Young Journalist of the Year 2015/2016

Through this competition, British Council aims at encouraging youngsters to write creatively in contemporary English language. The list of winners: Junior category Zone 1: Marie Tessa Delina Lalljee, GMD Atchia State College Zone 2: Ashna Bhudu, MGI Moka Zone 3: Avinash Dhondoo, Imperial College Senior Category Zone 1: Alize Moutoo, MP Sharma Jugdambi SSS Zone 2: Elisha Shantel Guranna, Le Bocage International School Zone 4: Dina Dewnarain, Mahatma Gandhi Secondary School Solferino National winners: Marie Tessa Delina Lalljee and Elisha Shantel Guranna Participants had to write an essay in 750 words about ‘‘What makes Shakespeare so great?’’ Mr Tris Bartlett, Country Director of the British Council, stated that the organisation was very impressed by the quality of entries in this year’s competition. “It was very hard for the judging panel, which consisted of representatives from the Ministry of Education, The English Speaking Union and the British Council, to settle on the winners. Those six young people who have been selected as the zonal winners can be very proud of their exceptional essays,” he said. Marie Tessa Delina Lalljee (17) feels honoured to have won this competition. “I feel proud of myself and I am thrilled that my essay on Shakespeare stood out. I participated for the fun of it and as a literature student, the title of the essay beckoned! I just put ink on a paper and poured my heart out. I did not think about winning at all,” she expresses her joy. Elisha Shantel Guranna (15) feels proud of her achievement. “I am really happy that I won, as journalism is a field that I would like to delue into later on, and this may help me get there. To be honest, I did not expect to win as my work was a bit rushed. It was very surprising,” she reveals delightfully. By Elisha GURRANA National Winner, Young Journalist of the Year 2015 – Junior What makes Shakespeare so great? • His influence on the English language • The volume of work he has produced and the scope of his work • Relevance of the themes he wrote about in modern society Shakespeare is today known as one of the greatest writers to come out of Britain, giving him the name of England’s national poet. He was born and also died in Stratford upon Avon, where he spent his time working on his creations. Many of his works are studied and even still performed on stages across the globe. His work has allowed for the world of English language and theatre to be thoroughly appreciated. Shakespeare has brought many influences to the English language. We all know of the typically Shakespearean art, thou and thy now usually translated to are, you and your. All of these words are ones that we use everyday only we never seem to think of where they first came from. Shakespeare was also the creator of insults. Not just the common name calling but using things such as personal attributes, creature, bodily qualities and food and drink to come up with countless insults such as; “Thou smell of mountain goat” (Henry V), “I was seeking for a fool when I found you” (As you Like It) or even, “Thou art as loathsome as a toad” (Troilus and Cressida). He also introduced the Shakespearean sonnet. A sonnet is a poem that has fourteen lines and a specific rhyming scheme. The themes he covered were time, love, beauty and morality. Most of the poems he wrote were personal to him and some of the most famous being about a boy wanting to marry a girl who was years his senior. This was personal to Shakespeare as when he was eighteen he married Anne Hathaway who was eight years older than him. They were married from 1582-1616, which made a total of thirty four years. All of the changes in language and phrases that he has come up with are from the sheer amount of work that he has produced and published. With over thirty plays and one hundred and fifty sonnets that were published to his name, there is bound to be an immense amount of quotes and storylines that would stick in people’s minds. He wrote his first play, Henry VI, Part One, when he was twenty five years old. After this he continued to write and publish plays. Unlike many other now famous authors, playwrights and poets of his time, Shakespeare was well renowned during his lifetime as well as today in our modern society. Like many other playwrights, he was once an actor before he ever started to write his own dramatic material. Through many of the plays and poems that he has written, Shakespeare has been able to convey messages that even today, around four hundred years later, his themes and characters are still relatable. This is important as his works are studied internationally, but the question that is always asked is whether what is being studied is still relevant today. His ideas, themes and characters are timeless whether it is greed and ambition, desire for revenge, or even, the now common theme, of pursuing love. All of these themes are present in the books we read, the movies we watch and even the plays that we see. Shakespeare has created a world of inspiration and influences with all of his work and creation. The themes he wrote about vary from war, religious conflict, racial prejudice, class division, love, death, betrayal and so many others. These themes allow Shakespeare to gain himself a wide range and demographic of readers. The plot and characters are cleverly weaved together to create a captivating story that will not only allow readers to find some sort of entertainment, but will also allow them to relate to the themes and characters. Not only has Shakespeare been able to capture some incredible moments in his writing that have been relative from the Elizabethan era and have lived on until today. Shakespeare was not only able to create a masterpiece of work but he was also the key to a revolution in the world of English Language, books and poetry and he, without a doubt, will continue to be one of the most respected writers in the English language. