Nietzsche's statement here about the relation of the classical Greeks to Homer is characteristically thought-provoking. But it clearly describes a relation which differs from that we shall expect to find in the case of the modern Greeks. Searching for parallels rather among the English moderns, the contemporaries of the Greek poets who are the subject of this book, two cases spring to mind – that is, if we discount Homer himself, whose influence on English poetry, as opposed to English letters, has been somewhat marginal. The most obvious example of a parallel is that of Shakespeare, but Dante too has exerted a significant influence on English poets in the last two centuries. Now in modern Greece lip-service is certainly paid to the central place of Homer in the culture; and yet Homer in Greece lacks the cultural pervasiveness of Shakespeare in England. This is partly a matter of form — the theatre-going public is larger than the serious reading public — and partly a matter of language. Primrose path; hoist with his own petard; a palpable hit; caviare to the general; dog will have his day — these phrases from just one play by Shakespeare belong to everyone, including those unaware of their provenance.