In the content of his work it is interesting to notice that he is profoundly English. His romanticism, and his choice of the theme of Time and Age - both these look back to the Anglo-Saxons and forward to the nineteenth century. Yet his form is French. The heart is insular and romantic, the head cool and continental: it is a good combination.

What is a lond wher men ben none? What ben the men whiche are alone Withoute a kinges governance? What is a king in his ligance, Wher that ther is no lawe in l…

Nevere yit Was non, which half so loste his wit Of drinke, as thei of such thing do Which cleped is the jolif wo.

The beaute faye upon her face Non erthly thing it may desface.

The average English critic is a don manque, hopelessly parochial when not exaggeratedly teutonophile, over whose desk must surely hang the motto (presumably in…

Today's Baudelaires are hip-hop artists.

From the American retelling of Romeo and Juliet in West Side Story to the Japanese adaptation of King Lear in Ran, Shakespeare's cultural influence is virtuall…