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I agree it helps our English be what it is to day. |
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English is a language which is very expressive. With the help of English one can bring out very
easily and very simply what he or she is undergoing. But it was not in that much use since ancient
times before Shakespeare cane into the scenario. After his involvement in English it became a
language that everybody started accepting. He changed poetry, literature, theatre, prose and drama
and the changes made by him has been going on till today and will go on till the end of our mankind,
if there is any. Shakespearean English is there from school to any cultural act. Shakespeare spoke
about the English of the past, present and the future and thus we can say that Shakespeare is the
greatest Englishman of all time. |
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In my view, there is no question that Shakespeare is the greatest Englishman of all time. It's not
just his mastery of language that is unequalled, but his profound insights into the human condition,
and his ability to express them dramatically with compelling stories and memorable characters. In
hundreds of years, no English artist has come anywhere near rivalling the quality of Shakespeare's
art.
You offer up some alternatives.
Samuel Johnson for creating the first dictionary? Eh, sorry, that one's a myth. Many dictionaries
had been published before Samuel Johnson's.
Churchill - good speeches to keep up the spirit in wartime. That's about it. The British people made
their verdict on Churchill clear when they rejected him at the ballot box after the war.
Tim Berners Lee - please. Other people were working on similar things at the time. If Berners-Lee
hadn't produced the first browser, someone else would have before long. |
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I don't understand why everyone seems to think Shakespeare was the only person from his time who
spoke and wrote in English. Everyone in England used the exact same language anyway. And there were
many great poets from England, a few examples being Geoffrey Chaucer, Charles Dickens and William
Wordsworth. And English history is quite far and stretched, he's just one the main characters in it
whatsoever., as opposed to Queen Elizabeth I, Lord Nelson, Florence Nightingale and Charles
Darwin.
Shakespeare was the greatest Englishman in the aspect of theatre, but other than that I don't think
he can fulfill the other criteria you have mentioned. |
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He is a great influence on britain but to say he was the greatest is pushing it a bit(i think)
surely the greatest Englishmen are our doctors and police and firefighters, these people help
protect and serve us every day mostly with out recognition. |
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Shakespeare was a great, there's no denying it. He did wonderful things with literature and
language, but does that qualify him as the the greatest Englishman of all time? I don't think so.
It would be equally possible to say that Doctor Samuel Johnson was the greatest ever Englishman, he
created the dictionary and that changed the English language in a way much larger than Shakespeare.
Every language in the world has a dictionary, every school in the world has a dictionary.
To many, the England football team of 1966 were the most talented and glorious Englishmen of all
time. They came home with a never seen before trophy, a never won again trophy.
Some might say that Winston Churchill was the greatest Englishman of all time, a great diplomat, a
great politician, statesman and writer. His decisions saved Britain from invasion and changed the
course of the Second World War.
Cromwell changed the way we thought of government He may have also affected the English mentality
and outward relationships with each other through his Puritan views. He changed government, he also
tore apart the country and split the English in a terrible civil war between royalists and
parliamentarians (republicans).
Richard Branson, the creator of the Virgin empire, is one of the most successful shoestring
entrepreneurs. He has created masses of personal wealth and businesses out of simple ideas.
Branson may not be remembered forever, but he is a great Englishman.
Tim Berners Lee, now Sir Timothy Berners Lee is credited with essentially inventing the Internet,
now that's a contribution to the WORLD that we are going to be remembering for a long, long time.
This way of sharing information across the world and communicating, developing economics and
commerce, this endless library of information. He will be remembered forever for this. Or perhaps
you haven't heard of him.
Henry V and his tiny army defeated the massive French army at Agincourt, taking back what was
considered to be rightfully ours.
Others might be Florence Nightgale (okay, not man, but English'mun') Roland Hill, who invented the
post office and postal service is also a great mention here. Poets such as Shelley, Byron and Keats
gave a great deal to the world. Margaret Thatcher certainly changed Britain, but 'Greatest' is
perhaps not the right word.
Perhaps Shakespeare is the greatest, I think it's rather hard to say. |
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28 Dec 2007 21:52
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