A Reflection of Shakespeare
Gene Hackman has
personally been one of my favorite actors throughout my life. He once said on
screen “I look at you and I see two men, the man you are and the man you ought
to be. Someday those two will meet and you’ll make for a hell of a football
player.”[1] Now, of course
this quote was not directed at me, but has stuck in my mind every since I heard
those words. Questions have popped in my head like popcorn about my identity
and where I want my life to go. Who do I want to be? Now, that I’m in college,
what do I want to do and what kind of person will I become? For our class
project, William Shakespeare has become my choice of a role model namely for
his excellence in writing and his impact on the world of literature. It is a
reflection of him, whom I wish to be, because he has had major role in the
shaping of the English language and his name still echoes for all of eternity.
William
was “born in 1564”[2] and was a
writer of many famous quotes, poems, and plays. Of his plays, I have read
Midsummer Night’s Dream, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew,
Macbeth, The Tempest, and some of Othello. Hamlet remains my personal favorite,
with Hamlet as the Prince of Denmark who must rid the thrown of a king that
killed his father for the crown. These literary works are found all throughout
the world. Some of his plays are even required readings in middle school and
high school. Romeo and Juliet, one of his most famous romance plays, has been
made into many movies, along with Hamlet. Two examples of popular movies made
from Shakespeare’s plays are William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, with
Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes, and the 1990 Hamlet movie with Mel Gibson
and Glen Close.
The
Globe Theater is located in
In
all of Shakespeare’s plays, he has many characters to write and interact with
one another. The genius behind his writing is that he can keep a linear pace in
one character’s speeches and yet have defined, separate personalities for each
character. For example, In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Lysander and Demetrius
have opposite characters and their personalities are unique, because their
speeches are unlike any of the other character’s speeches. Their way of
thinking is linear throughout the play, while different from the way the other
characters think. Each character is unique and Shakespeare can keep all of his
characters clear in his mind as he writes the stories. His ability “to
penetrate the barrier which space puts between him and his object” and “to
secure a momentary but complete identification”[4] is apparently
effective and powerful in his plays. His sympathetic imagination, found in his
works, is very much in tune with the way the world works, making him one of the
greatest writers ever known.
With his sympathetic imagination, Shakespeare has also written many quotes that
relate to the people of the world. Many of which, have made me think over and
over again about the meaning. One of his most famous poems says:
“All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many
parts,
His acts being seven ages.” [5]
How can a person argue with this truth? All people enter this world and leave,
playing their parts in society, affecting the world in their short time, and
play many parts as they live. A man or woman’s acts, if great, can echo through
eternity. Shakespeare died in the 1600s on his birthday. For four hundred years
his plays have been on stage, his words spoke on ageless tongues, and his
legacy printed in books that are widely spread through the world.
What is more, Shakespeare even has a unique short poem for his grave! It reads:
“Good Friend, for Jesus’ sake forbearTo dig the dust enclosed here:Blessed be
the man that spares these stones,And curst be he that moves my bones.”7
Until death, his words are famous. Even after his death, his words are famous.
He is as songbird with a song that is still sung melodiously after the
songbird’s death. He wrote the inscription before he died, making a bookend to
his writing life urging all people to let his bones lie in peace. He finishes
his writing career with a peaceful, short stanza.
If not for his literary genius, high status as a rich writer, or his own
personal theater, he would still make an ideal role model for me, because he
has one thing that I wish to have above all. That one thing stamps his life on
his accomplishments and gives him fame. That one thing makes him greater than
an average man. He simply has an ageless name. Men “have their exits and their
entrances and one man in his time plays many parts” 5, but when I exit I want
my name to remain. Russell Crowe (another one of my favorite actors) once said,
“What we do in life echoes in eternity” [6]and that what I
want my actions to do. I want them to echo in eternity, as Shakespeare’s
actions do.
Years from now, when the average men of my time are shadows and dust, it is my
wish that my name is still said in respect and admiration as Shakespeare has
his name said.
The idea of making this set in stone is a far reaching one. But as Julius
Caesar said in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, if we don’t accomplish our goals
"The fault….is not in our stars,…..But in ourselves…." 8 This means
that luck has nothing to do with success. Success is found in ourselves.
Shakespeare was a self-made man. He didn’t rely on luck to make his fame and he
never stopped writing until his death. He kept going. Shakespeare is a prime
example of the “American dream”. People came to the
Shakespeare wrote tremendous literary works in the short time that he lived. He
made the most of his time. His time management wasn’t just implemented on a
daily bases. Overall, his time management spanned his entire life. From
Shakespeare’s example, It is clear that my life will be a long journey. The
quote, "Wisely and slow; they stumble that run fast" 9 means that I can
not move too quickly. Though I am ambitious, I will stumble and fall if I can
not move wisely and slow. When looking at the
My role model had many qualities and was put on a pedestal of honor and respect
for his literary contributions to the world. He didn’t need to kill thousands
of people to be written in the history books and he didn’t need to study
physics to create the atomic bomb. All he needed was ink, a quill, and paper.
The rest was all in his head. Impressive as a literary mastermind and a teacher
of human psyche, he is one of the most renowned writers ever. His name echoes
in eternity and his achievement has become my goal. I hope to become a
reflection of Shakespeare. In the famous words of Shakespeare and given to his
play Romeo and Juliet "Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet
sorrow." 9
[1] , Gene perf.The Replacements. Dir. Howard Deutch. 2000.
2 )"William Shakespeare/ Shakespeare Biography." Enotes. 7 Oct. 2007
.
3 Shakespeare's Globe. 7 Oct. 2007 .
4 Bump, Jerome. Bump's Course Website. 7 Oct. 2007 .
5 The Phrase Finder. 7 Oct. 2007 .
6 Crowe, Russell, perf. Gladiator. 2000. DVD.
[7]"William
Shakespeare/ Shakespeare Biography." Enotes. 7 Oct. 2007
http://www.enotes.com/william-shakespeare/shakespeares-grave
[8]Shakespeare,
William Julius Caesar. 1600
[9]Shakespeare,
William Romeo and Juliet