A Short History of the World in 50 Books by Daniel Smith

A Short History of the World in 50 Books by Daniel Smith

Author:Daniel Smith [Smith, Daniel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781789294088
Google: wWyQzgEACAAJ
Publisher: MikeO'Mara
Published: 2022-07-21T20:44:23+00:00


Shakespeare also had the good fortune to write in the language that over the next few centuries would become the lingua franca for vast swathes of the planet, ensuring his work spread across the globe. But why did Shakespeare’s name become supreme so widely, and not that of some other writer? Part of the answer is surely his preternatural ability to address themes of universality – love and hate, war, peace and power, freedom, revenge, greed, lust and more. Nelson Mandela, a man whose life seemingly had little in common with that of Shakespeare, was moved to observe: ‘Shakespeare always seems to have something to say to us.’ Ben Jonson, one of the writer’s Elizabethan contemporaries, memorably described him as ‘not of an age, but for all time’. His plays transcend time and place in a unique way. He himself seems to have had in mind that he was communicating to humanity in its entirety, his Globe Theatre bearing the motto ‘Totus mundus agit histrionem’ (‘The entire world is a playhouse’).

In his characterization and plotting, Shakespeare explored archetypes, touchstone figures and ideas recognizable from theatrical tradition. But he added a layer of psychological complexity that pushed the expectations of what drama and literature can achieve. His archetypes became fully formed humans, imbued with the full gamut of emotions, strengths and frailties – all communicated in the most memorable of language. Has there ever been a more complete study of a man in crisis, for instance, than that of Hamlet? Or a single more memorable exploration of the human psyche than his ‘To be or not to be’ soliloquy? If one thinks of the defining narrative of doomed love, who – even today – need look further than Romeo and Juliet? If one is accusing another of treachery, still they are likely to reach for the words of Julius Caesar: ‘Et tu, Brute?’ For evidence of his brilliance as a purveyor of psychological depth, study the works of Sigmund Freud, written several centuries later. Freud littered his writings with quotations from the playwright, whom he described as ‘the greatest of poets’.



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