Why is William Shakespeare so great?

Aside from his literary qualities--or perhaps because of them (complex characters, well-structured plots that are about the universals of human life--love, greed, jealousy, war, politics--and great language), because he was a practical man of the theatre who had to keep 1,500 people in their seats (or standing still) for 3+ hours. At a time when nobody had to be polite and listen, and you could buy everything from beer to prostitutes during the show....That he could do that over and over and over and over and over and over and over in works that still speak to us puts him at the top of the heap.

But: to understand his true greatness, I think you have to see his plays, not read them--which is why English teachers who make you read the plays going up and down the rows of students end up killing them, while those who find a way to SHOW their students the plays often enliven them. Shakespeare was an actor, so he knew what actors bring to words on a page--and that's irreplaceable when it comes to his work. Saw a "Richard III" last summer--over 3 hours long, and the audience was enthralled. Because it had comedy, drama, war, murder, politics, good and evil having it out, all played out by exciting actors--all the things we still go to plays & movies to get.

Any writer who can make a room full of people laugh at a dog joke, or ache when two young lovers are parted, or hold your breath when an incredibly jealous man murders his wife because he's been set up by somebody out for revenge--and make you do all of that in spite of the fact that he's been dead for 400 years...that's great.

William Shakespeare's works are timeless and are still relevant today. That is why he is amazazing, people today can still relate to what he wrote then. You can laugh at his comedies, cry with his tragedies, etc. Also, almost every movie or great fiction works are in somewhat based on a Shakespeare prototype. Romeo and Juliet for example, every great love story has a forbidden love or something of the like.

I used to wonder that, too: Why is he so darn popular?

But then I took some Shakespeare classes. His works are very deep and have meanings on many different levels. He is a big user of wordplay. He created deep, psychologically complex characters generations before anyone else thought of it. His plays are written in poetic verse.

Plus, his works are really good-- they work dramatically and still touch readers over the generations. I think he also has a following because he was one of the first writers to really establish English as a language in which great works of art can be created.

not purely became he an incredible author, he invented over 1700 words which at the instant are in on a daily basis use interior the English language. This is composed of the notice "brilliant" which became utilized by potential of a prior answerer to describe Shakespeare himself!

because he willed to survive and stay sane even if he was unhappy. Unharming yourself for that long when you're down is a feat.

because he was a great writer and his work is timeless and wonderful and it will probably never die out