When I am young, I know not genius... (Tribute to Shakespeare)

Back in high school, English was my least favorite subject.  Woe to Shakespeare and Hemingway!  Give me the sweet empirical satisfaction of the Pythagoras and Newton!  Looking back now, I sometimes regret that my college education in engineering had not been more well-rounded (2 English classes, one of which consisted predominately of movie watching)...

Awhile back, I purchased a book containing the complete works of Shakespeare.  It was on sale at a good price... good enough to strike up a fancy for new indulgences in old classics.

I've just finished reading a couple of plays, and I must confess the error of my ways.  Shakespeare is a brilliant writer.  His mastery of the written tongue is unmatched by any son of woman now alive.  His prose and poetry is a delight to the sense and the soul.  Though, admittedly, it's quite a rocky read for who didn't major in English such as myself (I probably guess the meaning of half his stuff, then just completely ignore the rest).

His penmanship is surpassed by his story-telling.  It is one thing to rhyme like the Riddler, but Shakespeare weaves forth tales which capture the imagination of any reader (if one can suffer through his verbosity).  More so than when younger, I can better appreciate the genius of his narratives, considering that many of the dramatic devices which today's readers (and TV watchers) take for granted were probably intellectual descendants of Shakespeare.

However, what far separates Shakespeare from most other prodigious writers is his mastery of the human psyche.  His narratives can be appreciated as much now as when first written because his understanding of human nature lends them a timeless element few can replicate (and with such impeccable consistency!)  The Bible (and perhaps select other religious/philosophical works) aside, Shakespeare's writings probably strike the reader, more so than any other's, as a terrifyingly accurate portrayal of  human desire, folly, and misbehavior.

For all the engineers out there, I think it is worth our while to seek out Mr. Shakespeare as our English tutor... (if for no other virtuous reason than at least to impress the ladies with some poetry that'll make'em melt... sometimes you just need some date-night conversation topics other than aerospace engineering, workforce optimization, digital signal processing, fluids, etc)...