William Shakespeare's influence extends from theatre and literature to present-day movies and the English language itself. Widely regarded as the greatest writer of the English language, and the world's pre-eminent dramatist, Shakespeare transformed European theatre by expanding expectations about what could be accomplished through characterization, plot, language and genre. Shakespeare's writings have also influenced a large number of notable novelists and poets over the years, including Herman Melville and Charles Dickens, and continue to influence new authors even today. Shakespeare is the most quoted writer in the history of the English-speaking world after the various writers of the Bible, and many of his quotations and neologisms have passed into everyday usage in English and other languages.
Read more about William Shakespeare's Influence: Changes in English At The Time, Influence On Theatre, Influence On European and American Literature, Influence On The English Language, See Also
Famous quotes containing the words william shakespeare, william, shakespeare and/or influence:
“I have trod a measure, I have flattered a lady, I have
been politic with my friend, smooth with mine enemy.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“Television does not dominate or insist, as movies do. It is not sensational, but taken for granted. Insistence would destroy it, for its message is so dire that it relies on being the background drone that counters silence. For most of us, it is something turned on and off as we would the light. It is a service, not a luxury or a thing of choice.”
—David Thomson, U.S. film historian. America in the Dark: The Impact of Hollywood Films on American Culture, ch. 8, William Morrow (1977)
“Falstaff. I am old, I am old.
Doll Tearsheet. I love thee better than I love e’er a scurvy
young boy of them all.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“Cultural expectations shade and color the images that parents- to-be form. The baby product ads, showing a woman serenely holding her child, looking blissfully and mysteriously contented, or the television parents, wisely and humorously solving problems, influence parents-to-be.”
—Ellen Galinsky (20th century)