All my life I was taught to revere Shakespeare as poet and genius and to treat his work with reverence and pious respect. Then, I read Stoppard's work and I have never looked back! RGAD broke down so many bariers that had been fortified for ages in my mind. Stoppard was able to show me like no one else that Shakespeare was an entertainer. He was one of the greatest of his age, but he was just a man like any other. He would have sacraficed iambic pentameter for a laugh or a piognant pregnant pause if it meant his work had more impact in a moment.