O Shakespeare, Shakespeare Wherefore Art Thou Shakespeare?

O shakespeare, shakespeare wherefore art thou shakespeare?

Well he's still here, even today. How many of you have had to endure Sakespeare during school, dreading every moment of your English lessons? But did you know that all of your favorite tv shows like Gossip Girl, Vampire Diaries and Modern Family all contain themes and characters that Shakespeare originally created and made famous? Ryan Murphy may have created Glee but Shakespeare was the first to make famous characters that you all know and love in modern media. Shakespeare's influence has reached the very edges of modern popular culture. Shakespeare 's crazed, but ingenious, ideas are responsible for creating the characters you now see on your television. Majorie Garber said "The idea that Shakespeare is modern is, of course, hardly a modern idea. Indeed, it is one of the fascinating effects of Shakespeare's plays that they

have almost always seemed to coincide with the times in which they are read, published, produced, and discussed."

Now that you realise just how much Shakespeare is involved in your lives, you may now begin to appreciate his incredible works of art, better known as Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth. You all may know Jack Dawson played by the one and only Leonardo Dicaprio from Titanic but you might as well call him Romeo, with a lovers heart to match that of the Shakspearian character. For Jack Dawson has the exact same motives as Romeo, to be with the girl he loves. Romeo and Juliet are starcrossed lovers bound by fate to be together, or so they thought. Jack and Rose are exactly the same in Titanic, one never wanting to live without the other. One might call this depressing ,others call it romantic but that's the beauty of Shakespeare's characters, they give you free roam to make the decision for yourself.

Now think back to that Gossip Girl episode you watched last night, what themese did you notice? Love, hate even betrayal? All these themes were originally made famous by the one and only William Shakespeare. The narator of Gossip Girl said "True love and betrayal. Revenge and more revenge. A heroine with an impossible goal. If only Mozart had lived on the Upper East side." So every time you read that book about teenage romance, every time you watch a tv show and even when you listen to your music, you are bombarded with the themes that shakespeare originally used in his plays. You see now? Nearly everything in modern popular culture is here today because of shakespeare.

So next time you are in your english lessons reading Shakespeare, try and compare the plot to your favorite tv show, I have absolutely no doubt you'll be surprised by just how similar they really are. Shakespeare's characters and themes are the reason you now have Serena