2020-03-14 The Week Junior

8

Thebig debate

The Week Junior• 14 March

Nowthat you’veread abit moreabout it,tell us whatyouthink by voting in our

poll attheweekjunior.co. uk/polls.Vote YES if youthink Shakespeareist he

greatest writer,or NO if youdon’t.We’ll publish theresultsnextweek.

Whatdoyou think?

W

illiam Shakespeareiso ne of the best known

writers in history,but is he th egreatest?

Born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, in 1564, he

later moved toLondon, wherehewrote his plays and

wheretheywereperformed. He wrote tragedies and

comedies–some of his mostfamous worksinclude

Hamlet,Macbeth,AMidsummer Night’s Dreamand

Romeo and Juliet.These playsare still being

performed today,all over the world. Shakespearealso

used new words inaway that changed the English

language forever.Asaresult, many peopleconsider

him to be the greatest writer in history.However,

others question whether the playwright should still

be held in such highregard. So is Shakespearethe

greatest writer of all time?

Yes–Hechanged our languageforever

No other writer hashadsuchanimpactont he English

language as WilliamShakespeare. Hisplays, which he

wrote in the late 16th andearly 17th century,are still

read and performed around the worldtoday.Few

peoplehaveproducedwork that is as popular,varied

or as long-lasting as his.Healso hadahuge influence

on other writers–many booksand filmswereinspired

by hi swork.What’smore, lots of words weusetoday

were invented or werefirst written down by him,

including archvillain,bedazzledand swagger.Lines

such as“Tobeornot to be”,fromHamlet,have become

famous.The fact that we’re stillcelebrating him more

than 400 yearsafter his death proves that

Shakespeareist he gr eatestwriter of all time.

No –Shakespeare’s no tfor everyone

It’s impossible to judge who is the greatest writer of

all time. Art is subjective, which means that everyone

has their own opinion. It would be impossible to say

which Shakespeareplay is the best, let alone who

the greatest writer of all time is;everyone has their

favourite. Although Shakespearehas inspired many

writers and hadahugeimpact on the English

language, thereare other writers who have done

this too.After all, Roald Dahl,Lewis Carroll, Charles

Dickens, Sylvia Plath and Dr Seuss all invented new

words.To say that Shakespeareist he gr eatest writer

of all time overlookstheir achievements. Besides,

his work isn’t for everyone;some people find

Shakespeareold-fashioned, difficult or boring.

● From 16 to 22 March, ShakespeareWeek

is celebrated in schools across the UK.

This is an annualcelebration of William

Shakespearewhen studentscan learn

moreabout theplayw right and his work.

● Shakespearelived from 1564 to 1616.

He is thought to have written 37 plays

and 154 sonnets (a type of poem).

Between 1959 and 2015, an average of

410 productions of his plays werestaged

around the world every year.

Whatyouneedtoknow

This week schools will becelebrating

the playwright’swork.

LAST WEEK’S POLL

Last week we asked if all theatres

should be morerelaxed. The vote

wasvery close, with

slightly moreof

you thinking

that the

atmosphere

should be a

bit less formal.

1

Shakespearechanged the English language

fore ver,using unusual words and phrases.

2

Shakespeare’sworkisstillrelevant today,

despite having been written in the 16th and

17thcentury.

3

He has influenced other writers throughout

history.Thereare many books, filmsand plays

inspired by Shakespeare’swork.

1

Everyone has theirfavourite writer,soitis

impossible to say who is the best.

2

Thereare other writers whose work has also

had ahuge impact on the English language.

Saying that Shakespeareist he best overlooks

their achievements.

3

Shakespeareused old-fashioned language

that canbehardtounderstand.

Threereasons why Shakespeareis

the greatest writer of all time

Threereasons why Shakespeareis

not the greatest writer of all time

ALAMY

YES NO

The aim of the Big debatepage isto present two sides of an issuefairly and

objectively,ino rder to stimulatediscussion and allow ourreadersto makeuptheir

minds. The views on the page do notreflectthose ofThe Week Junior,and the page

is no tfunde dbythirdparties. The page is createdinassociation

with the English-Speaking Union, an educational charity helping

young people discovertheir voiceand realise their full

potential.Formoreinformation, please see esu.org

WOW!

Shakespear

eused

31,534 different

words

across

allofhis

written

work.

Shakespeare

Week

16–22 March

51%

YES

49%

NO