Studying Shakespeare should not be approached with trepidation - the plays were written to be enjoyed! Although it cannot be denied that English has changed over the last four hundred years, careful study of the text (and some patience!) inevitably reveals its meaning. The plays are stories about people, the human condition with all the love, hate, and other passions which go with it, and while the language may have changed, people certainly haven't!
The stories Shakespeare told are in fact so universal that they are often updated. The musical West Side Story is an adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. King Lear has been adapted into a television play called Lear, about a West Indian immigrant and his three daughters set in contemporary England. Elements of Macbeth can be found in House of Cards, the story of a politician with too great a political ambition. The Science Fiction classic Forbidden Planet is based on The Tempest. Many of Shakespeare's lines are in common currency in everyday English.
Anyway, back to the story
Okay, Okay, so I'm beginning to see the point. You don't seem to be such a pain in the neck. I'm even starting to think it might be a nice idea to, you know, go see one of your plays.
Queen Elizabeth eventually died and was succeeded by James I in 1604. King James loved the theatre, but in his first year on the throne the plague was so bad that all the theatres were closed. During this time, Shakespeare's acting company, The King's Men, toured the provinces where the effects of the plague weren't so bad.
By this time Shakespeare was well established as a sharer in the company itself, and had given up acting. Now, however, he made money not only out of writing the plays (which didn't amount to much as playwrights were more often than not given a one-off fee for their efforts) but took a percentage of the takings as well. This made him rich.
The Final Years
In 1610 Shakespeare moved back to Stratford but kept up his London contacts for a few years. It was as a respected citizen and a wealthy landowner that he retired. The story (and again, it's just a story, no offence Shakey ol' mate) around his death is that he went out one April evening in 1616, drank too much, caught a fever and died as a result. He has no direct descendants - his direct line became extinct when his only granddaughter, Elizabeth, died childless in 1670.
Now how about you go and study one of his plays? What fun, what larks, what excitement!!
From me, it's a bye for now, must fly!!
What was that?
Excuse me?!?
Say that again!
How do I fancy hanging around and joining the English class at your College? Not on your life matey, I'm leaving the building - there's a branch there with my name on it!
