23/04/2016
Today is my birthday which William S agreed to share with me.
from the BBC…...
Why is Shakespeare more popular than ever?
Will Gompertz
Arts editor
23 April 2016
From the section Magazine
Shakespeare's face in neon lights
In today's Magazine
Return to the valley of tears
I chose to be sterilised in my 20s
Reykjavik skeletons cause controversy
It's amazing, don't you think? Shakespeare is more popular today than he has been at any point since his death four centuries ago (there are no hard-and-fast stats to actually prove it, but the scholars to whom I have spoken all agree it is the case).
The Internet has played its part in the brand Bard propagation (Spark Notes, hem, hem), but it has also produced a mountain of alternative, more contemporary content upon which we could choose to feast. And yet it is Shakespeare who has risen to the top. And not just online where he's looked up so much that there are now bespoke Shakespeare search engines.
You'll find him sitting on shelves in African bookshops, on laptops in Lapland, and on stage in jungle theatres. You'll hear his words pop up in pop songs, being quoted in movies, and spoken on the street.
Say: "To be or not to be" in just about any country and the locals will know that you're quoting Shakespeare. Crime novelists, business folk, football managers and lawyers all plunder his lexicon for that catchy title or perfectly apt phrase.
