Happy Bday Shakespeare - you chancer!
Apr 23, 2015
Yes, he does seem to have become Saint Shakespeare and the biggest tourist attraction in the UK. There is no record of him attending school, the two daughters of this hero of the English language were illiterate and presumably he owed no books, because there were none left in his will. His contribution is actually not clear at all, but excessive claims are taken as gospel. Did he coin 8,429 new words (or is it 11,396? Or 7,298?). It's more than likely his plays were a collaborative effort and his genius could well have been as an entrepreneur (which there is evidence for), rather than being the father of the English language.
If you can cope with further sacrilege - read the article by William Leahy, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Brunel University London.
That said, I'm very pleased we have "his" work and "his" contribution to theatre and the English language!!
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