The English language was so much prettier in Shakespeare's day, with all the 'thou art' and poetic imagery. But of course, that all started going downhill when the colonies revolted and became the United States of America. It's a common belief that Americans have taken the English language and warped it into something foul—or have they?
There are four to five times as many English speakers in the United States as in the United Kingdom, resulting in some real innovation to the language. When colonists first settled they had new things to talk about, new circumstances to discuss, and thus new words and vernacular to fit their new lifestyle.
The current British version of English is no closer to the earlier sixteenth-century form as American version is. In fact, American English may be more conservative, and thus much closer to the original standard.
For instance, Americans have retained the r-sound and flat a-sound for the most part while British has lost it (say the word calf in American English. In Britain the "a" would sound like the "a" in "father"). Yet, there is no denying both languages evolved in different way, creating the divide we have presently.
