Are Shakespeares play more than just good stories?

Question

We all know that William Shakespeare is one of the most famous Playwrights to have ever lived. I was just wondering if his plays are really more than just good plays, you know?

Thanks Guys.

Answer 1

If you really read the words, they are incredibly  intricately crafted,  with amazingly complex  but beautiful images and metaphors.

No one can write like that.  

Answer 2

OMG I have to study shakespeare, what is so good about his plays anyway? I'm not trying to be rude, I would really like to know!

I respect your appreciation of his plays ;-)

Answer 3

in my opinion his stories are not that great. I could have written those, but in today's world, that wouldn't be impressive. h

Answer 4

Shakespeare's plays deal with emotions and questions in life that everyone deals with which makes them easy to relate to...also they are written in prose and so they have a poetic flow.  They also have many illusions such as biblical illusions or mythical or mythological illusions.  They are well thought out plays.  This all adds to the overall play and makes them more than just good stories.  

Answer 5

At least one of his plays was shameless propaganda for the usurper Tudor dynasty-to make Henry VII look justified in stealing the throne, Richard III was made into a loathesome, murderous, hunchback infanticide!

Shakespeare shouldn't be used as a historcal source, except for what inferences you can draw about contemporary society. They are bit like Hollywood history, never letting the facts get in the way of a good story!

And they are indeed great stories! I love the way he mixed in lighter scenes, like the doorman in that Scottish play ( sorry, I can't mention it by name but it starts with a "Mac") and had a great grasp of human nature.....if you're having trouble understanding it, read by the punctuation, not the lines.

PS three cheers for Falstaff!

Answer 6

yea its good, they teach u about the time when it was written and its always good to read literature.

Answer 7

They are most definitely more than just good plays.. you find story lines in every movie and soap programmes you see to date that are based on some of shakespears' plays. Whether it be tradgedies or happy plots. The Romeo & Juliet plot is used alot in films and soaps.

Answer 8

Okay, well I've studied like 3 of his plays.

I find it's great if you understand WHAT they're saying, and you get the grip of the concept, but if you don't i find it boring and confusing..

Thats just my opinion..

Answer 9

Yes, in many different ways they are more than just good plays.

Shakespeare teaches us a bit of history, with his plays Richard III, Henry II, etc, we are educated not only in the history of the person, but in the attitudes of society surrounding them. His comedies, Taming of the Shrew, Much Ado About Nothing give us an insight into what was considered funny, how the gender roles operated in his time, and a comparison for the same in our own society. His language is a good resource for the language of the day, and for boosting and enhancing our own vocabulary. You might not go around using the words odds bodkin, but knowing what it means, when you hear it, you can appreciate the context. Most of all, most important, at least to me, is that his themes are so universal. Four hundred years later we are still watching with awe the unfolding of his tragedies, and seeing them pertinent to our own times, our own lives. They are a study in the unchanging human condition, in the fallability of humans, their flaws, their triumphs. Teens watch Romeo and Juliet and see the rebellion they thought was only their own generations, and attitudes of parents and see that, after all, they are not the "only one" to feel that way, to go through that situation.

Answer 10

Shakespeare  tackles the universal issues and deepest human qualities and relationships that are timeless and therefore are as relevant today as they were when they were written.The language is very difficult to understand because it belongs to the time the plays were written,but studying to understand it is well worth the effort.  

Answer 11

They tackle the profound questions of life. That is why they have appealed to people for 400 years.

Shakespeare is awesome!