THESIS STATEMENT: Shakespeare's time has long since passed. Though the people of Elizabethan age had a very different life experience from what we experience today with regards to education, government, religion, and technology, our methods of entertainment and reasoning for pop culture is the same - to express the culture of the masses through works of art written by the masses.
EVIDENCES:
1. Today, we use Shakespeare for many of our own works of art, perpetuating the very real scenarios that Shakespeare creates in his work, but adapting it to our modern ways of living and speaking. I talk about this adaptation in this blog post.
A) Modern soundtracks to Shakespeare's plays are contrasted with traditional Renaissance music.
B) Modern renditions of Shakespeare seek to recapture the authentic Shakespearean experience.
C) My own songwriting project demonstrates modern pop culture meshing with Shakespeare.
D) The BYU production of "Much Ado About Nothing" perfectly shows the cross-cultural adaptation of Shakespeare, and how it transcends time and setting, speaking instead to the human condition.
E)
2. Shakespeare's works have gone through a transformation, returning again to the way it was originally intended to be; entertainment for all levels of people in all walks of life.
A) The putting on of his works by "common people" in the Grassroots production I took part in.
B) The analysis of his works, including in a scholarly forum on Othello and Merchant.
C) Our class adaptation of the "Romeo and Juliet" soliloquy for the flash mob.
D) The close read of sonnets and character analysis done both in class and on my blog.
E) The host of Shakespearean festivals held annually, including the Utah Festival organized by Fred Adams.
F) The adaptation of Shakespeare to different cultures.
G) The addressing of very personal human issues such as appearance and reputation.
To Conclude: Though Shakespeare himself is long gone, along with the Elizabethan people, there are many ways in which we owe them for the modern popular culture stories and productions we enjoy today.
