London with a population of 400,000 at the time gave us Shakespeare. With the population explosion why don't we have a dozen Shakespeares by now?
by 
Zenless
ANSWERS: 3
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Shakespeare was not really something special until after he was dead. It was years, centuries in fact before he became a household name. Popularity of his sonnets and plays did not really take off, this is reflected in his biography - we know so little of him because real interest in the man didn't rise until everyone who knew him personally (friends, family, etc.) had long died themselves. So there is the potential that there are a dozen playwrights who will, someday, become as popular and well known as William. But they will first have to die and their plays will have to live on.
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What makes you say we don't? How do you decides what makes "a Shakespeare"? And even if your definition doesn't exist in popular knowledge, how do you know there aren't some that you haven't heard of yet?
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You probably do; you just haven't yet heard of them. My guess is that London will produce a dozen great authors/playwrights per generation.
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