunovsky. Translation by Boris Pasternak. Music by Dmitry Shostakovich. Pay attention to how the director conveys the character’s mood and feelings. Watch one more fragment, but the monologue will be presented on English language. Compare 2 monologues, highlight the commonalities and differences, take into account the fact that the Russian film was filmed in 1964, and English video– 2013 When you watch the next fragment, determine what work it is from and what the episode is about ( video clip for 4 minutes 25 seconds from the play “Romeo and Juliet” in English (Act 3 Scene 5), including only the beginning; listening). The tragedy "Romeo and Juliet" is the most widely read work of Shakespeare in Russia. Why is it so relevant? (Pbecome the same eternal themes, Problems). I would like to dwell on this particular play. Relationships are an important theme in many of Shakespeare's plays, especially family ones. What types of relationships exist in life? (between parents and children, friendships, romantic relationships). | The children work with fragments of Shakespeare's works and answer the teacher's questions. (first a close-up shot; thoughts, slow movements; the gaze gradually conveys the emerging determination; the camera films from the back; gradually the camera moves away, the figure becomes full height, but small; climbs the stairs, the decision is made). (acting, facial expressions in the English version; general: conveying determination). They come to a conclusion about the significance of the works of the English playwright. | Developing the ability to answer questions, listen to a classmate, formulate conclusions; ability to work with works of different types of art, understand the language of literature, theater, cinema; development of listening skills; development of such mental operations as analysis and comparison; building a logical chain of reasoning. |
|
| Recess | The guys are resting. | Change of activity - ready for further work. |
|
| The stage of developing new knowledge. | The teacher organizes the work in groups. Draw diagram, showing all the relationships in your life (family, friends, classmates, neighbors, teachers, etc.). Notice which relationships are the most important? Is everything always harmonious? key people involved in these relationships, or do problems sometimes arise? What could there be disagreements and conflicts about? How to resolve these conflicts? Discuss in groups the following situation: A father threatens his daughter for wanting to marry a man he doesn't approve of; how to solve the issue. Next will be organized work in groups with photographs scenes from the play “Romeo and Juliet” (you can also take other Shakespeare plays with the participation of fathers and sons). You need to write words in “bubbles” that convey what the characters could say or think. The work will need to be submitted for inspection. Some of the conflicts that appear in Romeo and Juliet and other plays of Shakespeare are caused by the fact that the characters strive for independence, freedom. What advice would you give to parents and children? | Students work in groups (draw diagrams, discuss conflict situations, find ways out of them; work with photographs of scenes from the play, give advice to parents and children). | Construction of a logical chain of reasoning; development of worldview; mastering the spiritual and moral potential of William Shakespeare’s works; the ability to build a dialogue with artistic phenomena of the past to understand their significance in the modern world. |
| Summing up the lesson. Reflection. | What new did I learn in class? What did you learn for yourself? | The guys sum up the results and write notes to their parents. Evaluate the group's work in class. | Development of the ability to formulate conclusions and formulate thoughts in writing; evaluate the work. |
| Homework. | - As you read passages from the play Romeo and Juliet, discuss and write down what the characters are thinking, feeling, and intending to do. This will help you when you act out the scenes. Then assign roles and act out the suggested scene in the next lesson. | In preparation for the next lesson, the children continue to work in groups with fragments of the play “Romeo and Juliet”: they sign the stage directions that convey the feelings and thoughts of the characters, and, having distributed the roles, prepare a staging of this episode (an overall grade is given for the stage directions and the dramatization). | Development of skills in working with text; creative abilities of students. |
If there is time left, you can show presentations prepared by students on the topic “Romeo and Juliet in art” (more specifically: “Images of Romeo and Juliet in foreign painting and graphics”, “Images of Romeo and Juliet in Russian painting and graphics”, “Sculptural incarnations of Romeo and Juliet").
List of literature and Internet resources
Danilova G.I. Thematic and lesson planning for textbooks “World artistic culture: From the origins to the 17th century. 10th grade" and "World artistic culture: From the 17th century to the present. Grade 11". – M.: Bustard, 2007.
Interesting facts from the life of William Shakespeare. // https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A8%D0%B5%D0%BA%D1%81%D0%BF%D0%B8%D1%80,_%D0%A3%D0 %B8%D0%BB%D1%8C%D1%8F%D0%BC
Excerpt from “Hamlet” (4 min 28 sec). // https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAojuVbKQtg
Excerpt from Macbeth (3 min 25 sec). // https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAojuVbKQtg
Excerpt from "Romeo and Juliet" (4 min 25 sec). // https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dL0o36T3sZI
Romeo and Juliet in painting. // http://www.romeo-juliet-club.ru/art.html
List of Shakespeare adaptations. // https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A1%D0%BF%D0%B8%D1%81%D0%BE%D0%BA_%D1%80%D1%83%D1%81 %D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D1%8F%D0%B7%D1%8B%D1%87%D0%BD%D1%8B%D1%85_%D1%8D%D0%BA%D1 %80%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B7%D0%B0%D1%86%D0%B8%D0%B9_%D0%A8%D0%B5%D0%BA%D1%81 %D0%BF%D0%B8%D1%80%D0%B0
Fragment from Grigory Kozintsev's film "Hamlet". // https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CmVVcHxrdo
Today there is a huge literature in the world dedicated to the life and work of Shakespeare. 5-6 thousand books about Shakespeare are published annually. It is simply impossible to talk about any individual research in this area. It is enough, perhaps, to point out some of the main directions in these studies in order to have at least some guidance in the vast sea of modern Shakespearean studies.
