Our English Cousin: William Shakespeare and the Shaping of America

Many American artists have depicted scenes from Shakespeare’s plays through the years. A detail from "‘King Lear,’ Act I, Scene I ,” 1858, by American artist Edwin Austin Abbey. Oil on canvas. Gift of George A. Hearn, 1913. Metropolitan Museum of Art. Public Domain

Shakespeare. Bring up that name in conversation, and the reactions of your audience are likely to be mixed. To some of your listeners, that most famous name in all of English literature will likely arouse unpleasant memories of a dreary week or two in a high school class lost in a jumble of lords, ladies, jesters, and attendants, all seeming to speak a language only vaguely related to English.

Others will react with enthusiasm, remembering with fondness the production of “As You Like It” at a playhouse or the teacher who brought Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to life in an otherwise unremarkable college classroom.