All the World Still a Stage for Shakespeare's Timeless Imaginatio
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JULIET: "Ay me!"
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And I'm Barbara Klein with Explorations in VOA Special English. Today, we tell about one of the most influential and skillful writers in the world. For more than four hundred years, people all over the world have been reading, watching and listening to the plays and poetry of the British writer William Shakespeare.
Shakespeare's theater group also performed in other places such as the smaller indoor Blackfriars Theater. Or, they would travel around the countryside to perform. Sometimes they were asked to perform at the palace of the English ruler Queen Elizabeth or, later, King James the First.
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
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VOICE ONE:
When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st:
So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
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And by opposing end them?
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Many Shakespearian tragedies are about conflicting family loyalties or a character seeking to punish others for the wrongful death of a loved one. "Hamlet" tells the story of the son of the king of Denmark. When Hamlet's father unexpectedly dies, his uncle Claudius becomes ruler and marries Hamlet's mother. One night a ghostly spirit visits Hamlet and tells him that Claudius killed his father.
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The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
You just heard part of a famous scene from a movie version of "Romeo and Juliet." This tragic play remains one of the greatest, and perhaps most famous, love stories ever told. It tells about two young people who meet and fall deeply in love. But their families, the Capulets and the Montagues, are enemies and will not allow them to be together. Romeo and Juliet are surrounded by violent fighting and generational conflict. The young lovers secretly marry, but their story has a tragic ending.
In fifteen ninety-nine Shakespeare's company was successful enough to build its own theater called The Globe. Public theaters during this time were usually three floor levels high and were built around a stage area where the actors performed. The Globe could hold as many as three thousand people. People from all levels of society would attend performances.
Nor shall death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
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The poorer people could buy tickets for a small amount of money to stand near the stage. Wealthier people could buy more costly tickets to sit in other areas.
Most people think of Shakespeare as a writer. But he was also a theater producer, a part owner of an acting company and an actor. For most of his career, he was a producer and main writer for an acting company called the King's Men.
ROMEO: "She speaks:
"Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,
Next week, we will explore the many ways that Shakespeare's work has influenced world culture over time. This program was written and produced by Dana Demange. I'm Steve Ember.
And I'm Barbara Klein. You can read and listen to this program on our Web site, WWW.51VOA.COM. Join us again next week for Explorations in VOA Special English.
By chance or nature's changing course untrimmed;
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Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
Often it was not very important if wealthy people could see the stage well. It was more important that they be in a seat where everyone could see them.
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
"Romeo and Juliet" shows how William Shakespeare's plays shine with extraordinarily rich and imaginative language. He invented thousands of words to color his works. They have become part of the English language. Shakespeare's universal stories show all the human emotions and conflicts. His works are as fresh today as they were four hundred years ago.
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Here is one of Shakespeare's most famous poems. Sonnet Eighteen tells about the lasting nature of poetry. The speaker describes how the person he loves will remain forever young and beautiful in the lines of this poem.
Sometimes too hot the eye of heaven shines,
JULIET: "O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?
And often is his gold complexion dimmed;
If that requirement seems demanding, Shakespeare's sonnets are also written in iambic pentameter. This is a kind of structure in which each line has ten syllables or beats with a stress on every second beat.
"And I'll no longer be a Capulet."
Even with these restrictive rules, the sonnets seem effortless. They have the most creative language and imaginative comparisons of any other poems. Most of the sonnets are love poems. Some of them are attacks while others are celebrations. The sonnets express everything from pain and death to desire, wisdom, and happiness.
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By Dana Demange2007-5-22
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st;
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
William Shakespeare was born in fifteen sixty-four in the town of Stratford-upon-Avon. He married Anne Hathaway at the age of eighteen. The couple had three children, two daughters and a son who died very young. Shakespeare moved to London in the late fifteen eighties to be at the center of the city's busy theater life.
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
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Claudio and Hero are the other couple. They fall in love at once and plan to marry. But Claudio wrongly accuses Hero of being with another man and refuses to marry her. Hero's family decides to make Claudio believe that she is dead until her innocence can be proved. Claudio soon realizes his mistake and mourns for Hero. By the end of the play, love wins over everyone and there is a marriage ceremony for the four lovers.
"Much Ado About Nothing" is a good example of a Shakespearian comedy. It tells the story of two couples. Benedick and Beatrice each claim they will never marry. They enjoy attacking each other with funny insults. Their friends work out a plan to make the two secretly fall in love.
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
Shakespeare's histories are intense explorations of actual English rulers. This was a newer kind of play that developed during Shakespeare's time. Other writers may have written historical plays, but no one could match Shakespeare's skill. Plays about rulers like Henry the Fourth and Richard the Third explore Britain's history during a time when the country was going through tense political struggles.
And every fair from fair sometimes declines,
"O, speak again, bright angel!"
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:
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Shakespeare is best known for the thirty-nine plays that he wrote, although only thirty-eight exist today. His plays are usually divided into three groups: comedies, histories and tragedies. The comedies are playful and funny. They usually deal with marriage and the funny activities of people in love. These comedies often tell many stories at the same time, like plays within plays.
Hamlet decides to pretend that he is crazy to learn if this is true. This intense play captures the conflicted inner life of Hamlet. This young man must struggle between his moral beliefs and his desire to seek punishment for his father's death. Here is a famous speech from a movie version of "Hamlet." The actor Laurence Olivier shines in this difficult role.
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