Thomas Nashe’s View on Shakespearian Language Essay

Introduction

The incredible works of Shakespeare and Thomas Nashe are among the most valued literature pieces in the American literature. Using various forms of Shakespearian literary techniques, Thomas Nashe wrote an interesting literature.

However, knowledge about the literature concepts of Nashe is still negligible amongst most of the readers. Two of the literary pieces of Thomas Nashe that links with the Shakespearian proverbs are the ‘Praise of the Red Herring’ and ‘Christ’s Teares over Jerusalem’.

The two stories have a significant contribution regarding the Shakespearian communication. In his writing, Thomas Nashe used some literary techniques of Shakespeare to demonstrate the manner in which the concepts of poor leadership, culture distortion, economic upheaval, and social disorder, have become rampant.

The intention of this paper is to examine the use of the Shakespearian literature in the Julius Caesar story, and explain the manner in which Thomas Nashe viewed these proverbial skills in his literary perspective.

The Idea of Thomas about Politics

While reviewing most of the proverbs that Shakespeare used, Thomas used some significant proverbial terms to explain the political upheaval in the early years of the American politics. “Puffin, that is half fish and half flesh, is a conspiracy that is disturbing across the political segments” (Nashe, “Christ’s Teares over Jerusalem” 56).

Thomas used the proverb to explain the manner in which the kings pretended to be politically relevant to their people, yet their intentions of vying for leadership were evil.

In his assumption, Thomas Nashe uses this term to explain the manner in which politicians have manipulated the people and used the Palaces for their own selfish gains (Nashe, “Christ’s Teares over Jerusalem” 59).

Thomas Nashe uses the example of the animal kingdom and the living order of the animals, to demonstrate how a failure in leadership has resulted to a disorganized form of living in the universe.

In his literary technique, he combined the proverbial terms of the Shakespearian English to explain the manner in which bad leadership was influencing the lives of the people negatively.

In his writing, Thomas Nashe stated that the leaders and the government officials had their personal desires that undermined their leadership integrity (Nashe, “Christ’s Teares over Jerusalem” 52).

In the poem, ‘Christ Teares over Jerusalem’, Thomas states that however much people may seem to have dignity; they may not have the conscience to understand why they hurt others. This is because of their selfishness and wealth-liking behaviors (Nashe, “Christ’s Teares over Jerusalem” 61).

Thomas views human beings as the sources of evil as they do not fear making mistakes as long as the mistakes benefit them in one way or the other.

Thomas states that the ‘exceedingly rich magnificos stole victual one from another’. In this view, Thomas Nashe uses the Shakespearian proverbs to condemn the actions of the rich people who manipulate the underprivileged.

The Perspective of Thomas about the Western Culture

Thomas writes a poetic story titled, ‘Christ Teares over Jerusalem’ to describe how women have lost their cultural values and adopted the modern lifestyles (Nashe, “Christ Teares over Jerusalem” 70).

In his writing, Thomas exclaims, “women of LONDON, (each one of you to your souls, imagine that you were Miriam, with what hart (suppose you), could ye go about the puzzle of your own children” (Christ’s Teares over Jerusalem 71). Such a statement raised the question as to whether the English women were responsible.

The sentiments of Thomas revealed that the English women have forgotten their motherhood duties in the modern era, and their children have taken the lifestyle of the street people (Christ’s Teares over Jerusalem 82).

In his view, Thomas laments about the lost values of the European women and describes this motherhood negligence as a terrible sin that is unforgivable before God.

In his writing about the changes in the cultural lifestyle of the Americans and the whites in general, Thomas brings about the issues of hunger, dissatisfaction, and economic hardships.

Thomas considers them as the modern famine (Nashe 73). In a Shakespearian English, Nashe states that the parents have the obligation to feed their children in spite the growing challenges of economic hardships that he refers to as hunger (The Praise of the Red Herring 83).