The study of Shakespeare's legacy began a long time ago, almost immediately after his death. Although the scientific study of Shakespeare dates back to the 18th century, already in the 17th century Shakespeare became the subject of numerous reflections in literature and works of art. We can point to three main ways of interpreting Shakespeare: poetic, visual and historical-critical.
The mention of Shakespeare and his work began primarily in poetic form, in the form of dedications, poetic prefaces to poems, epigrams and epitaphs. In 1610, John Davis writes an epigram "To our English Terence Will Shakespeare." But the most famous of the works of this kind is Ben Jonson's poem "In Memory of My Favorite Author, Master William Shakespeare", published in 1623. This famous poem requires closer attention to itself. Johnson writes: “Arise, my Shakespeare! I would not place you with Chaucer or Spenser, or ask Beaumont to move a little to make room for you. You are your own monument without a tombstone, and you will live as long as your book lives, and we will be smart enough to read it and glorify you. The fact that I do not rank you with them, I can explain: their muses are also great, but not equal to yours; if I considered my opinion mature, I would compare you with the greatest and show how much you have eclipsed our Lily, the brave Kid and the powerful verse of Marlowe. Although you had little Latin and even less Greek, I would not look among them for names to compare with you, but would appeal to the thunderous Aeschylus, Euripides and Sophocles, Pacuvius, Actium and the one who was from Cordoba. I would revive them so that they could hear how the theater shakes when you step on the buskins of tragedy, or be convinced that you are the only one capable of walking in the sandals of comedy and stand above comparison with what proud Greece and haughty Rome left us. Rejoice, Britain! You can be proud of the one to whom all the theaters of Europe should give honor, He belongs not only to his age, but to all times! Sweet swan of Avon! How wonderful it would be to see you in our waters and watch your raids on the banks of the Thames, which Elizabeth and our James liked! But stay there; I see you ascending into the sky, and a new constellation appears! Shine on us, star of poets..."
There were other poems dedicated to the memory of Shakespeare, they were written by Hugh Holland, Leonard Diggs, John Milton (1630).
Another type of interpretation of Shakespeare's work was contained in book illustrations, easel paintings and theatrical scenery. Over the course of four centuries, thousands of illustrations and pictorial images to Shakespeare's plays, which represent, as it were, a “visual criticism” of his work.
For a long time, poets and artists have been interested in the personality of Shakespeare. A 1623 portrait of Shakespeare survives, belonging to Martin Droisshut, who laid the foundation for the playwright's iconography. In addition, images of Shakespeare's works have become traditional theme English painting, graphics and book illustration. One of the first images of this kind is a drawing with text from Titus Andronicus (1595), owned by Henry Peacham, in which in dramatic poses, in theatrical costumes the main characters plays.
In the 18th century, the first multi-volume editions of Shakespeare's works appeared, which, as a rule, were widely illustrated. In 1709, Jacobs Tonson's edition was published, which was richly illustrated by artists Elisch Kirkal and Michel van Gucht. In 1744-1746, a six-volume edition of Shakespeare's works appeared, illustrated by Francis Hayman. Almost all outstanding artists in England turn to Shakespeare's work. Among them, we should mention, first of all, William Hogarth, who portrayed the famous actor Garrick in the role of Richard III in a somewhat theatrical pose (Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool). He also owns a drawing depicting Falstaff inspecting his pitiful army (Royal Library, Windsor Castle). Another famous artist, Benjamin West, painted two paintings on Shakespearean themes: “Garrick as Hamlet” and “Ophelia.”
The artist Henry Fuseli paid great attention to Shakespeare. As contemporaries testified, Fuseli knew all of Shakespeare’s works perfectly and could quote any place from them. He addressed the Shakespearean theme already in his early works. A series of drawings was devoted to plots based on Shakespearean tragedies. Among them are the drawings “King Lear and the Dead Cordelia” (1774), “Hamlet, Horatio and the Ghost” (1780). Interest in Fuseli was influenced by the idea of creating a picturesque “Shakespeare Gallery”, in the founding of which, along with Fuseli, the artists Sandby and Benjamin West participated, who in 1792 became President of the Royal Academy of Arts. The main initiator and organizer of the gallery was the mayor of London, John Bowdell, after whom it was named Bowdell's. For this gallery, starting in 1788, Fuseli created an extensive series of paintings reproducing the images and plots of Shakespeare's plays. Moreover, Fuseli was not limited to simple illustrations of Shakespeare’s tragedies, or depictions of theatrical productions. He created Shakespeare's world as it appeared in his imagination, creating dramatic and fantastic works on Shakespearean themes, full of expression and drama.
