A life spanning a modest 52 years but an influence which has already lasted four centuries. And, if I am not mistaken, Shakespeare will carry on having a profound impact on our society. When I say “our,” I mean the people of the world in general.
Well, not everyone with a love for reading may pick up Shakespeare, but maybe they should. Beyond the magic, the metaphors, and the complex plots, there is something about his work that will always find resonance, irrespective of how the world transforms.
And therein lies the genius of the poet and writer, because he deals with basic human virtues like loyalty, devotion, and trust, plus the major vices of envy, lust, and avarice. Need I say that, even today, around the world, these are the emotions that carry on determining our fates? Of all the lines of Shakespeare, I would use this one as my favourite from Measure for Measure: “It is excellent to have a giant’s strength, but it is tyrannous to use it like a giant.”
Tell me, in how many situations can we use this line to portray the true face of reality? Or how about this: “Some rise by sin, others by virtue fall!” Three centuries later, this theme was rephrased by Oscar Wilde: “The good ended happily and the bad unhappily, that is what fiction means!” Of course, in Bangladesh, Shakespeare is instantly recognisable, like in many other countries, for what many term his ageless work: Romeo and Juliet.
Valentine’s Day is not too far away, and for all the tormented lovers, here’s what the bard said: “The course of true love never did run smooth!” Interestingly, the core theme of Romeo and Juliet, the feud between the Capulets and the Montagues as a combustible setting for a doomed love affair where death is the inevitable end, has been picked up countless times by the local movie industry.
The common Bengali movie dialogue: “What! As the eldest son of the Chowdhury family, you want to marry the daughter of my enemy” is but a derivative from the bard’s famous love tragedy.
No, in our films, we do not see the young lover passionately saying: “Goodnight, goodnight, parting is such sweet sorrow, that I’ll say goodbye till it be tomorrow.” A reminder of another line from the bard: “Is love a tender thing? No, it’s too rude, too rough, too boisterous and it pricks like thorn.”
Since we are talking about love and its many unpredictable faces, it was Shakespeare who said in As You Like It: “Men are April when they woo, December when the wed. Maids are May when they are maids but the sky changes when they are wives.” Bottom line is: Romance thrives in the early stage of courtship. But then, love can also take sinister forms with one side doing all the loving.
I see the Shakespeare line: “Some cupids kill with arrows and some with traps” from Much Ado About Nothing reflected amply in modern day cheesy Indian TV soap operas where plenty of skullduggery is applied when the feeling of infatuation is not reciprocated.
A few days ago, I attended a literary discussion on 19th century European literature where, during the course of dissecting the novel Count of Monte Cristo, the leitmotif of revenge came to the fore. One group opposed the single-minded determination of the protagonist to avenge the wrong done to him on the ground that it was unethical and suggested that instead of pursuing this course, the wrongdoers should have been left at the hands of karma.
But then, if that had been the case, there would be no novel. By the way, as far as avenging an unfair act is concerned, here’s the unforgettable line from the bard in Merchant of Venice: “If you tickle us do we not laugh, if you prick us do we not bleed and if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?”
Politics has been a staple in Shakespeare’s works, though often not overtly. But court machinations have dominated with duplicity presented in a variety of mouthwatering forms.
I look -- surely there are others too -- at politicians who thrive in bombastic rhetoric and the line from Merchant of Venice rings in my ears: “You speak an infinite deal of nothing.”
Looking at the roller coaster politics of Bangladesh since birth, another line from Julius Caesar rings true: “As he was valiant I honour him, but as he was ambitious, I slew him.” This will hold true for many other countries too.
Forgive me. Somehow, talking about the vagaries in politics plus the many baffling manifestations, a line uttered by Cordelia in King Lear carries resonance: “Time shall unfold what plighted cunning hides, who cover faults at last shame them derides.”
Well, I mean, in the current global political scenario, perhaps this, from King Lear, is more apt: “Mend your speech a little, lest it mar your fortunes!”
In a world where we often find the devil citing scripture for his/her purpose, it seems the bard and his unforgettable lines are not just significant for their literary worth. They represent life as we live it now!
Someone the other day, stressing the need to read Shakespeare, at least in abridged form, ended with a sigh and a line from King Lear: “We have seen the best of our time, machinations, hollowness, treachery, and all ruinous disorder, follow us disquietly to our graves.”
Well, I cheered him and said: “Come on don’t be so crestfallen: There’s nothing good or bad only thinking makes it so.” (from Hamlet)
To end, let’s not have the cynical and shatteringly truthful, but the romantic and the hopeful from As You Like It: “Love a little, comfort a little, cherish thyself a little.”
