Are there eternal truths in Shakespeare's literature and why?

Question

Laura Bohannan, the author of "Shakespeare in the Bush", states that there are no eternal truths in literature because of cultural/religious misunderstandings.

Answer 1

I'd have to disagree and say there are plenty of eternal truths in Shakespeare. Though culture and religion may evolve and change over time, there are some basic human characteristics that never do. Look at Romeo and Juliet. The theme of two lovers who aren't meant to be together plays itself out constantly both in real life and contemporary literature. Look at Hamlet. That story has been retold countless times in various mediums. Even Disney's Lion King borrowed themes from Hamlet. Why would these stories be repeated so often if there wasn't a part of them we identified with at a basic nature? Humans are to a degree instinctive beings. Regardless of race, culture, or religion, we all tend to have the same gut reactions to certain emotions, and I think Shakespeare captured those instincts in his plays. And remember, Shakespeare didn't make up most of those tales on his own. They were variations on stories that had been floating around far longer. He just updated them, and his eloquence with language immortalized them.

Answer 2

Laura Bohannan is about 10 years out of date. There is a group of critics of Shakespeare, called Structuralists, who believe that all literature is a product of it's own culture, and therefore has no eternal truths.

In the past few years, however, there is a return to seeing Shakespeare and others as standing outside the culture in which it was written and being written, as Ben Jonson says, "for all ages."

Answer 3

I have been an english literature student for 4 years now and thru out those years, shakespeare work is among the best piece of literature that one can analyse.
in reference to your question, i do believe that there are some eternal truths in his literature. the reason for this is because shakespeare writes about that inevitable fact or stages of life. the way he wrote it evokes a sense of awareness as well as awe because he put the words in a from which people can understand.

for example; in "Julius Caesar" , he wrote about jealousy and power-hungry politicians. he also wrote about greed and the stage of immorality that some ppl can pushed themselves into in the face of selfishness in "King Lear".

Shakespeare sometimes poke fun at our incredulous human nature where sometimes we do foolish things and in that sense , we are fools when it comes to handling our own path in life and also of the choices of ppl we surrounded ourself with.

thus, because of this, what is being potrayed in shakespeare's work is applicable to anyone and anytime. and yes, it does contain eternal truths.

Answer 4

That's BS. Shakespeare is canonized because it's so universal. People can relate to it no matter what, and each time you read it you find something new. That lady I can see how in *some* cases there aren't truths but in reality she is wrong.

Answer 5

Yes, because he put them there.