First of all, Fuseli was attracted to Shakespeare by the world of the magical, fairy-tale, and fantastic. He paints several paintings based on Shakespeare's fairy tale A Midsummer Night's Dream. This is the painting “Titania caressing the head of the Foundation.” It depicts the plot of A Midsummer Night's Dream - a half-naked Titania, queen of the fairies, hugging the head of a donkey, surrounded by a crowd of young women, elves and miniature fantasy creatures - cobs. Such are the whims of Cupid, such Magic power love. The plot of other paintings that Fuseli paints for the Shakespeare Gallery is the same - “The Awakening of Titania”, “Oberon touches Titania’s eyes with a magic flower”. In these paintings, Fuseli paints the magical world of English mythology, nature, the world of good spirits, fairies and elves surrounding Shakespeare's heroes.
This is the same content of the painting “Queen Meb”, based on the play “Romeo and Juliet”. This picture is permeated with the poetic spirit of a fairy tale, where it is difficult to distinguish between reality and a dream. Its plot is Mercutio’s poetic story about the tricks of the magical queen Meb, the “midwife of fairies,” who visits people at night in her air carriage, causing them to have fabulous dreams and dreams.
She is in a team of tiny midges
It rolls on the noses of those sleeping.
In her cart the spokes of the wheels -
From the longest spider legs,
An apron is made from the wings of a grass filly;
The lines are made from the finest web,
And the clamps are made from a moonbeam.
(I, 4. Translation by T. L. Shchepkina-Kupernik)
Fuseli depicts in the picture a sleeping girl and Queen Meb with a round dance of fairies that move along a moonbeam. The film is dominated by an atmosphere of magic and the poetry of a fairy tale. Fuseli depicts scenes from The Winter's Tale in the same spirit.
Another favorite Shakespearean theme for Fuseli is the adventures of Shakespeare's comic hero John Falstaff. It depicts his courtship of his widow and how the Windsor gossips hide him in laundry baskets. Falstaff is Shakespeare's wittiest comic hero, and it is no coincidence that Fuseli depicts his adventures.
But along with the world of fun and fairy tales, Fuseli depicts the world of Shakespeare's tragic heroes: Hamlet with the spirit of his father, Lady Constance from King John, the sleeping Richard III, surrounded by the ghosts of the victims he killed, Lady Macbeth running in her nightgown. The tragic world also has its own spirits - ghosts, witches. The painting “Fatal Sisters”, illustrating the tragedy “Macbeth”, is expressive. It depicts three terrible witches, three phantasmagoric heads, as if growing from one body, with protruding tongues, hooked noses, illuminated by the mystical light of the moon. This picture made a great impression in its time and caused a lot of imitations.
Shakespeare's Gallery was a huge success, both creative and commercial. By 1800 there were already 170 works. And the best of them belonged to Fuseli.
Such artists as Joshua Reynolds, Joseph Romney, and William Blake also turned to Shakespeare's work. Pre-Raphaelite artists were especially interested in Shakespeare's images, giving them a special colorfulness and picturesqueness. This is evidenced by the paintings of Ford Madox Brown “Lear and Cordelia” (Tate Gallery, London), Holman Hunt “The Two Gentlemen of Verona” (Art Gallery in Birmingham). The death of Ophelia also attracts another Pre-Raphaelite artist, J. Millais. The painting Ophelia depicts a river carrying a red-haired girl to her death. The main feeling that is felt in the picture is peace, a calm expectation of death. The painting is also characterized by a certain decorativeness, admiration of the surrounding nature, which serves as a clear dissonance to the depicted plot. It is known that the artist painted Ophelia with Elizabeth Sidell, who posed clothed in a bath. The Hamlet theme also attracted Dante Gabriel Rossetti, who painted the painting Hamlet and Ophelia.
In England, there have been numerous attempts to create galleries and art exhibitions dedicated to Shakespeare. As already mentioned, back in 1786, the engraver and publisher John Bowdell collected 170 paintings of Shakespearean themes by 30 English artists. In modern times, an exhibition of Joseph Herman's work, Shakespeare in Art, was held in London in 1964, and in 1997, Philip Sutton presented his exhibition My Shakespeare in London and Stratford.
Modern perception of Shakespeare confirms Hegel's judgment about the national significance of Shakespeare's work.
Accordingly, the study and research of Shakespeare is expanding. There are several important institutions in England that are dedicated to preserving the legacy of the great playwright. First of all, this is the Royal Shakespeare Company, which has representative offices in two cities - London and Stratford-upon-Avon. Stratford is Shakespeare's hometown. There are three institutions associated with Shakespeare's legacy: the Shakespeare House Museum, the Royal Shakespeare Theater and the Shakespeare Institute.
