Introduction:
Sitting in class I thought an excellent way to demonstrate Shakespeare’s optimism would be to contrast him with another famous author with similar life experiences. The value in this is the different way their lives ended up. Below is a list of bullets with more information that demonstrate this idea better.
Sitting in class I thought an excellent way to demonstrate Shakespeare’s optimism would be to contrast him with another famous author with similar life experiences. The value in this is the different way their lives ended up. Below is a list of bullets with more information that demonstrate this idea better.
Death of Relatives:
Shakespeare the third of eight children and was only outlived by 1 of his siblings, and in fact many of his siblings died before they reached adulthood. Poe’s father abandoned his family and a shortly time later his mother died leaving him and his two siblings to be adopted by separate families. So essentially they did not grow up together.
Interactions with others:
Shakespeare was successful while alive. By comparison Poe was not as successful. Shakespeare’s plays were popular, the globe was a success and he was financially stable. After entering the army Poe decided that it did not suit him and was intentionally kicked out. This led to an estranged relationship with his adoptive father John Allan. His had various experiences with the publishing industry had some success but eventually he butted heads with one of the owners which led to his failure in the industry. Shakespeare went through the hoops he did what needed to, to be successful realizes that it required him to work with people, it required tact and diplomacy. This is demonstrated in his writing, he wrote plays for the monarchy realizes that f he wanted to be successful he need to make sure they were happy. Poe did what he wanted, he did not what he wanted shouting “to hell with whatever anyone else thinks!” in the process.
Shakespeare was successful while alive. By comparison Poe was not as successful. Shakespeare’s plays were popular, the globe was a success and he was financially stable. After entering the army Poe decided that it did not suit him and was intentionally kicked out. This led to an estranged relationship with his adoptive father John Allan. His had various experiences with the publishing industry had some success but eventually he butted heads with one of the owners which led to his failure in the industry. Shakespeare went through the hoops he did what needed to, to be successful realizes that it required him to work with people, it required tact and diplomacy. This is demonstrated in his writing, he wrote plays for the monarchy realizes that f he wanted to be successful he need to make sure they were happy. Poe did what he wanted, he did not what he wanted shouting “to hell with whatever anyone else thinks!” in the process.
Marriages:
Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway at age eighteen. She was twenty-six and they had to get married because she was pregnant. Poe married his cousin Virginia Clemm, she was thirteen and he was twenty-six. There is no proof that the marriage was consummated and there was indication that the marriage was for financial reasons.
Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway at age eighteen. She was twenty-six and they had to get married because she was pregnant. Poe married his cousin Virginia Clemm, she was thirteen and he was twenty-six. There is no proof that the marriage was consummated and there was indication that the marriage was for financial reasons.
There is a myth circulated around Stratford that Shakespeare died in a bar laughing at a dirty joke. However the real story is that he got sick after drinking too much one night and died of a fever few days later. He died at home after being brought home from the bar with the friends he was drinking with. Poe had a drinking problem this lead to being alone in his final days and his death. He stumbled into Baltimore alone and friendless in the city because it was not his home city of Boston.
Works:
Shakespeare’s plays are categorized into three genres: Comedy, Tragedy and Romance. This is very fitting considering the full life the author lived and the experience he had in all of these categories. He seemed to enjoy life. This assumption is based on his successfulness. He sought his dreams and found his fortune. He wanted more education after his marriage, so, as is now being speculated he found a job tutoring that allowed him to study. This is where he found his career as an actor and writer which lead to his work with the globe theater. He experienced tragedies. His siblings died, his family struggled financially for many years, and his own son died. The evidence of the sorrow he felt from these life events is found in his tragedies. His romance often come out of nowhere, one minute the couple hates each other and the next they are getting married. This is somewhat synonymous with his marriage. Obviously Shakespeare and his wife did not hate each other because they were doing the deed before marriage but the communion was a whirlwind affair. The point here, being, that he lived a full life.
Shakespeare’s plays are categorized into three genres: Comedy, Tragedy and Romance. This is very fitting considering the full life the author lived and the experience he had in all of these categories. He seemed to enjoy life. This assumption is based on his successfulness. He sought his dreams and found his fortune. He wanted more education after his marriage, so, as is now being speculated he found a job tutoring that allowed him to study. This is where he found his career as an actor and writer which lead to his work with the globe theater. He experienced tragedies. His siblings died, his family struggled financially for many years, and his own son died. The evidence of the sorrow he felt from these life events is found in his tragedies. His romance often come out of nowhere, one minute the couple hates each other and the next they are getting married. This is somewhat synonymous with his marriage. Obviously Shakespeare and his wife did not hate each other because they were doing the deed before marriage but the communion was a whirlwind affair. The point here, being, that he lived a full life.
Influence:
I have said before that Shakespeare is one of the most influential authors in the English language and that his works are the most published second only to the bible. It is no doubt that his work was successful in him time and has remained so throughout the ages. People look to him as the standard, as a truly spectacular author. Poe is famous it is true. He is remembered and loved for his contributions to dark literature, however, the scale of appreciation for Poe among literary buffs in his time and today is not in the same league as the level to where Shakespeare set the bar.
I have said before that Shakespeare is one of the most influential authors in the English language and that his works are the most published second only to the bible. It is no doubt that his work was successful in him time and has remained so throughout the ages. People look to him as the standard, as a truly spectacular author. Poe is famous it is true. He is remembered and loved for his contributions to dark literature, however, the scale of appreciation for Poe among literary buffs in his time and today is not in the same league as the level to where Shakespeare set the bar.
Life is what you make of it. Let’s take the proverb “if life gives you lemons make lemonade” to explain this is in this lives of the two authors under examination. When Shakespeare found his life full of lemons, he acknowledged them, gave them the time due them and turned them into lemonade. When life gave life gave Poe lemons he saw them cut them open and sucked on them, which I learned from my grandmother who has not had real teeth since she was about twenty-two, does not just taste sour.
The Point of this post is to point out the similarities in the lives of these two authors and demonstrates the differences because of attitude. Shakespeare and Poe had horrible and tragic events in their lives, events that some would never recover from. And yet they plowed through, they worked, they had families, they lived. The difference between these two men is found in the attitudes associated with the things that happened to them in life. The difference is that one is an optimist and the other a pessimist.
