Shakespeare in the 21st Century: Relevance and Reinterpretations

Abstract

Legendary Shakespeare the dramatist of the Elizabethan age has left an unforgettable print in the literature and theatre, even in the popular culture. Although hundreds of years passed since the author lived, his works are still relevant nowadays and resonate in the modern generation which shows that his plays are eternal in the 21 st century. The paper is an argument of how Shakespearean plays and themes have been redefined to the present context, and how the plays and themes have influenced literature, movies alike, and social issues as well as theater. In the paper, the author examines how his works are adapted to suit the modern political, social and cultural conditions and how the new adornments of his thoughts are carried to more people in the contemporary world. The discussion will centre on the study on how Shakespeare works help in giving improved meanings to the human situation by reference to comparing some contemporary adaptations of Shakespeare plays with regard to both faithfully and loosely re-interpreted ones. As this study implies, the Shakespearean themes (love, power, betrayal and justice) are classics and the way they are reproduced again to reflect the modern problems. At last, the analysis discovers that the things written by Shakespeare remain to be a noteworthy part of the contemporary discussion of culture not merely due to its literary connotation but also owing to the fact that it is able to evolve with times