It should be noted that the city lives in the memory of Shakespeare. The house where Shakespeare was born was turned into a museum back in 1847, when millionaire R. Barnum tried to buy this house and move it to the USA. To prevent this monstrous plan, a fund of 3 thousand pounds was hastily raised, with the help of which houses associated with the memory of Shakespeare and lands that belonged to him were purchased. Big role Charles Edward Flower, a wealthy brewer from Stratford, played a role in the creation of the Shakespeare Memorial Theater. In 1874 he bought two acres of land on the banks of the River Avon and donated it to the town council as a suitable site for a memorial theatre. According to Flower's plan, in addition to the theater where Shakespeare's plays would be presented, a library and gallery should also be built where works of painting and sculpture created on Shakespearean themes would be stored and exhibited. Flower also dreamed of creating a theater school that would preserve and develop the traditions of British performing arts. At that time, this project was perceived by many as an unrealizable utopia. But Flower showed enormous organizational talent. The Shakespeare Memorial Association, created on his initiative, sent thousands of letters to members of the English Parliament, theater and art workers with an appeal to collect material resources for the implementation of a grandiose project. Mark Twain, actor Henry Irving, and archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann responded to the call. As a result, a relatively small amount of money was collected - 8 thousand pounds, but the money missing for the construction of the theater - 12 thousand pounds - was contributed by Flower himself. As a result of all these efforts, a small theater with 700 seats was built in 1879, which opened on Shakespeare's birthday, April 23. From this day on, the Shakespeare Festival began to exist in Stratford, which continues to this day.
Of course, during its existence the Shakespeare Association had to solve many problems. Chief among them was how to attract audiences from London and other cities to Stratford. small town with a population of 7 thousand people could not ensure occupancy theater hall. At that time, guests coming to see Shakespeare's performance numbered about one thousand a year. All that remained was to hope for the future.
Today, an endless stream of tourists pours into the Shakespeare Memorial Theater and House Museum, up to 600 thousand a year. The city has a Shakespeare Library, which contains all local materials and publications related to the life and work of Shakespeare. Old Theater, built in the form of a system of towers, burned down, and in its place a new building was erected in 1932, where Shakespeare's plays are staged daily on its two stages.
As for London, Shakespeare's plays are staged at the Barbican Theatre, but only after their performance in Stratford. In 1996, the Globe Theater was restored on the banks of the Thames, where Shakespeare played and staged his plays. Finally, there is the Shakespeare Institute in Birmingham, founded in 1951, which carries out all research and international conferences dedicated to Shakespeare. In addition, here is the largest Shakespeare library in England, which collects not only books and publications, but also all materials related to Shakespeare's productions in film, theater and television.
In England, the study of Shakespeare has long been a subject of university education. Numerous studies have been published in English about the personality of Shakespeare, about his work, about his attitude to contemporary literature and poetry, to science, religion and art.
In 1959, the English critic T. Spencer, in his lectures “The Tyranny of Shakespeare,” read at the British Academy, tried to proclaim the end of interest in Shakespeare. According to him, “Today Shakespeare is a dead subject. The great tyranny of Shakespearean studies has come to an end." The critic was wrong; interest in the study of Shakespeare not only does not decrease, but is constantly growing.
The study of Shakespeare's heritage is not limited to England alone, it is carried out on a worldwide scale. In the USA there is the Shakespeare Association of America, founded in 1923, and the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington. In the United States, 31 Shakespeare festivals are held annually in cities such as New York, Colorado, Houston, Berkeley, Ashland, and San Diego. Similar festivals are held in Germany, Canada, Finland, and Israel.
A great deal of work is being done all over the world to study and interpret Shakespeare. Today, in studies of Shakespearean dramaturgy, one can find a variety of approaches, a wide variety of research methods, including Freudianism, Marxism, feminism, structuralism and iconography.
The most significant psychoanalytic studies of Shakespeare's work are the studies of N. Holland “Psychoanalysis and Shakespeare” (1966), M. Faber “A Psychoanalytic Approach to Shakespeare” (1970), K. Kann “The Kingdom of Man. Shakespeare's Male Identity" (1981). Favorite subjects of psychoanalytic research are plays such as Hamlet or Coriolanus. For example, famous scene The “mousetrap” in Hamlet is interpreted as a “dream within a dream” phenomenon; the comic figure of Falstaff appears as an example of childish, naive consciousness. In the spirit of Marxist aesthetics, Shakespeare is interpreted in the works of P. Siegel, E. Krieger, R. Wyman. Using Marx's characterizations of Timon of Athens and The Merchant of Venice, these authors attempt to place Shakespeare in historical and social context. The iconographic tradition is interested in the study of various kinds of allegories, emblems, symbols, and rituals in Shakespeare’s works. Semiotics reveals a certain system of language and sign meanings in Shakespeare's theater. Poststructuralism sees images of deconstruction and destruction in Shakespeare traditional theater.
