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5.The development of Shakespeare's style
Shakespeare revolutionized Elizabethan drama. He was an amazing man with a powerful mind. It seemed that Shakespeare really understood the meaning of life. He analyzed people and their behavior and applied it in his works. What made him great was not only his knowledge of the human mind, but also Shakespeare's knowledge of the art of writing. He is often considered one of the most brilliant writers of all time. “His genius found its purpose in dramatic poetry.” But, like any good writer, his style and skills improved over time. When we analyze Shakespeare's work, we can see how this applies to him.⁷
Shakespeare's First Period
William Shakespeare started writing when he was quite young. Records of his first works show that he was between 21 and 28 years old. In the early years of his life, Shakespeare wrote mostly non-dramatic poems. It means a poem that is written but not performed. Some of these works include Venus and Andonis and The Rape of Lucretia. Soon after these poems, he began to write dramatic “poems”, which were eventually performed. Some of these “poems” include "The Comedy of Errors" and "The Lost Labor of Love". When Shakespeare wrote his first works, there was not much depth in such elements as characters. In The Merchant of Venice, one of his early plays, the characters seemed one-dimensional or caricatured. For example, a character named Gobbo didn't seem to have any emotions. Instead, he was just saying what he had to say, not acting. In addition, Shakespeare did not have a great depth of plot. Most of his plots were imitative. Shakespeare based most of his plots on stories that had already been written; they were not original. Another problem with his plots was that they had the same basic theme: the richness of love, the truth of love, the order of love. Further, in the early years of Shakespeare's work, the language he used was still the same. He used only poetry and no prose. In the first part of "Henry VI" we see that he had 2379 lines of blank verse and not a line of prose. This is also true for the third part of "Henry VI", "King John" and "Richard II".
Shakespeare's early works are not as well known as his later works. The reason why these plays are little known is that he has not sufficiently developed the plot and characters. Later in his career we will be able to see how he has improved his style.
Shakespeare's Second Period.
The second period of William Shakespeare's work lasted between 1595-1600 years. During the second period, his work began to improve. It's gotten better in several ways. One of the ways was to develop it in the plot. Shakespeare's plots began to become more original. He also began to bring history into his works. “Feature in his stories and comedies of this period, Shakespeare demonstrated his genius for weaving various dramatic actions into a single plot.” Although he hadn't quite reached that point in his career yet, he was on his way to it. After each Shakespeare play, he continued to improve his style.
The late period of Shakespeare 's work.
The late period of Shakespeare's work is considered by many to be his greatest period. It was then that he wrote some of his most famous works. Some of them include: Othello, King Lear, Julius Caesar, Macbeth, Hamlet, etc. Perhaps the reason why these works are considered among his best lies in the change in his style. Unlike Shakespeare's earlier works, three elements in his plays have changed. Some of his characters have become better developed. In “Julius Caesar” we can see how these characters have become more "realistic". For example, when we look at Cinna the poet, we can say that he has real emotions and experiences. He talks about his thoughts and dreams and makes us feel that we are really listening to him.⁸
Another change in his style is the plot. Shakespeare complicated the plot. For example, instead of “reworking” the plots, he came up with new, original plots. Hamlet has a more original and complex plot compared to some of his earlier works. Shakespeare's style improved in another respect; he developed the language more. When he started writing, he used only poetry and no prose. This changed later in his life. In the later period of Shakespeare's work, poetry and prose were almost balanced. There are 1208 lines of prose in Hamlet and 2490 lines of blank verse in his play of 3931 lines. When we put these elements together-the characters, the plot and the language-we can understand why his later plays got better.
The final period of Shakespeare 's work.
In the last years of his life, Shakespeare wrote several plays that are little known. Some of them include: "Cymbeline", "Winter Fairy Tale", "Storm", etc. During this period Shakespeare used good plots. “In Cymbeline, Shakespeare weaves together three separate strands of narrative, two of which he borrows from well-known literary sources." This means that he had a very complex plot that brought the whole story together. One of the reasons why Shakespeare's later works went “downhill” was his language. He did not use poetry and prose equally. In Cymbeline he used 2585 lines of blank verse and 638 lines of prose. In addition, in "Henry VIII" he used 2613 lines of blank verse and 60-70 lines of prose. Most of the famous plays written by Shakespeare consisted equally of poetry and prose. William Shakespeare devoted most of his life to creating some of the greatest works ever written. When we look back on his life, we can see all the changes and difficulties he went through.“. . . Shakespeare is regarded as one of the elements of the great intellectual and spiritual movement of the Elizabethan period.”He really can be considered one of the greatest writers of all time.