How has your love of Shakespeare been enhanced by your “virtual” visit to the State Library and to the Shakespeare Room?
Despite an increase in societies turning away from literature from the likes of Shakespeare, I have a deep and profound appreciation and love for Shakespeare and his works. I firmly believe that Shakespeare is greatly underrated and underappreciated in todays society as people see his work as boring or irrelevant. When adopting this perspective, the virtual visit to the state library and the Shakespeare Room revitalised my own appreciation and love for Shakespeares work. By simply having a room dedicated to him in the NSW State Library is enough to solidify his impact on literature and the arts as a whole. By honouring his memory with a designated space for his work, the NSW State Library immortalises Shakespeare in a way his texts could not. This space provides the public with a means of connecting with Shakespeare through his life as a person rather than solely as an author. By doing this the general public can slowly increase their appreciation as they can relate to Shakespeare on a more personal level. Moreover, the architectual design of the room compliments the man Shakespeare was and highlights his uniqueness. The stain glass windows depicting the seven ages of man from ‘As You Like It’ are an ingenious and beautiful homage to his works. Moreover, having Shakespeare’s coat of arms above the entrance of the doorway gives the room an air of nobility or royalty that many people cannot fathom today. When all of these factors (and many more) come together, my overall love for Shakespeare as a person, author and all, is greatly enhanced as I am able to paint a more realistic and relatable picture of the man that is considered one of, if not the best writer(s) in history.
Michael's Literature Blog 
Hi Michael,
I enjoyed reading your entry about our virtual visit to the State Library! I also agree that the works of Shakespeare more often than not, go unnoticed. I find this particularly true for younger audiences as they generally do not yet have the capacity to contemplate such complex and distinguished ideas about the nature of human existence, which are a common feature of many Shakespearean plays. However, this is not to say that younger audiences cannot enjoy or to some extent, relate to a variety of situations and characters represented in Shakespeare’s plays.
I am glad that visiting the Shakespeare Room rekindled your appreciation of Shakespeare! I would have loved to hear more about how Shakespeare impacted you on a more personal level! Shakespeare’s enduring legacy is not only sustained by the tangible artefacts that symbolise his significance as a playwright. The insights, sentiments and life lessons that we gain and share to enlighten others, also upholds and maintains his legacy.
Nevertheless, it is clear that your visit to the Shakespeare Room has heightened the relevance of Shakespeare in your life!
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