Shakespeare has been so much written about, has been praised in such superlative terms and has been analysed with such subtlety that one despairs of adding anything new. Shakespeare excels in so many qualities that is hard to pin point the one excellence which may be said to distinguish him from all other writers.
We can express Lyly, Marlow, Ben Jonson each in a single formula. But Shakespeare match each and every writers -Lily, Marlow or Ben Jonson and so on. Whatever has been done by any other dramatist has been done better by Shakespeare. How can we express his greatness? Dryden said Shakespeare "was the man who of all modern and perhaps ancient poets had the largest and most comprehensive soul". In a nutshell he referred to " Shakespear's universal mind" . It explains Shakespeare's astonishing power of characterisation in which he is supreme. He was so completely human, he could enter into the minds of all sorts of conditions of human beings and portrays them truthfully.
Shakespeare is the greatest dramatist because he has created the largest number of living characters - characters, that is to say, who live not only on the stage but also off it. They grip our memory better than we know our intimate friends. His plays are not great drama, they are also great literature. Shakespeare was the greatest poet not only of his age but of all time. No other dramatist has been also as great a poet. He is the lord of language. That is why Shakespeare is, out side the Bible, the most often quoted of all writers.
With 'Romeo and Juliet' Shakespeare achieved his first Triumph in tragedy. His other great tragedies are - 'Hamlet',' Othelo', 'Lear', 'Macbeth', 'Antony and Cleopatra'. His all great tragedies are psychological tragegies or tragedies of character. He follows the ancient aristocratic tradition in tragedy. All of his heroes are great men. The hero's down fall is brought about by a fatal weakness in his own character. In 'Hamlet' it is excessive refinement of sensibility, in 'Othelo' it is excessive simpleness of mind, in 'Lear' it is excessive egoism ungovernable temper, in 'Macbeth' it is inordinate ambition, in 'Antony' it is unbridled passion of love.
His last plays 'Pericles', 'Cymbeline', 'Winter's tale', 'Tempest'- all these plays containing a lot of tragic matter have happy endings. They are called Dramatic Romance or Tragicomediy
We can express Lyly, Marlow, Ben Jonson each in a single formula. But Shakespeare match each and every writers -Lily, Marlow or Ben Jonson and so on. Whatever has been done by any other dramatist has been done better by Shakespeare. How can we express his greatness? Dryden said Shakespeare "was the man who of all modern and perhaps ancient poets had the largest and most comprehensive soul". In a nutshell he referred to " Shakespear's universal mind" . It explains Shakespeare's astonishing power of characterisation in which he is supreme. He was so completely human, he could enter into the minds of all sorts of conditions of human beings and portrays them truthfully.
Shakespeare is the greatest dramatist because he has created the largest number of living characters - characters, that is to say, who live not only on the stage but also off it. They grip our memory better than we know our intimate friends. His plays are not great drama, they are also great literature. Shakespeare was the greatest poet not only of his age but of all time. No other dramatist has been also as great a poet. He is the lord of language. That is why Shakespeare is, out side the Bible, the most often quoted of all writers.
With 'Romeo and Juliet' Shakespeare achieved his first Triumph in tragedy. His other great tragedies are - 'Hamlet',' Othelo', 'Lear', 'Macbeth', 'Antony and Cleopatra'. His all great tragedies are psychological tragegies or tragedies of character. He follows the ancient aristocratic tradition in tragedy. All of his heroes are great men. The hero's down fall is brought about by a fatal weakness in his own character. In 'Hamlet' it is excessive refinement of sensibility, in 'Othelo' it is excessive simpleness of mind, in 'Lear' it is excessive egoism ungovernable temper, in 'Macbeth' it is inordinate ambition, in 'Antony' it is unbridled passion of love.
His last plays 'Pericles', 'Cymbeline', 'Winter's tale', 'Tempest'- all these plays containing a lot of tragic matter have happy endings. They are called Dramatic Romance or Tragicomediy
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