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William Shakespeare, the Bard of
Avon, is arguably the most important figure in English literature. What
Dante is to Italian, what Gothe is to German, Shakespeare is to English.
Still, while some have fallen into what Harold Bloom calls Bardology
many others view Shakespear as the quintessential DWEM (Dead White
European Male). Does Shakespeare still matter? Consider the following
statement regarding Shakespeare's impact on every day English speach
by journalist Bernard Levin:
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Contents:
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If you cannot understand my argument, and declare "It's Greek to me",
you are quoting Shakespeare; if you claim to be more sinned against
than sinning, you are quoting Shakespeare; if you recall your salad
days, you are quoting Shakespeare; if you act more in sorrow than in
anger, if your wish is father to the thought, if your loat property has
vanished into thin air, you are quoting Shakespeare; if you have ever
refused to budge an inch or suffered from green-eyed jealousy, if you
have played fast and loose, if you have been tongue-tied, a tower of
strength, hoodwinked or in a pickle, if you have knitted your brows,
made a virtue of necessity, insisted on fair play, slept not one wink,
stood on ceremony, danced attendance (on your lord and master), laughed
yourself into stitches, had short shrift, cold comfort or too much
of a good thing, if youo have seen better days or lived in a fool's
paradise - shy, be that as it may, the more fool you, for it is a
foregone conclusion that you are (as good luck would have it) quoting
Shakespeare; if you think it is early days and clear out bag and
baggage, if you think it is high time and that is the long and short
of it, if you belive that the game is up and that truth will out even
if it involves your own flesh and blod, if you li low till the crack of
doom because you suspect foul play, if you have your teeth set on edge
(at one fell swoop) without rhyme or reason, then - to give the devil
his due - if the truth were known (for surly you have a tougue in your
head) you are quoting Shakespeare; even if you bid me good riddance and
send me packing, if you wish I was dead as a door-nail, if you think I
am an eyesore, a laughing stock, the devil incarnate, a stony-hearted
villain, bloody-minded or a blinkin idiot, then - by Jove! O Lord!
Tut, tut! for goodness' sake! what the dickens! but me no buts - it is
all one to me, for you are quoting Shakespeare.
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Is there method in my madness or is something rotten in the stat of
Denmark? To find out you will have to read Shakespear.
Brevity being the soul of wit, I will simply remind you that the play's
the thing...
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About the categories
Shakespeare's plays are often arranged in three categories:
tragedy, comedy, and history. It is important to realize that the
categories are not Shakespeare's. The arrangement of the plays into
the three categories is a practice begun with the First Folio, which
was printed in 1623, seven years after Shakespeare's death.
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The original electronic source for this server is the
Complete
MobyTM Shakespeare,
which is freely available online. It is provided by many people
on the net, including
Project Gutenberg.
Because there are many varying "original" editions of Shakespeare's
plays there may be differences between a copy of a play that you are
familiar with and the version presented here.
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