Shakespeare is astonishingly clever with words and images,so that his mental energy,when applied to intelligible human situations,finds full and memorable expression,convincing and imaginatively stimulating. The art form into which his creative energies went was not remote and bookish but involved the vivid stage impersonation of human beings,commanding sympathy and inviting vicarious participation.Thus,Shakespeare's merits can survive translation into other languages and into cultures remote from that of Elizabethan England.Shakespeare is astonishingly clever with words and images, so that his mental energy, when applied to intelligible human situations, finds full and memorable expression, convincing and imaginatively stimulating. The art form into which his creative energies went was not remote and bookish but involved the vivid stage impersonation of human beings, commanding sympathy and inviting vicarious participation. Thus, Shakespeare’s merits can survive translation into other languages and into cultures remote from that of Elizabethan England