All this indicates that today Shakespeare is the subject of close attention and study throughout the world. Shakespeare's art went far beyond the borders of one country and became widespread, literally global recognition. But Shakespeare received special recognition as an artist who deeply and comprehensively depicted the history and characters of the country dear to his heart - England. As Shakespeare scholar M. Czerny says, “Shakespeare was a poet who asserted “Englishness,” the idea of national identity, in an era of serious historical crises. Shakespeare's ideal of "Englishness" has become an important factor in the development of English culture as a component of the national heritage."
Essay in the academic discipline "Culturology"
on the topic: "William Shakespeare. Legacy."
Plan
1. Introduction.
2. Biography of W. Shakespeare.
3. Shakespeare's literary directions.
6. Conclusion.
7. List of references.
1. Introduction.
William Shakespeare is one of those legendary figures who, for several millennia, continues to excite the minds and imagination of people, be they literary scholars, historians, writers or simply adventurers. His influence on world literature, culture is undeniable. At the same time, his figure is extremely contradictory. In the twentieth century, a fierce dispute broke out between Shakespeare scholars and the so-called “anti-Shakespeareans.” The subject of their debate went beyond everything previously written about the playwright: did Shakespeare even exist? Various versions of authorship have been put forward: from Francis Bacon (1561 - 1625) to Christopher Marlowe (1564 - 1593), and even a whole group of playwrights and poets. Delia Bacon (1811 - 1859) especially distinguished herself in denouncing Shakespeare. In her tireless search, she even made an attempt to excavate the writer’s grave. But later, according to some, retribution befell her: she went crazy.
Today, the question regarding the reality of Shakespeare is still open. However, no one has yet succeeded in knocking William Shakespeare off the pedestal of the leader of world literature. On collections of works, on theater posters still stands the same name familiar to millions: William Shakespeare.
Shakespeare managed to transcend the Renaissance in which he lived. This happened because his heroes are living people, whose characters are easily recognizable in our time. The problems that the author raised in his plays have not disappeared either. Therefore, the repertoires of theaters in all countries necessarily include productions based on the plays of the English playwright, and their potential is, in all likelihood, inexhaustible.
According to the apt remark of F. M. Dostoevsky, Shakespeare became a “Russian heritage” and became part of the “flesh and blood” of Russian culture. Perhaps many Western or Eastern European cultures would confidently subscribe to these words. Today, William Shakespeare is truly a world treasure. In his work, representatives of any country can find something close to them. This means that the stories and problems described by Shakespeare have a universal resonance.
2. Biography of W. Shakespeare.
William Shakespeare was born in the city of Stratford-upon-Avon, located in the center of England. As soon as he was born, William faced the risk of death - in 1564, a plague raged in England, including in Shakespeare’s hometown. But the baby, who was destined to become great, remained to live. In total, there were six children in the Shakespeare family, and William was the eldest of them. The union of William's parents can be called an example unequal marriage: mother is a representative of a noble family, father is a simple tanner and part-time farmer. However, it was a strong marriage in which everyone fulfilled their responsibilities.
William studied at a local school, where classes were taught by teachers from Oxford. History, languages (Greek and Latin), and religion were studied at school. However, young Shakespeare’s favorite pastime was not study, but theater. Theater troupes often came to the city and performed fascinating plays on spontaneous platforms. The more William watched such performances, the more he wanted to become an actor himself. The thought also flashed through his mind about writing plays for the theater himself.
William longed to leave Stratford, but at the age of eighteen - at the time of youth when you can safely make your desires come true - he unexpectedly married the farmer's daughter Anne Hathaway (1556 - 1632). What was strange about this marriage was not only the suddenness, but also the age difference between the spouses: Ann was already twenty-six years old. However, according to biographers, it was love. Only three years passed after the wedding, and they already had three children: Suzanne, Hamnet and Judith.
Such a large family had to be well provided for, and the young husband and father took on any job. And no matter how attached he was to his wife and children, the dream of the theater did not leave him. Moreover, every troupe that wandered into the city reminded him of this every time. An unfulfilled desire prevented him from finding harmony in life. Shakespeare was lucky that Anne understood him well. Perhaps she saw his potential or guessed about it. She wanted to see her husband happy. Therefore, she agreed to the separation - of course, temporary. William pledged to send money and visit his family as often as he could. Therefore, when another acting troupe came to Stratford, William soon found himself in their ranks. With them he left his hometown and eventually ended up in London.
Shakespeare showed himself to be talented actor, so he managed not to get lost in the vastness of London, where the prospects were incomparably greater than in Stratford. Moreover, already in 1592 he was very well known in London theatrical circles, and not only as an actor, but also as a playwright, because he acted in plays of which he himself was the author. The London public very quickly appreciated the scale of the new talent, proclaiming him a genius. It got to the point where the nobles boasted to each other of their acquaintance with Shakespeare. William also found a patron. This was none other than Count Henry Risley of Southampton (1573 - 1624), to whom some anti-Shakespeareans attributed the authorship of the works of William Shakespeare. From Southampton, the playwright and poet Shakespeare received very good payment for his work.
