{"id":6361,"date":"2016-02-08T09:15:00","date_gmt":"2016-02-08T17:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/6-reasons-shakespeare-remains-an-icon-400-years-after-his-death\/"},"modified":"2025-07-18T11:14:06","modified_gmt":"2025-07-18T18:14:06","slug":"6-reasons-shakespeare-remains-an-icon-400-years-after-his-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/6-reasons-shakespeare-remains-an-icon-400-years-after-his-death\/","title":{"rendered":"6 reasons Shakespeare remains an icon 400 years after his death"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n    \n                                \n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-hero \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-hero\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n<div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--image\">\n\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n              \n      <img\n                            data-src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/story-2263-768x432.jpg\"\n          data-srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/story-2263-1280x720.jpg 1280w,https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/story-2263-768x432.jpg 768w\"          data-sizes=\"(min-width:1200px) 75vw, (min-width:768px) 83vw, 100vw\"          class=\"lazyload\"\n        \n                  alt=\"6 reasons Shakespeare remains an icon 400 years after his death\"\n        \n        \n                                      \/>\n\n    \n    \n  \n  \n\n<\/div>\n  \n      <div class=\"image-caption\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  Why does Shakespeare&#8217;s work endure four centuries after his death? Bruce Smith points to a quote from writer Ben Johnson who said in 1623 that Shakespeare was \u2018not of an age, but for all time.\u2019 (Composite: Dennis Lan. Image source: Samuel and Mary R. Bancroft Memorial, John Opie, Martin Droeshout, Jacek Malczewski)\n\n\n<\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  \n  <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n          <nav aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\" class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n        <ul>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\">News<\/a><\/li>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\/?category=faculty\">Faculty<\/a><\/li>\n                  <\/ul>\n      <\/nav>\n    \n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--page-title\">\n\n    \n  <h1>6 reasons Shakespeare remains an icon 400 years after his death<\/h1>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n          <div class=\"subtitle\">\n            \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  Bruce Smith of English and theater helps us put the Bard\u2019s influence into perspective on the quadricentennial of his passing.\n\n\n<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    \n           <strong class=\"author-field\"><span >By<\/span><a href=\"mailto:communication@dornsife.usc.edu\">Michelle Boston<\/a><\/strong>\n    \n          <span class=\"post-date-field\">February 8, 2016<\/span>\n      <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--social-share \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--social-share\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"content-wrapper\">\n    <span class=\"a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list\" style=\"line-height: 32px;\">\n      <span class=\"title\">\n        Share\n      <\/span>\n                        <a class=\"a2a_button_copy_link\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#copy_link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Link\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg a2a_s__default a2a_s_copy_link\">\n              <svg height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 19 19\" width=\"19\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m7.43475275 9.52380952-2.17490843 2.26076008c-1.08745421 1.058837-1.68841575 2.518315-1.68841575 4.0350275 0 1.5167124.60096154 2.9475732 1.68841575 4.0350274 1.058837 1.0874543 2.51831502 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xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m8.14285714 9.42857143c-.17142857 0-.34285714 0-.51428571.08571428l7.28571427 6.34285719c.3428572.2571428.6857143.2571428.9428572 0l7.2857142-6.34285719c-.0857142-.08571428-.2571428-.08571428-.4285714-.08571428zm-1.28571428 1.11428567v.1714286 8.5714286c0 .6857143.6 1.2857143 1.28571428 1.2857143h14.57142856c.6857143 0 1.2857143-.6 1.2857143-1.2857143v-8.5714286c0-.0857143 0-.0857143 0-.1714286l-7.2 6.3428572c-.7714286.6857143-1.8857143.6857143-2.6571429 0z\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" transform=\"translate(-6 -9)\"\/><\/svg>\n            <\/span>\n            <span class=\"a2a_label visually-hidden\">Email<\/span>\n          <\/a>\n                  <\/span>\n  <\/div>\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n \n\n\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--rich-text \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--rich-text\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n      \n<div class=\"f--field f--wysiwyg\">\n\n    \n  <p>\u201cTo be or not to be?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That is the question \u2014 that has passed over the lips of countless actors playing <em>Hamlet<\/em> in the last four centuries on stage and on screen. It\u2019s also a question that people in almost every country and in any language are familiar with. We can thank playwright William Shakespeare, whose reach is extensive.