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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
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Sarah Marsh

Who said it: William Shakespeare or Justin Bieber?

Justin Bieber and William Shakespeare
Do you know your ‘all the world’s a stage’ from your ‘woah, I was a player’? Photograph: Guardian

They are two people poles apart. One is the globally adored master of romance and tragedy, penning some of history’s most powerful verses. The other is some playwright from centuries ago.

At least that’s what the under-25s are likely to say, according to a new poll which found that they know more Justin Bieber lyrics than they do Shakespeare quotes.

The music streaming service Deezer pitted the two against each other and found that while 43% of younger Britons recognised Bieber’s lyrics, only 38% were familiar with the Bard’s words. And one in three could not even identify “To be or not to be”, from Hamlet, as a Shakespeare quote.

So do you know your “all the world’s a stage” from your “whoa, I was a player”? Which words are the Bard’s and which belong to the Biebs?

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