The Development of Shakespeare's Mind and Style

by K.F.
This picture is based
on the only portrait
done during
Shakespeare's lifetime
William Shakespeare was born on April 23, 1564 (Frye, 1967), in Stratford- Upon-Avon. There is where he lived and got most of his education. When he was a boy, he studied much that would later on help him in his writing.
This map shows where Shakespeare spent most of his early life. On the map can be seen the designation of the house where Shakespeare grew up.
Shakespeare not only studied Latin, but also Greek. One well known Elizabethan author named Ben Johnson was quoted by Beeston (quoted by Bevington, 1951) as saying,". . . he had but little Latine and lesse Greek; he understood Latine pretty well , for he had been in his younger years a Schoolmaster in the country." (p.48) When Shakespeare reached what is equivalent to our fifth grade, he finished his schooling. During the time when Shakespeare was a child, the theatre was in a poor state. "The Reformation had almost killed the religious drama, and as yet the Renaissance had produced no comparable secular drama to take its place." (Halliday, 1956, p.27). There were exceptions, of course. A few writers such as Marlowe, Greene, Kyd, and Heywood were experimenting with non-religious forms. However, for the most part, theatre remained this way until Shakespeare began writing. Shakespeare revolutionized the Elizabethan drama. He was an amazing man with a powerful mind. It seemed that Shakespeare truly understood the meaning of life. He analyzed people and their behavior and applied that to his writing. Not only did his knowledge of the human mind make him great, but also Shakespeare's knowledge of the art of writing. He is often considered one of the most brilliant writers of all time. "It was dramatic poetry that his genius found its goal." (Lee, 1931) But like any good writer, his style and skills improved over time. When we analyze Shakespeare's work, we can see how this applies to him.

Shakespeare's First Period

William Shakespeare began writing when he was fairly young. Records of his first pieces of work show that he was between the ages of 21-28 (Chambers, 1931). In Shakespeare's beginning years, he mainly wrote nondramatic poems. What this means is a poem that is written but not performed. Some of these pieces include Venus and Andonis and The Rape of Lucrece. A short time after these poems, he started writing dramatic "poems" that were eventually performed. Some of these "poems" include The Comedy of Errors and Love's Labor's Lost. When Shakespeare wrote his first works, there was not much depth in the elements such as characters. In The Merchant of Venice, one of his earlier plays, the characters seemed to be one dimensional or cartoonish. For example, the character named Gobbo seemed not to have any emotions. Instead, he would just speak what he had to say, not act it. Also, Shakespeare did not have much depth in plot. Most of his plots were imitative. Lee (1968) ". . . several French and Italian books whence Shakespeare derived the plots of his dramas. . ." (p. 18). What this means is that Shakespeare based most of his plots on stories that were already written; they were not original. Another problem with his plots was that they had the same basic theme: love's wealth, love's truth, love's order (Brown, 1957) Further in Shakespeare's beginning years, the language he used was all the same. He used all verse and no prose. In the first part of Henry VI, we can see that he had 2379 lines of blank verse and no lines of prose. This is also true for the third part of Henry VI, King John, and Richard the Second (Bevington, 1951, p.72).

The earlier pieces of Shakespeare's writing are not as well known as his later works. The reason these plays are not well known is because of his lack in developing the plot and characters. Later on in his career, we can see how he improved his style.

This is the famous balcony scene
from Romeo and Juliet,
written between 1594 to 1596.

Shakespeare's Second Period

William Shakespeare's second period lasted between 1595-1600. During his second period, his work started to improve. It got better in several ways. One way was his development in plot. Shakespeare' plots started to become more original (Bevington, 1951). He also started bringing history into his writing. "Particularily in his histories and comedies of this period, Shakespeare demonstrated his genius for weaving various dramatic actions into a unified plot" (Wadsworth, 1991, p.357). Though he had not quite reached this point in his career yet, he was on his way to do it. After every one of Shakespeare's plays, he kept on improving his style.

Shakespeare's Later Period

Shakespeare's later period is considered by many people to be his greatest period. This is when he wrote some of his best known works. Some of these include: Othello, King Lear, Julius Caesar, Macbeth, Hamlet, etc. Perhaps the reason these works are considered some of his best is because of the change in his style. As opposed to Shakespeare's earlier works, the three elements in his plays changed. Some of his characters became better developed. In Julius Caesar, we can see how these characters became more "lifelike". For example, when we look at Cinna the Poet, we can tell that he has actual emotions and feelings. He tells about his thoughts and dreams, and makes us feel like we are actually listening to him (Bevington, 1951).
This is a scene from the play King Lear with one of his servants kneeling beside him.
Another change in his style is the plot. Shakespeare made the plot more complex. For example, instead of "recycling" plots, he came up with new, original plots. Hamlet has a more original and more complex plot compared to some of his earlier works. Shakespeare's style improved in another way; he developed the language more. When he started writing, he used all verse and no prose. This changed in his later period. In Shakespeare's later period, verse and prose were almost balanced out. In Hamlet, there are 1208 lines of prose and 2490 lines of blank verse in his 3931 line play (Bevington, 1951, p.72). When we put these elements together--characters, plot, and language--we can see why his later plays improved.

Shakespeare's Final Period

In Shakespeare's final years, he wrote some pieces that are not well known. Some of these include: Cymbeline, Winter's Tale, The Tempest, etc (Lee, 1968). During this period, Shakespeare used good plots. " In Cymbeline, Shakespeare weaves together three distinct threads of story, two of which he derives from well known literary repertories." (Lee, 1968, p.423) What this means is that he had a very complex plot that brought the story together. One of the reasons Shakespeare's later works went "down hill" was because of his language. He did not use an equal part of verse and prose. In Cymbeline, he used 2585 lines of blank verse and 638 lines of prose. Also, in Henry VIII, he used 2613 lines of blank verse and 60-70 lines of prose (Bevington, 1951, p.72). Most of the famous plays that Shakespeare wrote had an equal part of verse and prose. William Shakespeare dedicated most of his life to creating some of the greatest works ever written. When we look back at his life, we can see all the changes and struggles he went through. ". . . Shakespeare is considered as one element in the great intellectual and spiritual movement of the Elizabethan period." (Dowden, 1962, p.42) He can truly be considered one of the greatest writers of all time.

Work Cited

This webpage was created by K.F. on 5/14/98 for History and Thought of Western Man, Rich East High School.

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