Apart from merely describing the manner in which hunger has made people to go through hardships, Thomas also claimed that people are wondering as to whether they should work harder to achieve more, or reduce their population to live sustainably.

Thomas exclaims in a Shakespearian language, “my son, my son, why should I not kill famine by killing thee, ere famine is excruciating thee” (Nashe, “The Praise of the Red Herring” 79). Thomas wanted to reveal why the whites and especially the westerners, have opted to deal with the economic famine by reducing the family sizes.

The issue of Poor Aging

Thomas continues to demonstrate his fear about the modern life by describing the concepts of poverty and aging among the people. Thomas was watchful about the poverty and aging, which most people have experienced. His Shakespearian language paints the problems of poverty and aging (Nashe, “The Praise of the Red Herring” 78).

Thomas worries about the manner in which many people are aging, while still within their poverty cycles.

Thomas tells a story of Miriam, who complains in a statement, “my age of thee expected all the life-expedients necessaries have gone; only trusting that I shouldn’t die before I achieve something” (Nashe, “The Praise of the Red Herring” 83).

Miriam was in sorrow due to her aging stage that came at a time that she was still grappling with poverty. The book presents a humorous story about the modern poverty that has come with diseases and frustrations to the people across Europe.

The experiences of poverty and aging are very tormenting and the manner, in which poverty worsens aging, is a problem to most of the American people (Nashe 82). Thomas uses the story of Miriam and sets the Shakespearian tone in a manner that presents the poverty situation as a painful issue among the Americans.

According to Nashe, while the rich politicians share the public property amongst themselves, the poor have neither medication nor education (The Praise of the Red Herring 71). Thomas presents the issues of poverty and aging with an accurate Shakespearian language that reveals the manner in which the citizens are suffering.

He associates the suffering with poor governance because the government has wicked leaders, who only care about themselves (Nashe, “The Praise of the Red Herring” 81).

Miriam worries about her old age that has presented some signs of weaknesses, sicknesses, poverty, and psychological distress due to her socioeconomic condition. In a viewpoint, Thomas wanted to express how an old age of poverty is frustrating.

The Changing Political Life

Thomas views the use of a Shakespearian language as a way of presenting humorous information about the changes that have reshaped the western nations. Thomas views America and its families as a land of lost people, who do not have any significant background to their culture.

In his storylines, he describes scenarios where soldiers would frustrate the citizens and robe them of their freedom to socialize or make happiness in their families (Nashe, “The Praise of the Red Herring” 88).

Using the Shakespearian English, Thomas describes how the soldiers brag about their politicized jobs, their association with the government leaders, and the power that their work has given them, over the ordinary people.

While the leaders lived in the protected homes that soldiers guarded, the ordinary people suffered in the hands of their own government (Nashe, “The Praise of the Red Herring” 90).

Thomas uses the Shakespearian proverbial English to explain how the seditious soldiers would ambush people in their homes to create a political fear amongst the people.

Conclusion

Thomas Nashe is one of the writers who used the Shakespearian English to describe some important relationships between the American political changes, poverty, culture, aging, economic famine, and leadership failure, with the hardships currently witnessed by the Americans.

Thomas was keen about how the Shakespearian English played the role of describing some humorous situations that the Americans have endured.

His perspective about the Shakespearian language is that the language is full of humor and that using it to describe some important life issues such as those that the American families experience, is a powerful tool to communicate a certain message.

Thomas views the Shakespearian language as a tool of capturing the reader’s attention in the reading, because he described most of the sensitive issues using the Shakespearian tone. In conclusion, the view of Thomas concerning the Shakespearian language is that the language is reliable while presenting a humorous argument.

Works Cited

Nashe, Thomas. Nashe’s Lenten Stuff or the Praise of the Red herring, London: Reeves and Turner, 1871. Print.

Nashe, Thomas. The Complete Works of Thomas Nashe: Christ’s Teares over Jerusalem, 1593, London, Private Circulation Only, 1884. Print.