Archaic it ain't - the language conveys its meaning much better in the original to my mind. Great to see The Good Dr McGrath in full and righteous defence, too.

What really marks the bard out is the way his plots* lend themselves to adaptation - West Side Story for a start.

Got to go now - looking for a handsaw on freecycle. Wish me luck, last time I tried I ended up with a Perigrine Falcon.

*plots as distinct from stories - most of the components were nicked - but its the way they're woven together that does the magic. The dear old lad would have had overpaid copyright attorneys suing his ass off if he'd written the stuff in our time.