There are certain artists that do not just define the genre but are the genre, become through no intention of their own the benchmark by which everything that follows is measured. Step forward and take a bow Mr Shakespeare and Mr Dickens. William, Charles, we thank you all these years later for showing us, and defining, the possibilities.
You make a good point, but Dickens, Shakespeare etc are studied at school (and let's face it, anything you study at school you'll probably hate) or read mostly by reasonably well-educated people (sorry for that gross stereotype and I'm not saying that they only ...