For any Englishman , there can never be any discussion as to who is the world’s greatest dramatist( 剧作家 ) . Only one name can possibly suggest itself to him : that of William Shakespeare Every Englishman has some knowledge , however slight , of the work of our greatest writer . All of US use words , phrases and quotations from Shakespeare’s writings that have become part of the common property of the English-speaking people . Most of the time we are probably unaware of the source of the words we used , rather like the old lady who was taken to see a performance of Hamlet and complained that it was full of well—known proverbs and quotations . Shakespeare , more perhaps than any other writer , makes full use of the great resources of the English language . Most of US use about five thousand words in our normal use of English ; Shakespeare in his works used about twenty-five thousand . There is probably no better way for a foreigner to appreciate the richness and variety of the English language than by studying the various ways in which Shakespeare used it . Such a study is well worth the effort(it is not , of course , recommended to beginners)even though some aspects of English usage , and the meaning of many words , have changed since Shakespeare’s day .