By Nadine Butova

16.10.2014

To start with a sincere confession, I always envied people who can use quotes from Shakespeare
in everyday life, turning them into nice complements or even jokes. With all my great love and
interest towards the English culture and literature I never had time or, rather guts, to get to know
Shakespeare closer than Romeo and Juliet and a number of sonnets. You may already be writing
my name into the black list, or looking for something rotten in your fridge to throw it into me the
next lesson, and I have no right to object you. The fact that I still havent discovered the works
of this pure genius makes me feel ashamed and uncomfortable every time somebody brings up
this topic. And so, one day the girl that mildly speaking was not an expert on Shakespeare,
happened to attend a number of lectures on the creative life and works of the bard of Avon. She
again regretted not having opened a thick book of his plays. And the further the lecturers went
on, the more she envied those who had read and understood the thoughts of one of the worlds
greatest playwrights and poets.

But let us leave this silly play of storytelling and face the truth. William Shakespeare is such an
outstanding figure in the world, that it is impossible to live unaware of the main notions of his
works. Modern mass culture constantly refers to Shakespeares works as a source for film plots,
book stories, ideas of sketches and jokes. The only fact that all these ideas, quotes and characters
are still topical almost 400 years after the death of the author already depicts the endless talent of
this man. Whenever I drop For Goodness sake in anger or irritation, or suggest breaking the
ice, or scold my friends for doing much ado about nothing, I should be grateful to Mr.
Shakespeare. It is common knowledge that a great deal of English words was invented and
revived by the Bard. Can you imagine that such words as lonely, gloomy, majestic, generous or
laughable had never been used before Shakespeare? And now can you see the role this man plays
in the establishment of the English language? But being an excellent poet and linguist, he
managed to succeed in the area of psychology. May be not officially, and the was no diploma
with his name and degree next to his doorbell, but in his literary works he shows such deep
understanding of human nature and characters, that you cannot help admiring the master. He
knew people and cultures so well that he didnt even have to leave the borders of his motherland
to write about different cultures and countries. Italy, France, Scotland, Greece, Balkans And
not only diverse places described he, but also periods of time. Sometimes it seems Shakespeare
is Doctor Who, the lord of time, travelling throughout times and universe, saving people and
writing plays and poems about them. But this essay is getting too English, lets dilute it with the
French, or rather their reaction on Shakespeares works. Shakespeares works became popular in
France only over a hundred years after his death. And after that Shakespeare's impact in France
has been enormous. With their classical theater popular these days, strict and conservative, they
thought of Shakespeare as a mad amateur. The rule of three unities had nothing to do with
Shakespeares plays full of actions, characters and events. But the genius of the Bard made
proud French break the rules and break their self-esteem. Step by step the works of the Bard
were spreading around the world. Due to various reasons they arrived to Latvia only at the end of
the 18th century and became very popular amongst the educated groups of society. Fortunately
they remain same popular. Partly by virtue of the hard work of Latvian translators, for the
translation of Shakespeares work has changed significantly from the times when Latvians first
got acquainted with the plays of the Bard. But with all the respect to translators and linguists,
literary scholars and researchers, if you want to discover pure genius of Shakespeare, watch,
listen or read his works in English. Parting is such sweet sorrow and I have to end this essay that
is tedious as a twice-told tale. Whats done is done, but I hope you will not laugh yourself into
stitches while reading this sorry sight. All is well that ends well, and what can be better than a
sign-off jam-packed with Shakespeares quotes?