Points to Ponder
He was not of an age, but for all time!
And all the Muses still were in their prime,
When like Apollo he came forth to warme
Our eares, or like a Mercury to charme!
Preface to the First Folio, written by Ben Jonson
These words of praise, probably the most famous ever written about Shakespeare, were penned by Shakespeare's good friend and fellow writer, Ben Jonson. But why is Shakespeare timeless? Reuben Post Halleck put it best: "Sometimes a writer voices the ideals and aspirations of his own day so effectively that he is called the spokesman of his age, but he makes slight appeal to future generations. Shakespeare was the spokesman of his own time, but he had the genius also to speak to all ages. He loved to present the eternal truths of the human heart and to invest them with such a touch of nature as to reveal the kinship of the entire world." (Halleck's New History of Literature)
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