Shakespeare Influence On America Essay

Words: 602
Pages: 3

Throughout the course of history, Shakespeare has been renowned for being one of the most influential playwrights in American literature. From Hamlet to Othello to Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare’s works have been taught in classrooms and read by vast numbers of adults, both in the United States and all over the world. However, various individuals have remarked on the fact that Shakespeare’s plays have been able to relate to American audiences and citizens. In particular, McCrum illustrates Shakespeare’s significant influences by explaining not only Shakespeare’s intentional utilization of specific accents, but also his subtle descriptions of race relations. Ultimately, this combination allowed for Shakespare to connect with the first American settlers and American citizens today, hence making his works admired on a national scale. …show more content…
Towards the beginning of McCrum’s article, he begins to acknowledge the fact that Shakespeare deliberately used a specific type of accent that became increasingly common among early Americans, causing further developments and connections to take place. More specifically, McCrum directly addresses that “Shakespeare’s Warwickshire English and the emerging speech of the American colonists were both distinguished by the ‘post-vocalic’ R, the rolled R-sound in words such as ‘yard,’ ‘car,’ and ‘horse’” (McCrum, pg. 1). 2). The adage of the adage. This selection emphasizes how Shakespeare’s plays connected profoundly with various American colonists. Namely, it is evident that Shakespeare’s plays intentionally shared accents with the individuals that first settled in the United States. In turn, this exemplifies that Shakespeare’s works largely honored the