Michael Nguyen Mr. Colvin English 1P Acc 8 March 2015 Shakespeare’s Impact on Language Development “So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, so long lives this, and this gives life to thee” (Sonnet 18, Lines 13-14). While this passage may seem rather noble of William Shakespeare, you must acknowledge how correct he is. Not only is this sonnet still “living”, many of his works are still studied by students and scholars alike. Whether it be a comedy like “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” or a tragedy such as “Macbeth”, there is no doubt that his works still hold the same significance as they did four hundred years ago. However, the true question that we must raise today is the question of, “Why?” How is it that a writer that lived over four hundred …show more content…
William Shakespeare has also left an influence in the way he uses words. As Amanda Mabillard explains, “Shakespeare’s ability to summarize the range of human emotions in simple yet profoundly eloquent verse is perhaps the greatest reason for his enduring popularity” (1). In fact, Shakespeare’s done so well when it comes to creating these phrases that many of these phrases are cliche today! Take “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” for example. One of the most universally famous lines is, “The course of true love never did run smooth” (Act 1, Scene 1, Line 134). Here, we can see the universal meaning in the way he used words and how this contributes to our language today. Now, putting that aside, Shakespeare has also contributed greatly to literature and through his plays, also created many common conventions that we can still see in today’s writing. In fact, one of the most common types of characters in literature that Shakespeare created is the tragic hero, a protagonist the fails because of a character flaw or a cruel twist of fate. He also became one of the first writers to introduce other literary devices into his plays, such as allusions. These devices, though they might seem insignificant, would have a great impact on other writers in the …show more content…
Even if we look closer into fields such as language development, we can see that he’s managed to do everything from expanding the English lexicon to creating many common literary devices for writers. And finally, we can see that Shakespeare still matters today because his words are still being used in everyday conversation, his works still appeal to a large range of audiences around the globe, and his literary devices are still being used by writers time and time again. So the next time you study Shakespeare in English class, try not to complain. After all, the English language is Shakespeare’s language as well,