Next to the King James Bible, Shakespeare’s Folio has been the most influential work ever written in the English Language. Why? Some might think it is the playwright’s insight into human nature; or maybe his subtle ability to challenge false mores; or possibly his capacity to demonstrate moral lessons. Though such is important, the reason is far simpler—William Shakespeare has shaped the very vernacular we think in, write with and communicate by. He almost re-invented our language. We are all his actors—reciting his poetry and his prose without even knowing it. And now, as the English dialect is the most commonly spoken second language in the world, the global impact of the man is reckoned in the billions. Ironically, he coined the phrase “the pen is mightier than the sword.”
