Why was shakespeare famous after he died?

Answer 1

People respected Shakespeare as a playwright and liked his work when he was alive, but during that time none of it was published; it was just copies he and the actors had. When he died people realized that his creations were something worth saving, so they collected and published as many as they could.

Answer 2

Shakespeare was reasonably well-known during his lifetime in the London theatrical community, and many of his plays as well as his poems were published before his death. His plays continued to be acted after the Restoration, although they were thought to be old hat. Only in the eighteenth century, with David Garrick, did Shakespeare attain the status of a "superwriter" in Britain. Later, people outside the English-speaking world became impressed with him--Goethe was a particular fan.

So Shakespeare was always to some degree famous, but he just became more and more famous as time went on.

Answer 3

Not immediately. When the theatre was restored in 1660, Shakespeare's plays were thought of as old-fashioned, and indeed they are for the most part quite different from Restoration plays, which are shallow superficial plays of manners. Nevertheless they continued to be acted frequently--Samuel Pepys went to see at least six of them at various times. In the eighteenth century, classical plays were all the rage, and so nobody wanted to play Shakespeare unless it had been adapted to fit those expectations. But the efforts of the famous actor David Garrick, particularly in organizing the Shakespeare bicentennial festival of 1764, boosted Shakespeare's fame above that of any other playwright and ensured the continued and even growing popularity of the plays, even in their mutilated 18th century form.

Answer 4

yes, he was so just like any artists' work is more valuable after they died because they were not around to make any more.