Why study Shakespeare? How are we to understand the language when it is so vastly different to our own?

Language is not a stable category. We are used to noting the differences between speakers of different languages, but the differences within a single language can be just as significant over a period of time. The history of the English language is also a history of migration, war and conquest. In the fifth century, Germanic tribes migrated to England, and the Saxon tongue they brought with them was intermixed with the indigenous languages of native Britons. Over time, the result was what we now call 'Old English'. After the Norman conquest of Britain in the eleventh century (Battle of Hastings - 1066), the English language underwent a notable change. The Anglo-Saxon dialect of Old English was interspersed with the French language. This 'Middle English' period was one that absorbed many French words at the time, and would be the reason why many aristocrats and nobles would pepper their speech with French words. Now to Shakespeare...Why study Shakespeare? And how are we to understand the language that can strike the modern ear so strange? Well, the very foundations of our 'Modern English' were cemented in Shakespeare's lines. Shakespeare invented words and phrases that still remain today. We may understand the result of Old English and Middle English as arising through the conquest and migrations of people over time, but the importance of Early Modern English (the language Shakespeare wrote in) is that gave birth to a poetry that we have yet to eclipse. By studying Shakespeare, we can begin to understand the secret of any language which is that language is fundamentally elastic. It is able to be shaped, chiselled, and developed over time. So, in short, we can study Shakespeare for a number of reasons: the profound cultural impact of his plays, the influence of his lines on the English language, a peculiar insight into a particular period of British history, and the use of language in the service of poetry and beauty. The language may initially seem vastly different to our own, but it is part of the very roots that have made our language what it is. By tracking the differences in our language over different historical contexts, we can better appreciate how we ourselves can manipulate language to fulfil our desired ends. Whether that be to tell a friend a story, inform a work colleague of a difficult circumstance at work, or to say something beautiful. Yes, we can learn a lot from Shakespeare.