There are any influential people in literature in throughout history, some that have paved the way for others, and some still trying to make their mark in history. Literature is a very important part in my life, it takes me outside of the realm of normal day to day and brings me to the realm of a different thought process and imagination. It allows me to open up my curiosity and broadens my creative thinking when I read certain author’s stories. I have decided to write this essay about two of my favorite authors, the first one was a seventeenth century author and poet by the name of William Shakespeare who not only wrote a plethora of sonnets and poems like “A lover’s Complaint”, “The Phoenix and the Turtle”, and “Sonnet 98”, but William also wrote famous plays, for example “Romeo and Juliet”, “Hamlet”, and “Macbeth” just to name a few. The second person I decided to write about is a twentieth American female poet by the name of Emily Dickinson, who has written a number famous poems such as “’Hope’ is the Thing with Feathers”, and “ Fame is a Fickle Food” which have been published in many of books throughout the years.
There are a lot of differences when it comes to these two authors, I will first discuss their lifestyles and how they differ and how they are similar in a way. William Shakespeare got his start as an actor and a playwright so he was already in the public eye, as for Emily Dickinson, she was more of an isolated person who rarely left her home Massachusetts. With Emily living in isolation for almost all of her life, she made sure to read a great deal. There were only a few people in her life who got to know her personally, and they were a big inspiration in a lot of her poetry. As for Shakespeare, his life was more dedicated to the theater, only coming home once a year when the theaters were closed. He gathered all of his inspiration from other authors, though he did also use the people around him to give some of his characters real life struggles which in my opinion is important in poetry and screenplays. Their lifestyles are two very different ways of living. One being an extrovert, his life focused on fame and theater, and the other an introvert, her life being more focused on the written word and her family, were both in comparison, assisted them wrote very detailed and heart felt poetry.
As far as their impact on literature it is hard to say which one had more of an impact on the world. Emily Dickinson helped assist in the women’s rights movement, with her being one of the earlier female poets in history. As for William Shakespeare, he is known for being a huge influential person on language, theater, and other essentials of culture. Most modern poets use Shakespeare’s writing as inspiration in their own poems and screenplays. In my opinion, though Emily Dickinson was not known for her writing until her death, her contribution for women’s rights, though small, helped pave a way for women in literature.
Literature, I believe is a small part of history that is overlooked. Unfortunately it is greatly overshadowed by the wars in our time. But without literature, we would not have the knowledge and creativity that we do now. Literature not only expands horizons, but the knowledge of history and literature are one in the same. Without the work Emily Dickinson and William Shakespeare, where would we be?
