What did Voltaire say about Shakespeare?
Voltaire (1694-1778), stuck as he was in the ways of classical literature, found Shakespeare’s works to be “grotesque” and “contrary to good taste.” But he also admitted that the English playwright was, at times, “sublime.”
Why did Shakespeare set his plays in Italy?
Some of Shakespeare’s plays were rather controversial in their times as they criticised powerful leaders. Had the plays been set in England, he may have faced repercussions for his work. Placing them in Italy was a very clever strategy that allowed him to express his opinions without censorship.
Was Shakespeare an aristocrat?
Unfortunately for the Oxfordians, the idea that Shakespeare was an aristocratic writer, or that he was particularly accurate in his depiction of aristocrats, is unknown before the 19th century.
Did Tolstoy read Shakespeare in English?
English and Drama blog In Shakespeare and the Drama, Tolstoy writes that his various attempts to read Shakespeare’s plays – in Russian, English and German – invariably produced feelings of ‘repulsion, weariness and bewilderment’.
Why did Tolstoy dislike Shakespeare?
Born in an aristocratic family, the author of War and Peace was exposed to Hamlet and Macbeth from an early age, and he grew annoyed when he turned out to be the only one among his friends and family members who did not see them as true masterpieces.
Why is Italy appropriate as the setting for Romeo and Juliet?
Due to the influence of Petrarch and other Italian writers, Italy was believed to be a country where romance was valued very highly. The “tragedy of love” was a theatrical genre created by Italian playwrights, and both of Shakespeare’s love tragedies, Romeo and Juliet and Othello , are set in Italy.
Was Shakespeare really Italian?
Italian. According to a most eccentric breed of anti-Stratfordians – the people who argue that Shakespeare wasn’t Shakespeare – Shakespeare was quite literally Italian. His name, they suggest, was Crollanza or Scrollalanza (“shake-speare”), before he moved to London from Sicily via northern Italy.
Was Shakespeare really a genius?
Shakespeare was elevated to an almost godlike status, becoming the nation’s foremost poet and the unchallenged epitome of literary genius.
Who called Shakespeare the largest and most comprehensive soul?
Dryden
“He was the man who of all modern, and perhaps ancient poets, had the largest and most comprehensive soul” (Dryden, Essay on Dramatic Poesy). Shakespeare’s comprehensive soul in King Lear is shown by the way each section of this program can assist in understanding the play.