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Shakespeare's Style of Writing

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Literary genius of the 16th century

Shakespeare's style of writing

Who was Shakespeare ? What made him “the greatest writer in the English language ?
Why Shakespeare's work has stood the test of time ?

To understand Shakespeare's great gift for writing or rather try to we have to learn more about his style of writing.
Shakespeare had a very moving writing. He was an emotional and passionate man. He has the ability to write human feelings as eloquently as nobody can. In Sonnets and Hamlet : examples : "Doubt that the sun doth move, doubt truth to be a liar, but never doubt I love". Hamlet Quote (Act II, Sc. II).
"Love is a smoke raised with the fume of sighs." Hamlet Quote ( Act I, Sc. I).

Shakespeare used over 25,000 different words in his writings.
He is the magician of words.
He made many play-words, quotes and expressions still used nowadays.

(Beginning of his career in 1592
Robert Greene : Elisabethan playwright called WS “upstart cow”)

Shakespeare wrote mainly tragedies.
His work contain thousands of quotes from the Gevena Bible (Matthew)

There is many changes in his style of writing.

His first plays were acknowledged by the public :
The Comedy of Errors, and Taming of the Shrew
He wrote tragedies as well as comedies.
From 1580 to 1613 : he wrote 37 plays!
He had the ability to represent human nature. He saw life as a theater and theater as life. He gave the public what he want. He was a formidable storyteller. He told every kind of story: comedy, tragedy, history, melodrama, adventure, love stories and fairy tales.
After he was known for his humorous plays he shifts his style to darkness and tragedy : Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear, Othello.
Incidentally many comedies he wrote were noticeably un-humourous.
Some suggest that this switch in style was family-related, others that he wanted to please the crowds at

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