The main subject of the book “The Creators, A History of Heroes of the Imagination” by Daniel J. Boorstin is an art and those people who achieved unbelievable success in this sphere of human activities. Several works have been dedicated to those who the world knows as the geniuses of arts and whose names will always be remembered and spoken with respect and reverence. Creativity is a feature which not all humans possess. This is what distinguishes the creators from ordinary people and makes them notable and famous. These geniuses surprised people with their creations; at this, most of their creations were underestimated at those times when the creators lived.
Boorstein starts his book by defining creation from the perspective of different religions. For instance, he observes that for the Hindu “the creation was not a bringing into being of the wonder of the world. Rather it was a dismemberment, a disintegration of the original Oneness.” (Boorstin, 1992) Boorstin spent quite a long time on the discussion of Shakespeare; it took around twelve pages to discuss the writer and his creativity. Shakespeare is a creator whose creativity was influenced by nature rather than nurture; one of the best examples of his creative process is the play “Romeo and Juliet” created in the period of Renaissance; Shakespeare’s works were widely accepted by the public in his times, had a profound effect on the world literature, and are still praised by people of the modern society.
What should be mentioned above all is that Shakespeare’s genius comes from his nature rather than nurture. Only a gifted person could write thirty-seven plays each of which has been read by people of different times throughout the world. William Shakespeare is the greatest dramatist and poet of English literature because he was born a genius. He can be regarded as a beneficiary of social arrangements because his genius was a product of nature, not a product of his efforts or constant striving to be the best. If there were a person who would follow Shakespeare in everything, he/she would have never succeeded in becoming a genius. Shakespeare was a gifted, not a talented person. The distinction between “gifted” and “talented’ people lies in their abilities; those who are gifted do not need to develop their gift for it is inborn, while those who are talented need to constantly nurture and develop their talent. Shakespeare belonged to those people who did not need to control their abilities; if he stopped writing for some time and then started it again, he would have still been the best writer because the writing was in his blood. He did not undergo any special training to be a writer for he did not need it; he was born to be a genius and his works testify to the fact that he can be named a one.
Shakespeare was created in the period of the Renaissance and this had a certain influence on his works. This period can be characterized by several changes which the culture of England had to experience. People of those times had to change their perceptions of drama which was an essential part of Shakespeare’s creations: “The ancient Greek theater had united dance, music, and words into drama. But drama in Renaissance England, the art of Shakespeare, was an art of words.” (Boorstin, 1992) This art of words constituted Shakespeare’s genius and was reflected in one of his best works, “Romeo and Juliet.”
Renaissance brought Shakespeare his audience and turned attention to his works because it increased people’s interest and passion for literature and creativity; moreover, it marked the arrival of the printing press, which resulted in wider distribution of the printed materials, such as the works of Shakespeare. “Romeo and Juliet” was one of seven plays written in the early period of the writer’s creativity. It is often referred to as an imperfect tragedy because it begins as a comedy but shifts into tragedy towards the end. There is hardly a person these days who does not know about “Romeo and Juliet”, which once again proves Shakespeare’s genius. His other plays were and still are no less popular; some of them are “Hamlet,” “Twelfth Night,” “Julius Cesar,” “the Merry Wives of Windsor,” etc. Shakespeare cannot be regarded as a follower of the Renaissance for he had his unique style of writing. It is rather that Renaissance had a certain effect on his works and assisted in his gaining worldwide fame.
Shakespeare’s impact in his times is hard to overestimate. There is no doubt that he was the most successful playwright of his time. This allowed him to found a theatre company which with time became the most popular and successful company in the late Elizabethan period. It is this part of his activities that influenced his times most of all because the most important thing was that it allowed the actors to become popular. In early Elizabethan society, it was not easy to gain fame. To become popular, a person had to either be a tradesman or to be attached to an aristocratic patron. Shakespeare’s theatre made its actors extremely popular. Being an actor did not require special education; actors could make money and become famous simply because of their talent. As far as the present time is concerned, Shakespeare had a great influence on the creativity of different writers and composers. His plays are staged even today and his works resulted in several musical masterpieces created by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Sergei Prokofiev, and other composers.
Taking into consideration everything mentioned above, it can be concluded that William Shakespeare indeed deserves to be discussed in the book “The Creators, A History of Heroes of the Imagination” by Daniel J. Boorstin. Shakespeare was a gifted person whose creativity was influenced by nature, not by nurture, nurture because it was his genius rather than special training that allowed him to write all those masterpieces which are highly appreciated even in modern society. Shakespeare created his works in the period of the Renaissance, though this does not mean that this trend influenced his works much. Renaissance turned people’s attention to Shakespeare’s works because it allowed printing and distributing his plays among people and because it evoked interest and passion for creativity. Shakespeare contributed greatly to the development of culture in his times. His genius made it possible to found a theatre that gave other people (actors) a chance to become popular. Shakespeare’s influence on modern society is no less important. His plays inspired several other writers and composers who, in their turn, left the world their unforgettable masterpieces.
References
Boorstin, D.J. (1992). The Creators: A History of Heroes of the Imagination. Random House.