The Bard of Avon: Shakespeare

William Shakespeare is widely known as one of the greatest writers in the English language.  His writing has captured the eyes of many people.  His surviving works consist of about 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems.  Most of his works were produced between 1589 and 1613, and his earlier plays consisted more of comedies and historical plays.  His plays became a source of entertainment for the people of his time, and not much has changed since then.

            William Shakespeare was born as the son of John Shakespeare, who became a successful glover and alderman originally from Snitterfield, and Mary Arden, the daughter of a landowning farmer.  He was born in Stratford-upon-Avon and baptized there on the 26^th of April, 1564.  No one really knows his true birth date, but we observe his birthday on the 23^rd of April.  He reigned as the third child of eight, and the oldest surviving son.  No one knows for sure where Shakespeare went to school, but more biographers agree that he went to King’s New School in Stratford.  This free school became chartered in 1553 a quarter mile away from his home. 

            Shakespeare respect level did not rise dramatically in his day, but his popularity did not increase until the 19^th century.  The Romantics especially appreciated his genius.  In the 20^th century, his work was repeatedly adopted and rediscovered by movements in scholarship and performance.  His plays rank high in popularity and scholars constantly study them.  They are performed and reinterpreted in diverse cultural and political contexts all through the world. 

            You may know some of Shakespeare’s best work; A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Much Ado About Nothing, The Taming of the Shrew, and Romeo and Juliet.  All of these works are comedies, with Romeo and Juliet excepted.  This famous play categorizes as a tragedy.  Shakespeare’s popular poetry is his sonnets.  Shakespeare’s wrote his poetry mainly in the sonnet form.  Few poems by Shakespeare show as written in other forms of poetry.  His sonnets make for some of the best reading.

            Shakespeare has left a lasting impact on this world.  Besides creating about 1,700 words like aerial, amazement, and bloody, he also greatly influences writers as well.  He has influenced a large number of notable novelists.  Herman Melville and Charles Dickens are among said novelists.  Also, it is said that Shakespeare has become the second most quoted writer in the history of the English speaking world.  An author can hardly dream of having such a lasting impact on the world of literature as Shakespeare has.

Resources:

William Shakespeare.  8 May. 2011.  Wikipedia

5 May. 2011 < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakespeare>

Shakespeare's influence.  27 April. 2011.  Wikipedia

5 May. 2011 < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakespeare's_influence>

Shakespeare's Influence on Other Artists.  2011.  Shakespeare Online.

5 May. 2011 < http://www.shakespeare-online.com/biography/shakespearewriter.html>    

Edgar Allan Poe: A short biography

           Edgar Allan Poe was a poet, author, editor and literary critic.  Many people who read his work will call it dark and macabre; his tales full of mystery and the morbid.  Poe became one of the earlier writers to create short stories.  He added to the science fiction genre of literature, and was also said to have tried to make a living off of writing alone.  Edgar one of the more popular poets and he has had quite an impact on the literary world.  He wrote very well and left a lasting legacy behind.

            Boston, Massachusetts is where the famous poet was born.  At a very young age, Poe’s mother died and he became orphaned, since his father had left the family.  John and Frances Allan took Edgar in, but never officially adopted him.  He went to a school in England from the age of six to the age of eleven and continued his studies in America.  In 1826, Poe attended the University of Virginia but, less than a year later, he had to quit due to a heavy drinking problem and debt.  

            When Poe was a young man, he failed at becoming a cadet at West Point.  He lied about his age so he could get admitted.  He rarely had a job and no one really liked his work during his lifetime.  To this day, no one really knows why Edgar died.  His fiancé said that he left the house with a weak pulse and a small fever, but nothing more serious than that.  Also, Poe was buried in an unmarked grave.  Eventually, they ordered a gravestone, but someone destroyed it on the train trip to the location of the grave. 

            Poe has written poems, tales, and essays.  Poe named the only play he ever wrote “Politician”.  This unfortunate play was never finished.  He mostly wrote poetry and fiction tales.  One of Poe’s tales is called “The Masque of the Red Death” which talks about a certain prince who tries to avoid a dangerous plague.  Edgar usually stuck to his normal dark and mysterious writing style.

            Poe’s early detective stories laid the groundwork for future mystery writers.  “Sir Arthur Conan Doyle said, ‘Each of Poe's detective stories is a root from which a whole literature has developed. Where was the detective story until Poe breathed the breath of life into it (wikipedia.com)?’”  Poe created this genre and made a whole new path for other, young writers to follow.  Many people around the world today enjoy these novels, thanks to Edgar Allan Poe.

           

Resources:

Edgar Allan Poe.  14 March. 2011.  Wikipedia

15 March. 2011 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_allan_poe#Legacy>

Edgar Allan Poe.  2006.  C.D. Merriman

15 March. 2011 <http://www.online-literature.com/poe/>

Edgar Allan Poe.  2011.  Enotes.com

15 March. 2011 <http://www.enotes.com/authors/edgar-allan-poe>