SHAKESPEARE
Though not a student of English literature/ language myself, my awe and respect for Shakespeare keep rooting deeper, even as I wonder at his perception of human behaviour . To me, Shakespeare has been perhaps the first ever playwright to have ‘understood ‘ human idiosyncrasies, such that his description of human attitudes transcends limits of time and remains valid to date. Was he not the first poet to portray money lenders’ rigid demand of principal and interest there of? Recall his portrayal of Shylock – keen to extract a pound of flesh for default in repayment of money borrowed. His depiction of Lady Macbeth has indeed been a prophetic assertion to highlight women’s attitude whenever an opportunity comes by. All his utterances strewn through his works remind us time and again of human re-orientation under changing circumstances. He remains a colossus on perfect prediction of human thought and strategies of exploiting weaknesses. What better could anyone have used to depict the state of mind of kids than his ‘proverbial’ ‘unwillingly going to school’? Another stroke of brilliance emerges in his expression “seeking the bubble reputation’.
As a means of recalling Shakespearean precision I quote a few of his writings just to substantiate the veracity of my appreciation of his prophetic skills; my calling them prophetic is based on the ‘timeless applicability’ and ‘universal acceptability’ which together imply that certain human traits keep traversing through generations. His remarkable ability has always been accuracy blended with sarcasm.
Look at these:
‘Hell is empty and all the devils are here’
‘Love is a smoke made with fumes of sigh’.
‘A Fool thinks himself to be wise and a wise man knows himself to be a fool’.
‘Uneasy lies the head, that wears the crown’.
‘Love is too young to know what conscience is’.
Maids want nothing but husbands and when they have them, they want everything’.
‘Lawless are they that make their wills their laws’.
‘Misery acquaints a man with strange bad fellows’.
‘When our actions do not, our fears do make us traitors’.
‘The robbed that smiles, steals something from the thief.’
‘He that loves to be flattered is worthy of the flatter’.
These are just some samples to
show, how well Shakespeare has emphasized the play of human mind. Literally
every situation in life has some or other reference in Shakespeare. Indeed a
grand mind was his. Prof. K. Raman
Fitting tribute to the greatest playwrite. English litreture is not complete without reading Shakespeare. Here are few quotes that I liked:
ReplyDelete“Cowards die many times before their deaths;
The valiant never taste of death but once.
Of all the wonders that I yet have heard,
It seems to me most strange that men should fear;
Seeing that death, a necessary end,
Will come when it will come.” --- Julius Caesar
“Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.”
-- Macbeth
I had King Lear and Much ado about nothing in my degree course
ReplyDeleteVery little I remember now
As flies to wanton boys we to the gods.They kill is for their sport —In King Lear
I am a man more sinned against than sinning
I remember malapropism in Much ado about nothing
Is ourwhole dissembly appeared?
K. Venkataraman