How have you seen any of shakespeares influence today ?
Jane Smiley wrote a wonderful novel called 1000 Acres which is basically a present-day retelling of King Lear. Playwright Tom Stoppard (an Oscar award winner for Shakespeare in Love), wrote the play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. This features two supporting characters from Hamlet. It was made into a movie, also, staring Gary Oldman and Tim Roth. My Own Private Idaho is a movie by Gus Van Sant, and among other things, incorporates themes and dialogue from Henry IV Parts I and II and Henry V. The Lion King, the popular Disney film, incorporates themes and ideas from Hamlet. The Sandman comic series by Neil Gaiman features characters from A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The list is really just about endless. Shakespeare is so present in our lives, we take it for granted. Even many expressions and sayings have their roots with his writing.
