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.
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Famous quotes containing the words william shakespeare, william, shakespeare and/or influence:
“Unregarded age in corners thrown.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“Bless your heart, they don’t mind—they’re exceedingly
kind—
They don’t blame you—as long as you’re funny!”
—Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (1836–1911)
“You told a lie, an odious, damned lie;
Upon my soul, a lie, a wicked lie.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“Just what is the civil law? What neither influence can affect, nor power break, nor money corrupt: were it to be suppressed or even merely ignored or inadequately observed, no one would feel safe about anything, whether his own possessions, the inheritance he expects from his father, or the bequests he makes to his children.”
—Marcus Tullius Cicero (106–43 B.C.)