What Can a Great Poet Teach Us About Clear, Concise Writing?
William Shakespeare was unquestionably one of the world’s greatest poets and poetic playwrights. Arguably, his mastery of English far surpassed that of anyone else who ever put pen to paper. So what can Shakespeare—a genius at playing the language almost like a violin—possibly teach us about expository (non-fiction) writing where ideas must prevail and the language made as inconspicuous as possible? He can teach us that being a truly accomplished writer means knowing when to turn a beautiful phrase and when to speak plainly. Perhaps more than anyone else, a poet recognizes that the result that must take pride of place, not the techniques used to achieve it. Ask anyone to recite something from Shakespeare. Almost invariably you will hear either “To be or not to be, that is the question” or “Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears.” The first is the famous Hamlet soliloquy where the young prince is contemplating suicide, the other the famous Marc Anthony soliloquy where Anthony la
