Shakespeare

[shortstoryfan]

I hate reading Shakespeare. Any suggestions on how to make it more fun?

[Katy North]

Read sparknotes to get a feel for what's going to happen before you read the play. Focus on the words and how he describes things as well as the action... Shakespeare is a poet as well as a playwrite.

Also, rent the movie version and break out the popcorn... Shakespeare did write plays, after all, so his plays were meant to be watched as well as read.

Avoid the Leo version of Romeo and Juliet though if at all possible... :sosp:

[dfloyd]

Now I have read all the plays. If I remember correctly, there are 37 of them. There are two areas where people not used to Shakespeare have problems. The first is in the multitude of classical allusions. These become easier as you go along if you are willing to work at understanding them. Reading Ovid, Bullfinch's mythology, and Robert Graves' The Greek Myths will get you familiar with these allusions. Also, I keep a copy of The Concise Oxford Companion to Classical Literature by my side.

The second area is the language. There is a book called Shakespeare's Language which has the many words used in Shakespeare's day with which the modern reader is not familiar. It is a dictionary of the 16th century. When a word is looked up, it gives the meaning and which plays it is used in.

Seeing the plays performed is a great help. The BBC performed all the plays and they are available on dvd. There is no easy way to learn to read Shakespeare, but the rewards are great. It takes some work, but anyone with average intelligence and persistence can learn to be at home with the Avon Bard.

[lallison]

I know lots of people who just don't like Shakespeare. The language can be difficult and the ideas he conveys are often complex. Never known anybody who hate's it to change his mind. Good luck.

[shortstoryfan]

I doubt my mind will change. I mean--why read Shakespeare when I can read someone contemporary?

[shortstoryfan]

Oh, other than you are supposed to...I guess. Whatever that means.

[JBI]

Just watch it - the BBC did some good versions of the collected plays which you can probably download or find on youtube.

[shortstoryfan]

I'm listening to the audio. It's horrible acting. I'm loving it.

[dfloyd]

Not enjoying Shakespeare is understandable among the young. Staying in this attitude is your loss, and no one elses. The person who cannot read or view Shakespeare cannot be considered an educated person. There is a big difference between not liking something and not understanding it. I have never met a person who does not like Shakespeare, but who completely understands him. People have been enthralled with the Bard since the play were first performed in the sixteenth century. The fun in shakespeare is learning how to understand him. If you don't make an effort, you will go on stating you don't like him.

[shortstoryfan]

Well, I guess I'll continue to be uneducated.

[kelby_lake]

Get a school edition- it basically tells you what's going on on every page and all the themes. And if you don't get it after that...maybe stick to easy books.

If you don't read any Shakespeare, you're basically alienating yourself from culture. It pops up all the time in pop culture.