Two years later, Shakespeare left acting and focused on drama. His plays were performed on the stage of the Lord Chamberlain's Men Theatre. The roles went to the best London actors, such as the tragedian Richard Burbage (1567 - 1619) and the comedian William Camp. Shakespeare wrote his plays with these actors in mind.
Of course, with such popularity and busyness, Shakespeare had very little time left for his family, and he very rarely visited Stratfort-upon-Avon, especially since it took two days to get there. On one of these rare visits in 1596, he learned the sad news that his only son Hamnet, who was only eleven years old, had died. Perhaps Shakespeare also felt guilty for what happened. Be that as it may, but in next year he bought his wife and daughters a new house, which had at least a dozen fireplaces. Now he could afford such an expensive purchase, because he literary works paid well. Besides, social status Shakespeare was promoted, because he became the owner of a coat of arms, which depicted a falcon and a golden spear. In England during the time of Queen Elizabeth, these images were a symbol of recognition and success. But this was only the beginning of his career as a playwright.
Shakespeare created one masterpiece after another, and each of his plays was distinguished not only by its ingenious plot, the splendor of language and thought, but also by its original effects that impressed the audience. He also managed the Lord Chamberlain Theater and directed its development. The theater became more and more popular and original.
In 1599, due to a number of circumstances, a new theater was born, which can safely be called exclusively Shakespearean. Due to a dispute over the land on which the Lord Chamberlain stood, the actors of the troupe dismantled the theater into logs and transported everything to the other side of the Thames, where the world famous Globe was built. The new theater attracted two thousand people. And this was not an accident, because Shakespeare’s greatest plays were performed on the stage of the Globe, one of which was Hamlet.
After the death of Queen Elizabeth in 1603, her nephew James II Stuart (1566 - 1625) began to rule the country. He was one of the ardent admirers of Shakespeare and the Globe, and soon the theater, on his instructions, was renamed and began to be called “The King’s Men”. Shakespeare's later plays were born here: Othello, Macbeth, and King Lear. In 1609, the theater acquired an indoor space, and now performances were given even in winter. The audience's love for the theater did not weaken, especially since the splendor of the playwright's plays was enhanced by special effects. One day one of these tricks led to real trouble. This happened in 1631. The troupe performed the play "Henry VIII". The action of the play required the firing of a cannon. As a result of this shot, a fire broke out and the theater completely burned down. The absence of victims and the safety of Shakespeare's manuscripts can be called happy circumstances. And the theater was rebuilt.
In 1632 it came out full meeting dramatic works William Shakespeare. The publication included all thirty-six plays by the author and was called “The First Book.” But the playwright himself was not destined to see him, since he died sixteen years before this event. His grave in hometown- the main attraction of Stratford-upon-Avon.
3. Shakespeare's literary directions.
Most people perceive Shakespeare primarily as a playwright. However, he is also the author of beautiful sonnets and poems. But dramaturgy occupies a dominant place in his work. It was also his literary start. William Shakespeare began with historical plays (chronicles), but it is impossible to imagine his theatrical heritage without comedies and, especially, tragedies. A synthesis of genres (tragicomedy) is also noted.
Shakespeare's Chronicles only increased the popularity of this genre in Elizabethan England. The attraction of English playwrights to chronicles is explained by their desire to understand the complex politics and history of their country. At this time, the political situation here was aggravated due to the political confrontation between England and Spain. In his chronicle dramas, Shakespeare wrote out the era on a large scale and powerfully, showing its contradictions and conflicts. All Shakespearean chronicles are named after kings. This is a multi-part epic dedicated to Henry VI; plays "King John", "Richard II" and others.
The comedies of William Shakespeare, which he created almost simultaneously with historical dramas, sparkling and inventive. They vividly and uniquely reflected the Renaissance with its humanism and love for people. Cheerful and light, Shakespeare's comedies were not aimed at a satirical analysis of reality. The author's goal was to recreate and show people the ideal that arose in the minds and hearts of the humanists of this era. These are his comedies “The Merchant of Venice”, “Twelfth Night”, “Much Ado About Nothing”, “As You Like It”, “The Taming of the Shrew”, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”. This is not a complete list comedy plays Shakespeare, but they are the ones most often filmed and staged. It is obvious that they attract directors from all over the world not only with their entertaining plot, but also with the free spirit with which Shakespearean comedies are literally saturated. These are real odes to freedom human personality and the joy that people experience from this freedom.
Shakespeare's tragedies reveal his deep gift from a completely different side, and they are the most striking evidence of his genius. In their greatest tragedies- “Hamlet”, “Othello”, “King Lear” and “Macbeth” the author organically intertwined psychological, social and philosophical contexts, showing through this interweaving the personal drama of a man who finds himself in all alone V huge world. The main themes of Shakespeare's tragedies can be called the theme of power and the theme of good and evil, and the second theme follows from the first, since it is the desire for unlimited power that gives rise to unimaginable troubles. But in William Shakespeare's plays there is always a hero ready to confront this evil. Positive Shakespearean heroes are people of a new era who reject evil, violence and revenge. Bright to that an example is the image of Hamlet.