<\/p>\n<p>This year, people around the world will be celebrating the Bard\u2019s timeless works on the 400th anniversary of his death in April. There will be performances of his plays, readings of his poetry and new publications dedicated to analyzing his prolific and time-honored works.<\/p>\n<p>So why exactly does Shakespeare\u2019s work continue to resonate with each generation?<\/p>\n<div class=\"video-embed\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Nbr3AkSb_pw\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>\u201cShakespeare reveals a different face to different cultures and different people at different times,\u201d explained <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/cf\/engl\/faculty_display.cfm?Person_ID=1003713\">Bruce Smith<\/a>, Dean\u2019s Professor of English and professor of <a href=\"http:\/\/dramaticarts.usc.edu\/\">theatre<\/a> at USC.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen the First Folio of Shakespeare\u2019s work was published in 1623, seven years after his death, Ben Johnson, who was a fellow writer, noted that Shakespeare was \u2018not of an age, but for all time.\u2019 That statement can be taken two ways: that the meaning of Shakespeare\u2019s work is always the same or that it is always different. The second interpretation is the one that has been borne out.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 225px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/migration-uploads\/Shakespeare2-2263.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bruce Smith has served as president of the Shakespeare Association of America and has written a number of books that examine Shakespeare\u2019s works including Phenomenal Shakespeare (Wiley, 2010) and The Key of Green: Passion and Perception in Renaissance Culture (University of Chicago Press, 2009). Photo by Peter Zhaoyu Zhou.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Smith is editor of <em>The Cambridge Guide to the Worlds of Shakespeare<\/em>, which will be published on Feb. 11 by Cambridge University Press. Written for general and academic audiences by an international roster of almost 300 contributors, the guide boasts more than 2,000 pages exploring both Shakespeare\u2019s world and the influence of his works on the world.<\/p>\n<p>Topics range from the language and initial reception of Shakespeare\u2019s plays and poems to studies of his works in popular culture, new media and advertising, as well as their influence on film, religion and fine arts.<\/p>\n<p>Here are six reasons (among countless others) explored in the guide why Shakespeare remains an icon 400 years after his death.<\/p>\n<h2>1. You quote Shakespeare on a regular basis and you don\u2019t even know it<\/h2>\n<p>Shakespeare\u2019s influence on the English language runs deep. For instance, if you search the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) \u2014 the definitive record of the English language \u2014 Shakespeare is often identified as the sole user or first user of a word or phrase, according to Charlotte Brewer who authored the guide\u2019s chapter on \u201cShakespeare and the OED.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe more of Shakespeare\u2019s words you look up, the more you discover that, time after time, according to the OED, he turns out to have used language in wholly individual ways or (more often) to have originated usages that subsequently became established in the language,\u201d Brewer wrote.<\/p>\n<p>If you have ever said \u201cIt\u2019s Greek to me,\u201d suffered from \u201cgreen-eyed jealousy,\u201d \u201cstood on ceremony,\u201d been \u201ctongue-tied,\u201d \u201choodwinked\u201d or \u201cin a pickle,\u201d you are quoting Shakespeare.<\/p>\n<h2>2. The Bard\u2019s reach is cosmic<\/h2>\n<p>The planet Uranus has 27 moons, the majority of which are named for Shakespearean characters: Titania, Oberon, Puck (<em>A Midsummer Night\u2019s Dream<\/em>); Ariel, Miranda, Caliban, Sycorax, Prospero, Setebos, Stephano, Trinculo, Francisco, Ferdinand (<em>The Tempest<\/em>); Cordelia (<em>King Lear<\/em>); Ophelia (<em>Hamlet<\/em>); Bianca (<em>The Taming of the Shrew<\/em>); Cressida (<em>Troilus and Cressida<\/em>); Desdemona (<em>Othello<\/em>); Juliet, Mab (<em>Romeo and Juliet<\/em>); Portia (<em>The Merchant of Venice<\/em>); Rosalind (<em>As You Like It<\/em>); Margaret (<em>Much Ado About Nothing<\/em>); Perdita (<em>The Winter\u2019s Tale<\/em>); and Cupid (<em>Timon of Athens<\/em>). (The two remaining moons, Umbriel and Belinda, are named for characters in Alexander Pope\u2019s <em>The Rape of the Lock<\/em>.)<\/p>\n<h2>3. Some people don\u2019t believe Shakespeare wrote the plays and poems that bear his name<\/h2>\n<figure style=\"width: 225px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/migration-uploads\/Shakespeare4-2263.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Cambridge Guide to the Worlds of Shakespeare published by Cambridge University Press explores both Shakespeare\u2019s world and the influence of his works on the world.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>What cements a writer\u2019s legacy more than when a segment of their audience contests their work? The great Shakespeare authorship controversy was sparked in the 1850s \u2014 more than 200 years after his death \u2014 when American writer Delia Bacon and British bookseller William Henry Smith each published their arguments on the topic. Among other potential authors of the plays credited to Shakespeare, they suggested philosopher Francis Bacon and poet Walter Raleigh were more likely the \u201creal\u201d writers of <em>Romeo and Juliet<\/em>, et cetera. In the subsequent century, more than 50 alternative writers were proposed.