Look: we know Shakespeare can seem dull, old, and boring. His plays can be really, really hard to read. But the simple truth is that the man had an almost unthinkable effect on the English language and English culture. Don’t believe us? What about the BBC:
If you’ve ever been ‘in a pickle’, waited ‘with bated breath’, or gone on ‘a wild goose chase’, you’ve been quoting from The Tempest, The Merchant of Venice and Romeo and Juliet respectively….
Allow yourself to “gossip” (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), and you’re quoting him. “The be-all and end-all” is uttered by Macbeth as he murderously contemplates King Duncan, and “fair play” falls from Miranda’s lips in The Tempest. And did I mention that he invented the knock-knock joke in the Scottish play?
Some phrases have become so well used that they’re now regarded as clichés – surely a compliment for an author so long gone. “A heart of gold”? You’ll find it in Henry V, while “the world’s mine oyster” crops up in The Merry Wives of Windsor.
The Guardian adds that Shakespeare’s characters have become archetypes for all English culture. The Metro lists Star Wars, The Lion King, 10 Things I Hate about You, and seven other films as films that borrow Shakespeare’s plots. And Stephen Marche actually wrote a book called How Shakespeare Changed Everything!
So why not go back and read the man himself? You can find his complete works for free at Project Gutenberg, and there are many versions—like the Oxford School Shakespeare Series—that offer helpful background, explanations, and more. You can find performances of the plays and the many film versions online, going back and forth between watching the plays and reading them, which often makes it easier to understand.
After you check out one of his plays, tell us about it! Submit your thoughts via our submission form and we might publish them in next month’s issue of Insights. You can review the play, discuss what current movie you think is based on it, tell us what you learned, or whatever else you’re inspired to write about!
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