This is all very on-the-ball, but the point of the piece & of my friend, was a justification of Shakespeare’s ultimate importance among a group of people (who consider him unquestionably better) & why that unquestioning sense that he is can be justified to those who might (in a hypothetical situation, ask us to justify his being more important than a soap opera). This was 2008–9, so I don’t doubt there were perhaps students writing PhD’s on soap operas (why you’d waste your time) but even should they be, the reason of “care” was also that the “care” had persisted for generations. The problem wasn’t that because we care he is brilliant, but that we can justify why he is more important than a soap opera, because of the efforts invested in him, illustrating that he is brilliant. The beauty of what inspired me about my friend, is that I had never been asked to justify something that was unquestionably of a higher cultural standing than something else with anything other than “just because…” & he made me think outside the box, if you will.

    Daniel Paul Marshall

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    Poet. Essayist. Blogger. Confused mostly. Mistrustful & emphatic. Assistant editor @UnderfootPoetry