Why do people say that Shakespeare was one of the greatest playwrights in history when….?
Which plays did you read? While I agree with most of the other folks who have answered, I also think that Shakespeare has a few clunkers. After all, he wrote at least 36 plays–some of them are better than others. King John and Henry VI are not his greatest and I think Love’s Labour’s Lost and Comedy of Errors aren’t nearly as good as some of his other comedies. On the other hand, Hamlet, King Lear, Macbeth, Othello, Romeo & Juliet are all pretty darn good if you ask me. Twelfth Night, Much Ado About Nothing, Merchant of Venice, Measure for Measure–they all rock. How many other playwrights before or since have written so many great plays? Even in the contemporary theatre, many playwrights nowadays have maybe 2 or 3 great plays if they’re lucky. I suspect that like many people when they are first introduced to Shakespeare, they find the language an almost insurmountable hurdle. My suggestion is to go and see a few Shakespeare plays and then you’re opinion might change. See one of his p
