2016 is proving a marvellous year for lovers of Shakespearean literature – the whole world seems to be honouring William Shakespeare’s work, marking the quatercentenary of the playwright’s death with all sorts of inspired artwork, revivals and new stagings, and countless hommages. Amidst all this excitement, though, the persistent question, “Is Shakespeare really so important?” again rears its head. As we take part in this year of celebration, we must also take part in an extended conversation about the place of William Shakespeare in our literary and theatrical canon, our educational mandates, and our wider world.
This is not a new conversation, although this year might be the first time that discourse about Shakespeare has trended so consistently on Twitter (i.e. #Shakespeare400). The value and place of Shakespeare, and the continued relevance of his works, have been called into question all but constantly. It’s easy to quip about Shakespeare as the “greatest writer of the English language”, but, in equal measure, it isn’t too difficult to imagine student encounters with Shakespeare full of rolling eyes, dramatic sighs, and more than a little headache. Indeed, for a writer so widely acknowledged as foundational to English literary canon, Shakespeare is also rather paradoxically the figure quickly ousted by many critics as out-dated and a vestige of a calcified literary narrow-mindedness.
So, now, as always, what are we to do with Shakespeare?
(This question can instantly become incredibly more complicated if we debate the processes of reinterpreting, reconfiguring, and reworking Shakespeare’s plays to make them more accessible or palatable to contemporary audiences. So, let’s circumnavigate that particular briar patch for the moment, shall we?)
Two notable hindrances preclude a simple assertion that Shakespeare is a writer fully relevant to modern audiences, namely: the playwright’s (ever-increasingly) archaic language, and unfortunate socio-narrative throwbacks from Shakespeare’s Elizabethan context. Shakespeare can be hard to read. The reader can often stumble on the textual difficulty of words, spellings, and colloquialisms that might not have been popularly used in centuries, or come up against lines that demonstrate offensive and problematic discourse (including racism, sexism, anti-Semitism, misogyny, and xenophobia). These are difficult elements to explain, and complicate the singing of Shakespeare’s praises.
Still, while not excusing or obfuscating the faults in Shakespeare’s works and era, Shakespeare does still serve to better our lives – as many educators, thinkers, pundits, journalists, columnists, and culture makers attest. Shakespeare’s plays, be they experienced in performance, read on the page, or tweeted about, persist, and provide affective and intellectual challenges despite the four long centuries since their original composition and staging.
There are two major points underpinning the defense of Shakespeare’s place in the twenty-first century, both of which tout William Shakespeare’s masterful expression of the human condition. Firstly, Shakespeare’s power lies in his ability to connect with audiences, capturing and evoking human emotion with intense efficacy. Although we might use different words to express our own sentiments, we understand the anguish in Ophelia’s heart, the horror of Lady Macbeth’s regret, and the anxiety of Portia’s predicament. We see our selves reflected In Shakespeare’s works, the breadth and depth of human emotion laid bare upon the stage. Similarly, the playwright’s works centre around themes and issues that are persistent, global concerns– we are all still subject to love, ambition, struggles for power, debates about social inclusion, and dreams of a better life. Our world still knows the frivolity of dreamy love, the pain of shattered love, and the conflicts that arise within and between families, communities, and states. In this light, it has been argued that Shakespeare’s works will continue to be relevant until there is neither humanity nor society left to see itself reflected in his lines.
This might all seem very hyperbolic. Indeed, it would be best that we proceed with a fair amount of caution – as much as Shakespeare should be a part of our lives, feeling a certain anxiety about Shakespeare is not only natural, but healthy. We need to continue contextualising, criticising, and working to understand not only Shakespeare’s works, but why they matter, how they make meaning, and how we might contribute to carrying Shakespeare to the half-millennial mark.