How Culture Affected Shakespeare, and He Affected Culture

12 January 2010

VOICE ONE:

I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Barbara Klein with EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English. Today, we complete our story about the influential English writer William Shakespeare. He wrote plays and poems during the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. They remain very popular today.

VOICE TWO:

Gwyneth Paltrow and Joseph Fiennes in the 1998 film ''Shakespeare in Love''Last week, we talked about Shakespeare's history, his plays, and his poems. Today, we talk about the events and cultural influences that affected Shakespeare and his art. We also discuss the countless ways his works have influenced language and popular culture.

VIOLA: "Master Shakespeare ...

[Dancing]

Good sir, I heard you are a poet ...

[Shakespeare smiles, silent]

But a poet of no words?"

VOICE ONE:

That was part of a dancing scene from the popular nineteen ninety-eight movie "Shakespeare in Love." The film suggests one way in which Shakespeare might have been influenced to write "Romeo and Juliet:" because of his relationship with a brave and lovely woman. The movie is only very loosely based on real events, but it is a wonderful story.

VOICE TWO:

Many of Shakespeare's works were influenced by earlier writings. During this time, students would probably have learned several ancient Roman and Greek plays. It was not unusual for writers to produce more current versions of these works. For example, in his play "The Comedy of Errors" Shakespeare borrows certain structural details from the ancient Roman playwright Plautus.