His plays appealled to a very wide audience as they werer often funny or violent with a heavy political subtext,most topics of his plays are still relevant now and always will be,he was a darn funny writer who used many different types of humour,his plots were often fairly complex but still reasonably easy to follow.He knew how to play to his audience at the same time as challenging them.
The complexity of the plays,the language used,Shakespeare invented over 1700 words that we still use today,as well a numerous phrases that are commonly used now,‘it’s Greek to me’ being one of them,he invented the word eyeball,the phrase hot-blooded and even the word epileptic ffs!
He has stood the test of time,and will continue to.He’s widely regarded the the world’s greatest writer!Who elses plays have been translated into every language and performed more than any other play has ever been performed?
Shakespeare was a genius of his time,a turning point in English literature,plot and subplot after subplot,his writings are a verifiable onion,forever another layer,sharp and bittersweet and yet full of joy and passion.
Usually,the lack of pleasure comes from a lack of understanding.It can be quite taxing to just read his plays,a good alternative is my personal favourite,Much Ado About Nothing which is on DVD.You don’t even need to leave the house!Watch it,let yourself get swept away in the language and enjoy it.
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All the reasons above,plus he created so many words and expressions that we still use today,that he told intereting stories in an interesting way.George Bernard Shaw thought he was better,but it was just jealosy.In English Shakespeare reigns,in Spanish Lope de Vega a contemporary of Shakespeare reigns,he wrote over 2300 plays,some of which were the same stories at Shakespeare(who wrote 37 plays) told; Julius Ceasar,Romeo and Juliet,and more.But Shakespeare is better known because his plays transcend England,but Lope's are decidedly Spanish.
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Shakespeare is probably the best because his writing marks the great turning-point in English literature.His characters are among the first to show their internal thoughts,their 3-dimensional conflicts,and express them in some of the most eloquent speeches and language ever written.The stories he wrote weren't new,but the understanding he brought to the people in them has rarely been surpassed.His characters come alive on the page and on the stage and screen.