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How did Shakespeare's role in the Renaissance, his influence on the English language, the way he changed thought/speech, and his impact on theatre change the world?
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Shakespeare significantly influenced the English language and literary tradition, becoming a central figure in English education and culture. He introduced character types like quarreling lovers and integrated comic elements into tragedies, which were novel at the time. Shakespeare's works contributed over 1,000 words to the English lexicon and popularized numerous phrases, enriching the language. His impact on theatre and literature makes him a pivotal figure, though not necessarily a world-changer like major religious leaders.
First, I am not sure one can legitimately claim that Shakespeare "changed the world." There are very few people of whom that could realistically be said, and those would be great religious leaders such as Buddha, Muḥammad, and Jesus, rather than writers. Instead, more precisely, one should state that Shakespeare is one of the most important authors in the English literary canon, keeping in mind that English is one language and literary tradition among many.
First, one can state that Shakespeare has become a standard school text in the Anglophone world, and thus an element of our shared literary heritage. His very ubiquity makes him a touchstone for English literary culture, and many works of literature and art reference his works directly or indirectly.
Next, he invented the character type of the quarreling lovers with Beatrice and Benedict in Much Ado About Nothing . A second important literary feature of...
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his work is the way he mixes comic interludes with rustics in his tragedies, something that was not part of classicaltragedy.
He uses well over 1,000 words not found in earlier English works, although whether he actually coined them or whether this is an accident of preservation is not entirely certain. He did coin many phrases and metaphors which have become standard parts of the English language, including:
- “Bated breath”
- “Brave new world”
- “Break the ice”
- “Brevity is the soul of wit”
- “Forever and a day”
- “Good riddance”
- “Wild-goose chase”
References