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"10539","attributes":{"class":"media-image size-medium wp-image-19686 alignleft","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"300","height":"232","alt":"Marie Tessa Delina LALLJEE"}}]]By Marie Tessa Delina LALLJEE National Winner, Young Journalist of the Year 2015 – Senior What makes Shakespeare so great? From the layman on the street to the educated one in an office: Who has not heard about the renowned William Shakespeare? He was such a genius when it came to inventing totally outstanding plays perfectly depicting our present world. “Romeo and Juliet”, “Macbeth”, “Hamlet”, among others, have marked history forever. What made Shakespeare so particular was not merely his aptitude at producing highly evocative masterpieces: he was a man with a vision who had a message for the world. “To be or not to be: that is the question”, and the playwright wanted to be more than a name inscribed at the end of plays or sonnets! He was a philosopher, a poet and a psychologist. Shakespeare’s impact on the English language is considerable. It is unbelievable to know that without his influence, English would have been completely different. His ability to manipulate words and make them malleable renders him an undeniable genius. Even though one has never watched an adaptation of his plays or read his sonnets: one must have quoted him at some point! Whether one is “bedazzled” , allowing oneself to “gossip” or simply being “fashionable”, just know that those very words were first uttered in “The Taming of the Shrew” , “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “Troilus and Cressida” respectively. Is not jealousy “the green eyed monster”? Once again, this phrase came out of the lips of the villain Iago, in “Othello”. Artists across the globe have been inspired by Shakespeare’s ingeniosity and flair, accentuating on the transcendence of his work. The way we speak is tainted by Shakespeare’s language. Social Psychology Professor Richard Smith claims that “Shakespeare was wonderful at illustrating exactly what social psychology is: the study of how the everyday behaviour of the individual is affected by the presence of others.” Indeed, no one has ever grasped humanity’s inner turmoil more than him! He was able to portray a wide range of human emotions, ranging from love to hatred, and was able to twist this catharsis into memorable moral lessons. Lady Macbeth persuading her husband to kill in cold blood, Iago filling Othello’s ears with absurd lies and Caliban’s beastly nature surfacing because of Prospero, illustrate the depths of Shakespeare’s character analysis. He has provided us with compelling characters who had their own demons to fight. The particularity of the playwright resides in his uncanny aptitude at turning the ordinary into the extraordinary. The stories he told never fade away. They apply everywhere! We could meet Romeo and Juliet holding hands at the corner of a street, King Lear about to bequeath his wealth to his children in the countryside or worse: we could read of an Othello committing suicide after an impassioned crime. In the introduction to her book “Stories from Shakespeare”, Marchette Chute gives a reason for the playwright’s greatness: he told every kind of stories! Shakespeare’s scope of stories is so vast and diversified that it automatically appeals to the audience or readers. The work of Shakespeare deals with issues which are still recurrent in our era as they were in the Elizabethan one. “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players” from “As You Like It”, vividly depicts Shakespeare’s ideology. He wanted to advise humanity and open our eyes on the reality of life. It is for his frankness and pernicketiness that he is most probably the finest playwright in history! The tales of Shakespeare are so magnificent that they transcend the barriers of time. Despite our digital and dynamic era, the playwright’s novels have survived. His stories have conquered the seventh art! “The Guiness Book of Records” even stipulates that Shakespeare is the most filmed author ever in any language with 410 feature-length films and television versions of his plays adapted. Centuries may have passed since he last put ink on paper but his stories are eternal. Movies still base themselves on his intrigues. What makes Shakespeare so great is how flexible and adjustable his plays are! They open the gateway to a wide range of possibilities and interpretations. When we fail to find words, Shakespeare speaks for us. The English language is saturated with words he invented. He was able to decipher the human character and took his analogies to a whole new level in his elaborated tales. Shakespeare is so great because he succeeded where many others failed: his stories entertain us with the bittersweet truth and teach us what it is to be human.