2007-02-12 05:28:09 · 4 answers · asked by adrian h 1 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Theater & Acting
I suspect you mean contemporary
If we use the definition from the dictionary
1: happening, existing, living, or coming into being during the same period of time2 a: simultaneous b: marked by characteristics of the present period : modern, current
If you mean the man himself he lived from 1564-1616 so close to 400 years ago. So the man is not our contemporary as per the first definition above.
If you refers to the ideas of some of his plays (the historical drama of Henry the 5th not included) then the ideas of human standing and emotion as well as interaction yes these as per 2b his plays can be seen as current and marked by characteristics of the present period.other wise contemporary
2007-02-12 05:55:49 · answer #1 · answered by geekgirl33 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I assume you're referring to the book "Shakespeare Our Contemporary".
http://www.amazon.com/Shakespeare-Contemporary-Norton-Library-Paperback/dp/0393007367
The gist of which is that Shakespeare's plays can be read in a modern light, in particular outlining parallels between Shakespeare's plays and modern political events.
Except that "modern" in this case means "1961", when the book was written, or even "1938", which is the period Jan Kott really has in mind. That was a radical thought at the time; Shakespeare's plays were still presented almost exclusively as Shakespeare would have done them, in Renaissance dress and thinking of the events as belonging to a past age.
Since then, it's become a matter of course that Shakespeare's plays can be thought of as presenting characters and events with a universal ring to them. Many (I'd venture to say most) modern productions start by finding some parallel between the play and some modern event or social more, and proceed to elaborate on the thought.
Any modern student of Shakespeare would say that Shakespeare is our "contemporary" in the sense of having something to say about the state of the world as it is now, even though the literal sense of "contemporary" doesn't apply.
2007-02-12 15:40:32 · answer #2 · answered by jfengel 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, he's dead, so the short answer is NO.
However, if what you're really asking is: are Shakesepare's works as relevant today as they were when they were originally written, then surely the answer is YES.
2007-02-13 01:44:05 · answer #3 · answered by shkspr 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think you mean "contemporary," so no. Contemporary means living in the same time. So unless you have a time machine...
2007-02-12 13:53:08 · answer #4 · answered by kaligirl 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