The Desire To Protect "Culture"

[Beirut]

Nonsense. I simply reject the view that there is an all-time great, and that Shakespeare belongs on a pedestal, far above contemporary artists.

And what contemporary, may I ask, would you see as his equal?

[Banquo's Ghost]

And what contemporary, may I ask, would you see as his equal?

Christopher Marlowe, John Donne, Sir Philip Sidney, Cervantes, would I think, be on the pedestal alongside.

[Beirut]

Christopher Marlowe, John Donne, Sir Philip Sidney, Cervantes, would I think, be on the pedestal alongside.

Apologies. I meant contemporary to HoteTore, not to Shakespeare. My mistake.

[HoreTore]

And what contemporary, may I ask, would you see as his equal?

Unless it's political or educational, I rarely read modern books. 95% of the fiction books I read date from 1800 to 1920, so I'm not the best one to answer that question.

But from the period I read? Plenty. Dumas, Tolstoj, Dostojevski, Skram, Hamsun. Need I go on?

[Beskar]

There is such thing as modern 'classical' music with people performing it such as Yiruma: the river flows in you.

As for fiction, a lot of it is written for the television now as Shakespeare wrote for the theatre, and there is a great many number of shows which are exceedingly well written.