Shakespeare - The Dramatist Of All Time

Abstract

Ben Jonson, Shakespeare's well known contemporary playwright, poet and actor calls Shakespeare "not of an age but for all time." Shakespeare therefore is the dramatist for all seasons and arguably the most timeless and placeless dramatist, the world of literature has ever produced. He produced 37 plays during his time and penned 154 sonnets with two epic poems. Shakespeare is the mostly quoted (person) next to Bible and his works have been produced in almost all the languages with diverse sort of modifications; his characters have continued to be not just theatrical realities but social realities over four centuries as the characters like Romeo, Juliet, Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth, Julius Cesar, Shylock, etc. are still very much alive irrespective of socio-cultural, political and geographical differences. Thus, Ben Jonson further adds in a familiar tribute to Shakespeare: "Thon art alive still while thy Booke doth live, and we have wits to read, and praise to give".