Was Shakespear so great?

[Pride]

Seeing trailor of movie "Macbeth" on TV, We started discussing about whether Shakespear was really that great or British empire's great spread across the world made him so. Or say he was marketed and popularized by Britishers like other literary greats like Tennyson, Wordsworth, Arthur connan Doyle etc.

My personal opinion is, While Shakespear wrote good literary pieces but he was popularized more than what currently he is. If we see world literature, we might find better classics in other languages.

Whats your opinion guys?

 

[AZADPAKISTAN2009]

Just a average drop out nothing out of ordinary

 

[MastanKhan]

It is all about marketing-----.

 

[Urbanized Greyhound]

Greatness cannot be popularized or marketed ....Milton, Marlowe, Shakespeare owed their greatness to contemporary thinkers , philosophers ...and also contemporary public opinion of their classical writing when it was brought alive on stage by actors

( a prime example being Julius Caesar --whose dramatization on the stage is the reason he is remembered for inspiring loyalty, betrayal and setting in motion a chain of events which brought about a clash between the senate and the monarchy ----If we had learned about him from history , he would be studied as yet another emperor/dictator who ruled briefly . Historical portrayals are generally mundane and lifeless....credit should be given to Shakespeare for bringing aspects of his personality to life )

It helps that the English speaking/understanding world is vast , due to Britain's colonial past and their penchant for spreading their language across the Globe.

No doubts on Shakespeare's greatness.

That being said , other writers have their own places of glory in the rich, literary traditions of their respective languages.
Names like Leo Tolstoy , the ancient dramas of Shakuntalam -written by Kalidasa , works of the Persian poet Hafiz etc ...are well recognized and revered among people of their language and culture.

The fact that Shakespeare is better known across the globe is merely incidental apropos English being a true Global language . That has no connection to his greatness.

 

[RazPaK]

Heer Ranja vs Romeo and Juliet


Yeah. He was over-hyped.