The original culture wars.

Culture conflict; Culture; Social conflict; Inauguration; Political agenda; White supremacy; Nature & nurture

It is not an example James Shapiro uses in his excellent new history Shakespeare in a Divided America - comedy is not his theme - but it demonstrates how deeply embedded Shakespeare was by the early decades of the 19th century as a proxy for American cultural hierarchies. As Shapiro notes, Shakespeare was always popular in a "Bible-obsessed nation" raised on the language of King James, and his symbolic role in various American culture wars is well-covered terrain. The association with high culture that Twain laughed at over a century ago has now become so toxic that Shapiro ruefully asks whether Shakespeare himself may not soon fall victim to this very divided America. [Extracted from the article]