Discuss the importance of studying Shakespeare in the 21st century?

Shakespeare has a better understanding of the human psyche better than any other writer, and this alone makes his relevance timeless. Most of his works in the literature contain major themes that have been a major problem to the human race, both at the time of his living and even today, these themes still make headlines. For example, murder, love, betrayal, ambition, hatred, and revenge are some of the major themes that he has propagated in most of his literature, and upon reading his work, it is easy to denote that Shakespeare lived a few decades ago, but this isn’t true. In all his work, Shakespeare constantly challenges our beliefs, prejudices, and assumptions, and since they are the things that humans want all the time, he tends to relate to all of us, regardless of which generation a person is, as long they are humans. In the 21st century, crime, especially murder has been the major subject in most news both local and global, and this seems to have been a major problem as well during Shakespeare’s time. As a result, he created profoundly complex characters that are irredeemably villainous, and who anyone regardless of the level of education, socioeconomic status, or culture, people can relate to based on how they interact.

For example, in his play, “Hamlet,” Shakespeare narrates how revenge can bring out the villainous character of a person as most part of the play is based on revenge – Hamlet wants to kill his uncle because he thinks he killed his father to take the throne and wants to avenge his death. While this piece of literature was written many years ago, it is still relevant in the 21st century as people still seek revenge for certain issues they perceive as wrong. For example, there are many people in prisons because they opted to revenge something was done to them, and this just shows how contemporary the works of Shakespeare seem in modern world.

Shakespeare’s literature relates to almost everyone including high school students as it is meant to be a play in which the audience can hear and see the actions of the characters. You dint need to be a professor to understand Shakespeare’s literature, but all you need is a well delivered play that will help even the lay person understand the concept of the play. Hamlet is not only a play but a character who is depicted to be naïve like many other people in modern society, and this means may people relate with him. For example, his mother remarried his uncle after the death of his father, like it is the case of many children who are adopted after their mothers remarry. All this makes Shakespeare’s literature worth studying in the 21st century.