Shakespeare was also one the major contributors of linguistics of the era. He penned more then 1,700 new words, most of these now common and in everyday use such as amazement, bump, critical, countless, lonely, and radiance. He also wrote some of the worlds most famous sayings such as “every dog has it’s day”, “there’s method in his madness”, the be-all and end-all”, and “eat him out of house and home”. Famous authors have also taken advantage of Shakespeare’s rich use of language. John Steinbeck and Cole Porter have both titled their books (‘The Winter of Our Discontent’ and ‘Kiss Me Kate’ respectively) after the bard’s phrases.
Shakespeare was also conscious of the plight of females, uncharacteristic for a man of the time. He wrote quite often of the everyday life of a woman living in Renaissance times. He wrote Katharina as an almost sympathetic character in The Taming of the Shrew, especially after her husband, Petruchio, mistreats and ridicules her into submission. Juliet, too, was subject to her family’s ideals, but instead of doing what she is told, she rebels. In her marriage to Romeo she throws away all that her family could have given her for love. The Capulets, however, do not truly see how their controlling ways have turned on them until it is too late.
By writing about issues relating to woman in Renaissance times, and being sympathetic and understanding in his work towards his subjects, Shakespeare shows the emerging (however slowly) change in the views of a woman's role of the time.
There were many great contributors to the Renaissance period. William Shakespeare is, however, perhaps one of the greatest, well known, and most admired of both his, and our, time.
Summary of William Shakespeare’s Life
Date of Birth- April 23, 1564
Place of Birth- Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England
Parents- John and Mary Shakespeare
Education- attended Stratford Grammar School
Married- November 28, 1582, to Anne Hathaway
Children- Susanna, baptised May 26, 1583, and twins Hamnet and Judith, born two years after
Susanna.
Died- April 23, 1616
Plays-
- The Two Gentlemen of Verona
- The Merry Wives of Windsor
- Measure to Measure
- The Comedy of Errors
- Much Ado About Nothing
- Love’s Labour’s Lost
- A Midsummer-Night’s Dream
- The Merchant of Venice
- As You Like It
- The Taming of the Shrew
- All’s Well that Ends Well
- Twelfth Night
- The Winter’s Tale
- King John
- King Richard II
- The History of Henry IV
- King Henry V
- King Henry VI
- Richard III
- King Henry the Eighth
- Troilus and Cressida
- Coriolanus
- Titus Andronicus
- Romeo and Juliet
- The Life of Timon of Athens
- Julius Caesar
- Macbeth
- Hamlet
- King Lear
- Othello
- Anthony and Cleopatra
- Cybeline
- Pericles, Prince of Tyre