<\/p>\n<p>However, David Kathman, who wrote the \u201cAuthorship Controversy\u201d chapter in <em>The Cambridge Guide to the Worlds of Shakespeare<\/em>, is confident that Shakespeare\u2019s works are his own. He explains: \u201cDespite the claims of anti-Stratfordians, the evidence that William Shakespeare of Stratford-upon-Avon wrote the works of William Shakespeare is abundant and wide-ranging for the time, more abundant than the comparable evidence for most other of his contemporary playwrights.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kathman is one of several independent scholars without an academic appointment recognized as authorities on Shakespeare who contributed to the guide. Smith noted that their inclusion \u201cis yet another sign of Shakespeare&#8217;s universal appeal.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>4. Shakespeare has been a profitable brand for hundreds of years<\/h2>\n<p>In 1710, publisher Jacob Tonson started a trend when he adopted Shakespeare\u2019s likeness as his corporate logo, using the Bard\u2019s portrait on his bookshop sign, in advertisements and on the editions of Shakespeare\u2019s works that he published. In the past four centuries, Shakespeare\u2019s strength as a brand has not faltered. In fact, it\u2019s ubiquitous. His likeness and his works have been used to sell soap, chocolate, cigarettes, computers, beer, soda and almost anything else you can think of.<\/p>\n<h2>5. His likeness remains a mystery<\/h2>\n<figure style=\"width: 225px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/migration-uploads\/Shakespeare3-2263.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"358\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">This engraving by Martin Droeshout, created after Shakespeare\u2019s death, is one of the few likenesses of the playwright that exists.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Although Shakespeare\u2019s image has been reproduced time and again, we don\u2019t actually know what he really looks like. None of the printed portraits that accompanied his work date back to his lifetime. The image that most people are familiar with is an engraving by Martin Droeshout, which debuted in 1623 on the title page of the first edition of Shakespeare\u2019s collected plays called the First Folio.<\/p>\n<p>However, Erin C. Blake explained in the guide\u2019s chapter on \u201cLikenesses: Prints and Portraits,\u201d that the editors of the First Folio were friends and colleagues of the Bard\u2019s. She wrote: \u201cThey knew what he looked like and would not have accepted a portrait that differed wildly from the man they remembered.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>6. His works are universal and enduring, and so are his characters<\/h2>\n<p>Shakespeare\u2019s works are emotional, hilarious, pithy. But above all, he was masterful at imbuing his stories and his characters with qualities that audiences and readers identify with \u2014 Hamlet\u2019s anguish, Ophelia\u2019s distress, the enduring love between Romeo and Juliet.<\/p>\n<p>In Samuel Johnson\u2019s preface to <em>The Plays of Shakespeare<\/em> (1765), he wrote: \u201cHis characters\u2026are the genuine progeny of common humanity, such as the world will always supply, and observation will always find.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For those who would like to explore Shakespeare\u2019s legacy further, the print version of <em>The Cambridge Guide to the Worlds of Shakespeare<\/em> will be available at the USC Doheny Memorial Library. The online version of the guide will be accessible through USC Libraries in the coming months.<\/p>\n<p>Smith will be further celebrating the anniversary of Shakespeare\u2019s passing with the publication of his seventh book in June: <em>Shakespeare | Cut: Rethinking Cutwork in an Age of Distraction<\/em> (Oxford University Press). <em>Shakespeare | Cut<\/em>, which looks at the creative ways snippets of the Bard&#8217;s work have appeared on stage, in videogames or on YouTube, is an elaboration of the Oxford Wells Shakespeare Lectures that he delivered at Oxford University in 2014.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n  \n        \n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-related-stories \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-related-stories\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n    \n                  <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/how-cutting-up-shakespeares-plays-can-be-an-act-of-creative-destruction\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >How \u2018cutting up\u2019 Shakespeare\u2019s plays can be an act of creative destruction<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n              <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/why-a-liberal-arts-degree-is-often-a-ticket-to-career-success\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >Why a liberal arts degree is often a ticket to career success<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n              <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/love-poems-for-valentines-day\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >5 favorite love poems in honor of Valentine\u2019s Day<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n            <\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bruce Smith of English and theater helps us put the Bard\u2019s influence into perspective on the quadricentennial of his passing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":6364,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[1145,74,75,1144,1129],"class_list":["post-6361","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-faculty","tag-bruce-smith","tag-english","tag-humanities","tag-shakespeare","tag-theater"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>6 reasons Shakespeare remains an icon 400 years after his death<\/title>\n<meta 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