The Master Builder: How Shakespeare Borrowed And Elevated Literary Treasures

Have you ever wondered why William Shakespeare is regarded as the greatest figure in the literary world? William Shakespeare gained prominence during the Elizabethan period, in the 16th century. Even after 500 years, his works continue to be studied at secondary and tertiary levels of education. I'd been hearing his name since my elementary school days. I didn't know who he was, just that there was this person called William Shakespeare who is like a boss in his field. I got to high school and learnt more about him. The first book that I read was the famous tragedy, Othello. Yesterday, I conducted a survey with my friends who aren't book lovers. I asked them this question: Which great literary writer comes to your mind- someone who has written novels, poems, and plays? Out of ten friends, 9 named William Shakespeare, while the last person mentioned Geoffery Chaucer (this surprised me.)

Willaim Shakespeare is the perfect definition of “Literature lives forever.” I recall reading a poem by Edmund Spencer: One Day I Wrote Her Name Upon the Strand. In the poem, the poet's personae tries to imprint his lover’s name in people’s hearts, aiming for it to last for eternity. The poet writes his lover’s name on land. Sadly, water washes it away. In the final couplet, the poet persona writes his lover’s name in a poem, imprinting it in people’s hearts for eternity. Through their works, these writers were able to imprint their names and their lovers’ names in the air, on the water, and in every corner of the world.

Back to my question. Have you ever wondered why William Shakespeare is regarded as the greatest figure in the literary world? If you don’t know anything about him, I'm pretty sure you have heard his name. Even Wikipedia says he is the greatest English writer and the world’s “pre-eminent dramatist.” Do you think it is because his works are the best and no one comes close? Do you think he is regarded as the best because he is the greatest poet, actor, and playwright to ever walk in the literary world? Do you think there are other writers in history who are better than William Shakespeare in terms of writing styles, thematic explorations, and other literary elements? There are just so many questions. I could go on and on.

THE GREATEST DRAMATIST/PLAYWRIGHT? THE GREATEST EPIC POET?

William Shakespeare is not the greatest playwright in the history of literature, that’d be Ben Johnson. I understand that this is a subjective opinion, but we are entitled to have different perspectives, especially when it comes to literature. Ben Johnson is regarded as the father of English comedies. He introduced the comedy of humor. Some of his works are; Volpone, The Alchemist, and Bartholomew Fair. If Ben Johnson is the greatest playwright, why then is William Shakespeare regarded as the greatest literary figure? I'm sure if I conducted a survey with my non-book lovers, they’d rarely recognize Edmund Spencer’s name. Similarly, Willaim Shakespere is not the greatest Epic Poet, that'd be Edmund Spencer who wrote The Faerie Queen and The Shepheardes Calender, among others. Edmund Spencer recognized Shakespeare's talent. He referred to him as the ‘star child.” Although Edmund Spencer is the greatest Epic poet in history, his name isn't known like that of William Shakespeare. Why is that?

If William Shakespeare isn't the greatest playwright, the greatest comedy writer, and the greatest Epic poet in history, why is he regarded as the greatest writer in the history of literature? SHAKESPEARE STOOD OUT FOR HIS INNOVATIVE CAPACITIES. In simple words, he took what other people had done and advanced them. William Shakespeare wasn't the first writer to take writing as a profession, that title belongs to the University Wits. The University Wits are a group of writers in the 16th century. Christopher Marlowe, Robert Greene, Thomas Lodge, George Peele, and Thomas Nashe, were all graduates of Cambridge and Oxford University. Before the days of the University Wits, people did all sorts of writing for fun (hobby). These people came into the field and took writing as a profession. They laid the foundation for other writers, including William Shakespeare. William Shakespeare didn't only copy their writing styles, he also improved them, creating masterpieces. He reconfigured the dynamics of writing and made them better. Shakespeare’s works gained recognition that some of the university wits, especially Christopher Marlowe, recognized his talent and even dedicated one of his works to him.

Most of Shakespeare’s stories are not original. Meaning, he didn't create them from scratch. For example, the story of Julius Caesar. Julius Caesar is a historical figure, but Shakespeare, in his play, redesigns the story to make it better. The same thing can be seen in his play, Hamlet. Traditional tragedies focused on single-minded revenges; just to kill and kill. Revenge and revenge. Shakespeare being Shakespeare takes the traditional tragedies and re-designs them. He introduced the concept of psychological motivations for revenge. In his tragic plays, he equips his villains and characters with Psychological motivations.

Let's consider a case study outside the field of literature. Decades ago, Nokia phones were the talk of the town, especially the Nokia 3310. They dominated the market. Nokia 3310 can fall from a storey building and you won't be bothered about it. At that time, Samsung phones were also available. However, they had a major issue; a slight fall from the table could damage the screen beyond repair. So, what did Samsung do? Not only did they fix this problem, they also advanced their phones. Samsung grabbed Nokia by the neck and threw it into last week. Today, Samsung phones are the talk of town and Nokia is under the carpet.

In summary, William Shakespeare is the greatest figure in the literary world. His name is on every lips of book lovers and it will remain this way for generations to come. William Shakespeare truly stood out for his innovative capacities.

All images in this post are mine, otherwise stated.

Thanks for reading.