Without hesitation, I declare that no person had a bigger positive influence on the English language than William Shakespeare, whose birthday was believed to have been April 23, coincidentally, also the date of his death.

But this isn’t going to be a pep talk on Shakespeare; rather, it’s a lament.

Let me explain:

Daniel Burnett, secretary of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, a nonprofit dedicated to academic excellence, recently wrote that Shakespeare studies are virtually non-existent today.

The headline to Burnett’s opinion piece that appeared in the Albuquerque Journal read “It’s Shakespeare’s birthday. Who knew?” And to that we might add, “Who cares?”

As evidence, Burnett cited numerous stellar universities that don’t require courses in Shakespeare — even for English majors. Among the bastions of higher learning that have jettisoned the Bard are Yale, NYU, Penn State, Ohio State and the University of Texas.

Our own Highlands, thankfully, continues to offer Shakespeare, and it remains part of the dwindling number of schools to do so.

As further evidence, if you Google Shakespeare, you will probably get 40 million “hits.” Impressive for works have been around for half a century . . . until you discover that typing in “Justin Bieber” gives you 400 million hits, 10 times more than the Bard of Avon.

But it’s not just that I wish to write a paean for my Idol, the subject of two of my master’s theses in graduate schools. General literacy, many fear, is dwindling.
Consider:

• Shakespeare is credited with coining as many as 1,700 words. Not only are many words new, but Shakespeare manipulated the language by giving words fresh, new usages.
• In creating Falstaff, Shakespeare might have provided the world’s greatest comic character.
• Shakespeare wasn’t frugal. His 37 plays and hundreds of sonnets comprise a huge contribution to literature and knowledge.
• It’s difficult to go a day without coming across something coined by Shakespeare — often without our even knowing it.
• All this comes from a man who married as a teen, traveled little and whose formal education beyond high school is questionable.
• “To be or not to be,” “Out, damned spot,” “Nothing comes from nothing,” “My kingdom for a horse,” “Friends, Romans, countrymen,” “Wherefore art thou Romeo?” and many others we commit to memory, sometimes oblivious as to their origin.

Making the study of Shakespeare such a rarity in leading colleges and universities indicates the unfortunate “dumbing down” of the curriculum, especially at the higher education level.

Thankfully, the study of a couple of Shakespeare plays — usually Julius Caesar and Macbeth — made its way into high school curricula. Those requirements may be the most concentrated exposure to the rich canon that many people experience. But, if public schools haven’t already worked to reduce the Shakespeare requirements, look for a compromise in which either Macbeth or Julius Caesar gets tossed.

I was turned on to Shakespeare as a high school senior, in a class taught by Margaret Kennedy, an English professor after whom Highlands’ Kennedy Hall received its name.

At the risk of seeming like a pedant, let me refer to the times in class when we read the play aloud and became addicted, assigning Lady Macbeth’s role to Delia; having Charlie play the part of Banquo; Mary Lu would be one of the Evil Sisters; Martin was Duncan; Wilfred would be Macbeth; I played MacDuff.

We discovered that when the play was read aloud, it became much clearer to us; it aroused our interest, and the play became much more lucid than the arcane language we had expected. Partially because she was well qualified, Margaret Kennedy brought the Bard to life.

And when I taught senior English in high school, I sensed an appreciation among the students for literature that wasn’t necessarily “modern,” “relevant” or “American.”

To a person like me, it borders on heresy to posit that reading Shakespeare is worthless, a waste of time.

Burnett’s column argues that students ought to leave college with a body of knowledge, which includes literature. He believes too many students exit college with only a receipt for the tens of thousands of dollars it cost to get through.

It’s obscene and disgraceful to allow lackluster expectations among our students.

• • •

Do you still believe Shakespeare wrote in a obsolete language? A couple of dozen words that appear in this column were coined by the Bard. Feel free to track them down.

Some words we use every day, which did not appear in this column, include dawn, deafening, epileptic, eyeball, generous, hobnob, moonbeam, fashionable, critic, bet, assassination, bandit, drugged, secure, jaded, cold-blooded, fixture, gossip, mimic, torture, undress, unreal, zany and grovel.

And some common expressions and quotations include “Foregone conclusion,” “to thine own self be true,” “Greek to me,” “in one fell swoop,” “foul play,” “dead as a doornail” and “Cowards die many times before their deaths.”