When asked who would inspire me,
I have a simple and fairly straight-forward answer, Shakespeare.
However, the reason for my
respect for such an icon is not just focused on how marvellous his plays and
prose were or by how ahead of his time this one man was. There is another significant fact about Shakespeare
that I believe people do not appreciate despite it being obvious. It is how
this man, more than 400 years after his demise, is still remembered as one of
the most paradigmatic and important figures in British history. His ability to
express his political opinion and describe events occurring in his lifetime,
through non-existent yet convincingly fantastic plotlines and clever words with
a double entendre, constantly amazes me.
Yet what amazes me even more is
the lack of awareness our modern society has for this figure’s addition of
around 1700 words or phrases to the English language that we commonly use
today. When you shout ‘Good Riddance!’ or find yourself ‘A sorry sight’, or if
you are sent on ‘A wild goose chase’ or find that ‘Love is blind’, you need to
thank Shakespeare.
This is the key point as to why I
am so inspired by this man. Through centuries of history, from the years of the
Commonwealth and England’s restoration to the reign of Queen Victoria and the
devastation of the two World Wars, Shakespeare’s works and words have remained.
Apart from Shakespeare and the monarchs of his time, are there many other
people who stand out from this period?
My belief as to why Shakespeare’s
works are so relevant today is due to the fact that within them the underlying
morals are still applicable in the modern world. The themes of jealousy, love
and hate are all addressed by this 16th Century playwright and all these
emotions were just as powerful centuries ago as they are now.
From the realisation at how influential this
single person has become over time, it makes me question myself. What can I do
in the world to ensure that in future generations people are inspired? I do not
want to be a movie star or a musician.
But, like Shakespeare, I believe that by using the power of words to
make people laugh, cry and debate points of view that have not been addressed
before, on a relatively smaller scale, I aspire to try to inspire people as
well.
