go, Jazz, go. Indulge this reading habit a bit more, and you'll find the payoff is exponential, as you will start to make your own links and patterns between these texts and others.
I've just been given as a present a copy of a wonderful book called
Shakespeare's Language by Frank Kermode (the Penguin Press,
http://www.penguin.com). He makes the point in his Preface that he is addressing a non-professional audience not well served by modern critics:
"(He) was an accomplished non-dramatic poet, but his eminence depends on his work for the theatre... in the end, you can't get rid of Shakespeare without abolishing the very notion of literature...
...a true acquaintance with Shakespeare is as necessary to our culture as an understanding, however partial, of the greatness of Mozart or Cézanne. All these artists are, admittedly, dead white males, and that, for some, is enough to discredit in advance arguments in their favour... "
Don't forget I posted a few Shakespeare on the net links in another thread, if you feel like dipping into the wider pool. You may be stunned to see how many other now stock phrases and images come from the sonnets, for example. Good luck in your travels - above all, I wish you enjoyment in the sheer poetry and invention of his use of language.
