Shaking It Up With Shakespeare

  When someone says Shakespeare, I automatically think: Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar, a lot of other plays, and hundreds of sonnets. He is the never dying presence in English studies in school. His old fashion way with English opened me to new old vocabulary (you saucy fellow). This very dead playwright has a strong influence in our world. This is because he is a classic and he is rightly so. When I had to first read some of his work, I was under the misconception that anything written by some guy in the late 1500s would be stiff and dull. After getting past the funky words, I was surprised. His work was comical, entertaining, and moving. Also his sonnets are very witty and amusing. It's amazing that writing hundreds of years old can still be appreciated. Over such a time gap, people understand humor and emotion the same way.

  What makes a piece of writing a classic? What keeps it from disappearing in the chasm of time? I think it's when something appeals to the deepest parts of the human spirit, the part that seems to remain constant despite social trends and changing environment. When it reveals a certain truth that lures readers of all ages. I believe that's how a piece of work becomes immortal, a classic. Shakespeare’s work isn’t alone, as there are hundreds of beautiful classic pieces of literature out there: Moby Dick, 1984, Atlas Shrugged, Wuthering Heights, Grapes of Wrath, The Odyssey, Tom Sawyer, and much more. Then there is what is yet to come.  What writers create today may become the classics of tomorrow.

What do you think makes something a classic? And what are your favorite classics?