Shakespeare, the Father of English? A Review of the Vocabulary Question

This article proposes a reflection upon the reasons why we apparently prefer to believe linguistic myths about Shakespeare than to ask more cogently where exactly his linguistic creativity lies. It first provides a brief review of studies that have presented rational evidence for not believing the Shakespearean vocabulary myth. It then moves on to consider persisting depictions of Shakespeare’s vocabulary as exceptional, asking why this disproven theory is perpetuated even in intelligent and influential works of the past two decades.