ABSTRACT
Perhaps William Shakespeare had a good understanding of the grammatical rules of sixteenth century English – he had a grammar school education, after all, and would certainly have been taught grammar as part of learning Latin. Perhaps, though, he had not even the slightest interest in learning and thinking consciously about grammar at all. Perhaps he spent every single Latin lesson staring out of the window, dreaming of Verona, of ghosts on the ramparts and of murderous Scottish kings. Either way, grammar is the heart of the patterns he was able to use and abuse to create works of incredible, long-lasting genius. James Joyce tore up the rulebook almost entirely for his masterpiece Ulysses, and he certainly had a true mastery of language and grammar – he was steeped in it – and yet he chose to write the last 50 pages of his vast book without full stops. If one of the greatest writers of the last century chose to do away with conventional grammar, might it be something outdated that none of us mortals really need to worry about?
