William Shakespeare is a name that stands tall. English language and Shakespeare has become inseparable and that shows the greatness of this world renowned playwright and poet who has stood the test of time. The Bard of Avon has written 39 plays and 154 sonnets which are widely read and enjoyed even today and that’s why Ben Johnson rightly said, “Shakespeare is not for an age, but for all times.” Now let us think and explore what makes these works which were written years ago interesting to the modern, technologically advanced people. Well, the most accurate answer would be, Characters. Yes, the characters of Shakespeare are universal and they are not bound by time.
Why Do We Adore Them?
Well, all of us love heroes. The good looking and kind natured heroes often sweep us off our feet while the villains earn our wrath and hatred. But there are certain villains who have a deep impact on us. The Shakespearean villains are enticing that they earn our empathy. We no longer find fault in them nor in their actions instead tend to explore them more. The intrigue nature of Shakespeare’s villains makes us to find out the reason behind their evil actions and we come to a situation where we in fact start to justify their actions. For instance, Shylock in the Merchant of Venice is portrayed as heartless Jew who is all set to take bloody revenge on Antonio. But however, when we take a deeper look we get to know that the actions of Shylock are actually triggered by Antonio’s acts where Antonia insults Shylock for being a Jew. This makes us feel the helplessness of the Jews and thereby we start empathising with Shylock, though we know what his actions are not noble, but evil.
Shakespeare’s heroes are obviously portrayed with heroic acts and nobility. Yet he has brilliantly knit his villains. The way these villains scheme their plot and execute them with perfection shows the brilliance. Let us here take the example of Iago from Othello and Lady Macbeth from Macbeth. Iago very cleverly plants the seeds of suspicion and jealousy in Othello’s mind. Similarly Lady Macbeth triggers Macbeth to kill King Duncan and to attain power. We still can find many Lady Macbeths and Macbeths in our society who long for power and greed and which make them perform evil deeds. There are a lot of Iagos around us who have the problem of motiveless malignity. They do not even have a right reason to their evil actions while they still ruin others’ happiness.
All of us have a part of us that we do not wish to show to others. We always want to present ourselves as a good kind natured human being. But however, are we all the same internally? Are we the same person we show others? Or do we have certain dark secrets within us? Do we really like all those whom we smile at? Yes this is a million dollar question that can be answered by none but only by oneself. May be that part of us which we do not wish to reveal to others is an element of evility and guilt in us. There might be a certain reason hidden behind this evility or it might also be motiveless malignity, evilness without any definite purpose. Shakespeare, the master with his words have captivated us that much that we even fall in love with the most deadliest and dangerous villains as their motives are easy to relate to as they include jealousy, agony, heartbreak and much more that almost all of us experience. His villains are truly timeless and are adored as even today many of us are Lady Macbeths, Shylocks, Regans, Gonerils and we live amongst Iagos, Claudiuses, Tamoras, Arons and many more.