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> Perhaps the most miraculous thing about Shakespeare is that, through the accidents of history, he’s come to form a global point of reference. Is he really a
by johan_larson 10y ago
> Perhaps the most miraculous thing about Shakespeare is that, through the accidents of history, he’s come to form a global point of reference.
Is he really a "global point of reference"? I'm not at all confident I could drop a reference to, say, Macbeth or Hamlet when dealing with people from India or China. Using the high-points of American popular culture like Luke Skywalker or Superman seems a lot safer.
I'd be interested to hear from folks from outside the Anglosphere on this point.
- cafard 10y agoSomewhere around the house, I have a copy of Samuel Johnson's prefaces to Shakespeare's plays, edited by an Indian professor. Now, I can't at all speak to the case of China.
- mangamadaiyan 10y agoTo drop, or not to drop - is that your question? Most Indian schoolchildren of my generation grew up with at least one play by the bard (or a few) at school. I don't know about schoolkids these days, though.
- a_imho 10y agoI agree, he is not at all. I would also wager Rowling (Tolkien maybe even GRRM) has more universal appeal than Shakespeare. edit: I'm from Europe