A separate part of the playwright’s legacy is the tragedy “Romeo and Juliet”. It subtly describes the lyrical theme of the sublime love of young heroes combined with the theme of inevitable fate. At the same time, the author’s main idea is quite obvious: people are the main culprits of evil on earth. Because of senseless feuds, Romeo and Juliet die.
Shakespeare's romantic tragedies ("The Tempest", "Pericles", "Cymbeline", "The Winter's Tale") are distinguished by the fact that they contain a fairy-tale, fantastic element, and good certainly triumphs over evil.
The poems written by Shakespeare have one address - the benefactor of the writer, the Earl of Southampton. We are talking about two works: “Venus and Adonis” and “Dishonored Lucretia”. They demonstrated Shakespeare's ability to paint pictures of nature, reliably convey love experiences, and create psychological characteristics of heroes.
William Shakespeare's sonnets are an adornment of world poetry. They reveal to the reader a new Shakespeare - a sophisticated lyricist who knows how to both think and feel. William Wordsworth (1770 - 1850) believed that through sonnets the poet gave us a glimpse into his heart. In Wordsworth's understanding, Shakespeare's sonnets are a kind of key to Shakespeare's soul. In addition, his sonnets are perfect from an artistic point of view.
They are divided into cycles. In one, friendship is glorified, in the other, love (love sonnets are dedicated to a certain mysterious Dark Lady). It was the sonnets that gave researchers reason, on the one hand, to doubt the author’s sexual orientation; on the other hand, to assume that there were others in his life love stories, in addition to his wife (A. Brown’s book “Women in the Life of Shakespeare” is devoted to this issue, in particular). Whatever the truth, reading Shakespeare's sonnets provides genuine aesthetic pleasure. Speaking about Shakespeare's work as a whole, we can confidently say that it is diverse and equal, regardless of the genre in which he worked. However, Shakespeare is first and foremost a great playwright.
4. Brief description of Shakespeare's works and his services to the world.
Each work of Shakespeare is a separate world, which can only be understood through repeated reading or viewing. However, it makes sense to characterize the most significant plays from each period. Among historical chronicles, the drama “Richard II” attracts attention. At the center of events is the struggle for power. King Richard's cousin dethrones him and becomes ruler himself. He does not stop only at this crime and in the finale kills his brother.
In the comedy Twelfth Night, or Whatever, the action takes place in the non-existent country of Illyria. After a shipwreck, a brother and sister, who are twins, end up in a different adventures, including love ones. Many misunderstandings arise during the course of the play (this is a sitcom). The situation is aggravated by the fact that Olivia (the heroine of the comedy) is dressed in men's clothing. But, as is customary in comedy, everything ends well. These works, along with the others listed above, represent the first period of creativity.
Speaking about the works of the second period, one cannot fail to mention Hamlet. The main character of the play encounters a strange ghost haunting the surroundings of the castle. Ghost and opens it to him terrible secret: Hamlet's uncle sitting on the throne is the murderer of his father, the real king. Hamlet's mother is an accomplice to this crime. The shock causes Hamlet to act out his madness, but Claudius does not believe it. With the help of traveling actors, Hamlet performs on stage true story what happened. Claudius understands that Hamlet knows everything, which is a real danger for him. The exile of the unwanted nephew does not help matters - Hamlet returns back. Claudius resorts to a proven method - murder, but Hamlet manages to get even with the criminal before his death.
The theme of jealousy is deeply analyzed in Othello. The Moor Othello, a talented commander, becomes a victim of the intrigues of the treacherous Iago. Taking advantage of the fact that Othello married Desdemona against the will of her influential father, Iago plants in Othello the idea that Desdemona is not faithful to him, and his rival is Cassio, against whom Iago also seeks revenge. Unable to control his jealousy, Othello strangles Desdemona. Iago’s second enemy, Cassio, is also defeated, and he is arrested thanks to a skillfully constructed intrigue. However, Iago's wife reveals the whole truth, and the shocked Othello commits suicide. In the finale, Iago suffers retribution.
Among the works of the third period, “The Tempest” is especially popular. This play reveals the theme of an insidious seizure of power in a new way. This time the overthrown ruler turns out to be the wizard Prospero. The machinations of Duke Antonio (Prospero's brother) force him to languish on a certain island with his daughter Miranda. In the service of Prospero is the terrible Caliban (he, in fact, exhausts the population of the island). Caliban is bitter against Prospero, because he considers him a usurper and himself a slave.
Prospero is trying to return home to restore himself to his legal rights. To do this, he uses magical actions to cause a sea storm. In this storm, the ship on which Antonio and his family were in trouble. All passengers are scattered across different parts of the island. At this time, Fernando, the son of Prospero's second enemy, who acted together with Antonio, falls in love with Miranda. Intrigues and conspiracies continue on the island, which Prospero opposes. Caliban also weaves his nets, dreaming of killing Prospero in order to take possession of the island. His plan is destroyed by the spirit of Ariel, acting in concert with Prospero. Subsequently, all the enemies gather in one place, and Prospero administers a fair trial. Miranda and Fernando marry, some of the heroes are forgiven, and Prospero intends to regain his rights. Interesting event The ending is his renunciation of sorcery.
