Shakespeare’s signifi cance in today’s society - Isobel Taylor-Hart

Shakespeare’s signifi cance in today’s society

by Isobel Taylor-Hart

We’ve all heard of it- tragic love stories of suicidal

teenagers, murderous kings, backstabbing over power and money. But why should we know about this? And why should we take life-determining exams over these texts? In particular, a good example of Shakespeare’s prevalence in today’s society is the 2022 GCSEs - the examination on Shakespeare was compulsory, whereas the 19th century novel and poetry anthology were choices, making it obvious that the top educators saw Shakespeare’s plays as more beneficial to learn than more recent texts.

But why is this?

Many people feel dread at the sound of Shakespeare’s name, but in my opinion, Shakespeare is a huge influence on everyone, even changing the way that individuals may act. I make this claim because, put simply, Shakespeare’s stories are always that of morality, no matter whether it is a tragedy or comedy, making them almost fable-like. This introduced a new layer of civilisation to Elizabethan society, particularly among the peasants who enjoyed his plays. These people fell in love with the characters, and this influenced their actions. Plays were a huge factor in people’s lives, being perhaps the only form of entertainment, without the existence of televisions, phones or any form of entertainment that could come on demand. Therefore, society has slowly began to develop around Shakespeare’s tales, and it is no surprise that Shakespeare is still a huge part of today’s culture.

As well as all this, Shakespeare is ever present in today’s language. Shakespeare ‘invented’ 1,700 of the words in today’s dictionary, making him one of, if not the most significant writers in the development of the English language. You may not even know it but it’s very likely you use his words daily, simple words such as bedroom, ladybird and uncomfortable. This level of cultural impact is completely irreplicable. Shakespeare also built the ‘Globe’ theatre, which is a tourist landmark for England and is a huge hotspot for new creations and stories, opening pathways for more art created under his legacy.

He has even shaped our historical understanding. What do you think of when you picture Richard III? A manipulator, who took the throne ruthlessly by force? This misconception may have been solely formed by Shakespeare under royal influence to make the Tudor royals seem more rightful, securing their dynasty. And what do you know about Julius Caesar’s death? Shakespeare made his death relevant; he made the details interesting and passed the story on through generations to the point where an overwhelming majority of people today know about Caesar’s death, and this is all thanks to Shakespeare’s play.

Shakespeare has also vastly changed how people see love. Before the Elizabethan era, love was a contract, designed to gain money or power through relations, and was often made between relatives. Nevertheless, Shakespeare took this old perception of love and turned it around with ‘Romeo and Juliet’, perhaps one of Shakespeare’s most profound and widely known pieces. It follows two teenagers who marry despite no approval from their parents, no materialistic motivation and a huge family feud, and although the ending was less than idyllic, the whirlwind romance in the play showed people that love was truly important and could be an expected thing to occur within, or even before marriage, not just being a rare occurrence.

Therefore, Shakespeare is highly relevant in today’s society, and may even be the most significant person within the English language ever. Everything, from movies and books to the way that we communicate with other people would be different without Shakespeare’s influence. As a matter of fact, we would not have tragedies, romances and comedies as we know them today without the work of the Bard.