temporary times. Most recently there was 10 Things I Hate About You, an updated version of Taming of the Shrew set in an American high school in 1998. Others choose a more traditional approach Romeo and Juliet. That story was also modernized in a 1996version that used Shakespeare’s language but was set togang violence in the future.Not only was Shakespeare a poet, but he was also a playwright. As mentioned before, his first poem Venus and Adonis was published in 1593 during the plague (Kay 144). It was dedicated to Sir Henry Wriothesley, the Earl of Southampton. It is a tale of love, lust and the classic romantic chase. Instead of the usual boy-chases-girl routine, the beautiful and desirous Venus pursues the young and disinterested Adonis. The more vigorously she chases, the harder he pulls away. His other poem was The Rape of Lucrece. Venus and Adonis was not the only work that Shakespeare dedicated to the Earl. His sonnets are like letters to the Earl (McMahon website). Sonnets are short, songlike poems. The sonnets were written from the spring of 1592 to March of 1605. There are 154 sonnets in total. Many address issues dealing with the Earl except for sonnets 127 to 154 which are the “dark lady” sonnets. These sonnets are Shakespeare’s praise of some unidentified women who he seemed to be very much in love with (McMahon website). The sonnets were well known by 1598, but were not published until 1609. They were probably the only works Shakespeare published that had personal meaning to him. Like any famous figure, Shakespeare also had his share of controversy. Although, none of it ever surfaced while he as alive. The biggest debate is over authorship. Did Shakespeare really exist and write his own work or was there someone else behind Shakespeare. There has been a lot of research on the life of a man named Gulielmus Shaksper. He was a poor man born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564 (Ogburn 1...