The works of William Shakespeare changed literature, changed the world. They forced culture and art to develop in new ways. In the books of numerous writers different countries and eras there is an intertextual dialogue with Shakespeare - explicit or veiled. The name of Shakespeare is inseparable from the art of theater and cinema. Thus, his services to world culture are of exceptional value.
5. Critics' reviews of Shakespeare's works.
The critical literature on Shakespeare's plays and poetry is as inexhaustible as his legacy. At the same time, they are just as varied and ambiguous. Despite the fact that Shakespeare's genius has long been recognized, there are sharply negative reviews about him. For example, L.N. Tolstoy (1828 - 1910) in his essay “On Shakespeare and Drama” expresses an extremely negative attitude towards the playwright’s works, basing his opinion in detail. He became famous for his harsh statements about the work of Shakespeare and Voltaire (1694 - 1778), who considered the manner of the English playwright “barbaric”.
His contemporaries also gave a negative assessment to the works of Shakespeare, but this phenomenon cannot be called a trend. It is noteworthy that Shakespeare's rival Ben Jonson (1572 - 1637), contrary to expectations, mostly praised Shakespeare's works.
English criticism from the time of romanticism is distinguished by its enthusiastic sentiments towards Shakespeare. Such prominent representatives of English literature as W. Scott (1771 - 1832), J. Keats (1795 - 1821), S.T. Coleridge (1772 - 1834) and other writers and poets strongly emphasized the genius of their predecessor and considered him their teacher and creative guide. Subsequently, the degree of delight in English criticism only increased, and the name of Shakespeare became iconic.
The reception of Shakespeare's work in Russian and Soviet criticism is a truly vast topic worthy of dissertation research. Most writers and literary critics are inclined to not just have a positive assessment of Shakespeare's heritage, but recognize his genius. Suffice it to say that M. Gorky (1868 - 1936) recommended that all aspiring writers study with Shakespeare. Earlier, V. G. Belinsky (1811 - 1848) recognized Shakespeare as the first among the world's playwrights. Russian criticism wrote so much about Shakespeare that a peculiar phenomenon arose called “Russian Shakespeareism.”
IN modern literary criticism Each of Shakespeare's plays is devoted to the research of scientists. The cult of Shakespeare exists not only in England. Researchers are looking for new things in the playwright's plays, analyzing the language, characters, and plot features. All this suggests that this topic is unlikely to be closed in the near future.
6. Conclusion.
So, William Shakespeare rightfully takes the place of the outstanding playwright of all times. Thanks to his work, literature reached new round development, since it was Shakespeare who showed humanity that the heroes of works can be depicted in all-round development, and not just in one aspect, as was the case before.
Closely associated with his era - the Renaissance - William Shakespeare showed himself to be a true humanist. At the same time, he did not idealize a person, but represented him as he really is, with his dark and light sides.
William Shakespeare knew how to give his deep thoughts a perfect edge, which is why his plays are still standard. The language of his works is amazingly rich and varied; capable of conveying polar shades: from funny to tragic; from the sublime to the prose.
The works of W. Shakespeare have not lost their relevance. They are read, republished and sold; filmed and staged in theaters; translated into various languages. Shakespeare's work is the richest layer of world culture, which has managed to take root on various national soils, including Russian.
7. List of references.
1. Ackroyd P. Shakespeare. Biography/P. Ackroyd. - M.: Kolibri, 2010. - 752 p.
2. Anikst A.A. Shakespeare/A.A. Anyxt. - M.: Education, 1996. - 124 p.
3. Brown A. Women in the life of Shakespeare/A. Brown. - M.: Tsentrpoligraf, 2002. - 326 p.
4. Dubashinsky I. A. William Shakespeare. Essay on creativity/I.A. Dubashinsky. - M.: Education, 1978. - 143 p.
5. Zakharov N.V., Lukov V.A. Shakespeare and Shakespeareanism in Russia // Knowledge. Understanding. Skill, 2009. - No. 1. - pp. 98-106.
6. Quinnell P., Hamesh J. Who is who in the works of Shakespeare / P. Quinnell, J. Hammesh. - M.: Dograf, London - New York: Routledge, 1996. - 275 p.
7. Middleton H. William Shakespeare. Brilliant playwright/H. Middleton. - Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997; M.: Askon, 1998. - 32 p.
8. Shakespeare W. Comedy/W. Shakespeare. - St. Petersburg: Azbuka, Azbuka-Atticus, 2013. - 512 p.
9. Shakespeare W. Tragedies/W. Shakespeare. - St. Petersburg: Azbuka, Azbuka-Atticus, 2017. - 672 p.
