# Shakespeare — On the Art of Writing character guide

> Shakespeare in On the Art of Writing by Arthur Quiller-Couch.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Man, The Man Shakespeare, a Shakespeare, Mr. Shakespeare, sweet Mr. Shakespeare

**First appearance:** 0002-on-the-art-of-writing

## Snapshot

The ever-present master whose living lines prove that great literature traffics not in cold celestial certainties but in men's hopes, doubts, and breakings of the heart.

## Who they are

He presides over the lectures as the supreme example of writing that stays alive because it is personal, various, and true to human feeling rather than to ornament. The narrator invokes him not as a monument to be admired but as a standard to match, warning students against dwindling out his large utterance. His presence anchors the argument that style is individuality, and that even slang and neologism may be justified by the occasion, since literature must take account of all manner of writers, audiences, and moods.

## Relationships

### [Adonis](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_the_art_of_writing_se/characters/adonis)

_psychological_

Adonis is a mythological figure representing beauty and desire, often analyzed in relation to Shakespeare's poetry.

### [Ben Jonson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_the_art_of_writing_se/characters/ben_jonson)

_rivalry_

Ben Jonson and Shakespeare share a competitive yet respectful rivalry as contemporary playwrights.

### [Adonis](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_the_art_of_writing_se/characters/adonis)

_psychological_

Adonis is a mythological figure representing beauty and desire, often analyzed in relation to Shakespeare's poetry.

### [Ben Jonson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_the_art_of_writing_se/characters/ben_jonson)

_rivalry_

Ben Jonson and Shakespeare share a competitive yet respectful rivalry as contemporary playwrights.

## In the story

### [On the Art of Writing](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_the_art_of_writing_se/chapters/on-the-art-of-writing)

Referenced as a master of English literature and a Cambridge wit.

### [Lecture II: The Practice of Writing](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_the_art_of_writing_se/chapters/lecture-ii-the-practice-of-writing)

Referenced as a great writer whose 'large utterance' should be emulated, and whose native tongue is English.

### [Lecture III: On the Difference Between Verse and Prose](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_the_art_of_writing_se/chapters/lecture-iii-on-the-difference-between-verse-and-prose)

Referenced for the Prologue to Henry the Fifth, used by Burke as a source, and praised for making great words appropriate.

### [Lecture V: Interlude: On Jargon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_the_art_of_writing_se/chapters/lecture-v-interlude-on-jargon)

Hamlet's soliloquy is remoulded into Jargon as an illustration.

### [Lecture VI: On the Capital Difficulty of Prose](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_the_art_of_writing_se/chapters/lecture-vi-on-the-capital-difficulty-of-prose)

Mentioned as an Elizabethan who wrote his most famous plays after Elizabeth's death, and as the author of Sonnet 116, illustrating the use of Latin words in poetry.

### [Lecture VII: Some Principles Reaffirmed](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_the_art_of_writing_se/chapters/lecture-vii-some-principles-reaffirmed)

Cited as an example of genius who occasionally wrote nonsense, with reference to Ben Jonson's criticism.

### [Lecture VIII: On the Lineage of English Literature (I)](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_the_art_of_writing_se/chapters/lecture-viii-on-the-lineage-of-english-literature-i)

Invoked in Wordsworth's quote as a touchstone of English language and literature.

### [Lecture IX: On the Lineage of English Literature (II)](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_the_art_of_writing_se/chapters/lecture-ix-on-the-lineage-of-english-literature-ii)

Included among the great English writers; his dramatis personae noted for Italian and Roman names.

### [Lecture XII: On Style](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_the_art_of_writing_se/chapters/lecture-xii-on-style)

Mentioned as an example of audacious linguistic creativity, and referenced via Mr. Frank Harris's study.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_the_art_of_writing_se/characters/shakespeare
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_the_art_of_writing_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_the_art_of_writing_se/characters