Hate Shakespeare?

[William Shakespeare]

I don't hate anyone, especially people I never met that died before I was born, but I don't find his stories interesting.

What, dislike a story of revenge?
A tale of lust, and murder's bloody hand?
Of dim-wits' antics or a villain's plots?
Of true romance, of greed, of sex, of death?
Read not my stories as some lofty art,
But as a motion picture in thy head.

[barbarosso]

What, dislike a story of revenge?
A tale of lust, and murder's bloody hand?
Of dim-wits' antics or a villain's plots?
Of true romance, of greed, of sex, of death?
Read not my stories as some lofty art,
But as a motion picture in thy head.

hee hee you talk like him to, wait a sec you are him, sorry! you wrote some real amazing work....

.... could i have your autograph?

[Ma Tai]

We're reading Romeo & Juliet right now in English, actually, and I love it. While the other students in my class think it's dumb and can't understand it, I actually do understand it and can translate it into modern English without the help of my teacher.

It's also funny how Shakespeare invented the word, "punk."

[Dong Zhou]

Watched Hamlet back in January and remembered this thread, hope nobody minds me doing this little necromancy, been meaning to post.

My mother has always hated the way Shakespeare is forced down childrens throats in England, leading to some sympathy when Blackadder attacked Shakespeare (ignore the comments). As a teacher she often accompanied the children to their outing at their theater, long after they had got sick of the guy, they weren't exactly too happy at going to it. After the play was done, some of them were very regretful they hadn't listened properly from start of play and had loved what they heard. How many others were lost to his works or plays themselves by the force feeding?

I'm not fond of reading plays (I prefer to act them out) and I generally don't watch too many plays on TV though my sister loves them. My mother would rent a Shakespeare dvd, an old one usually, every six months for us to watch when I was younger, her, my little sister and me. Some I didn't like but overall, I enjoyed them, they could be funny but the stories flowed well and the characters were good. I can't compere Shakespeare with other's of his time, I simply don't know enough about plays in general to comment, I just admire the particular playwright's work and the ability of others to adapt it (example, the bbc's mini modern Shakespeare series was highly entertaining). Old language, new language, old world, new world, as long as it is well directed and well acted, it works and makes for an enjoyable afternoon

[Mikhail]

I also don't like reading plays. I can't figure anything out at all. We're reading Aristophanes right now for my Classical Literature class and everything is just words and I don't know what's happening in the story.

For Shakespeare, I've read Romeo & Juliet, Macbeth, and Julius Caesar and I really only enjoyed the latter. That's probably because I'm a fan of Antony and Brutus in general. I might be missing one since I believe we had to read a Shakespeare play every year of high school. Maybe Hamlet...

[Tigger of Kai]

What a fantastic thread! I wonder if our "William Shakespeare" is a familiar someone's alter-ego.

I didn't used to like reading the plays but when they are performed well it's always a treat. I have to say I like Julius Caesar the best, but that's probably because I took a Shakespear-acting class one summer and that's the play we did. It was a lot of fun acting the lines out loud (not to mention killing Caesar and then myself ), and actually by realising that the lines are supposed to be read outloud (duh! yes I didn't realise that before) in a dynamic setting rather than silently in class, I came to appreciate the plays better as literature.

Very cool -- I was Lear once, just for one scene, and the experience has definitely enhanced my enjoyment of that play. My favorite's Macbeth, though. When it comes to war, murder and assassination, Shakespeare really knows how to do it right.

Thinking of taking up A Winter's Tale. I hear a guy gets eaten by a bear. And the guy deserves it!

[HowSwiftThySword]

Meh, I find almost all of his sonnets and plays boring. Excellently written, but boring. With the exception of Hamlet.

[fly_west]

I'm a rather big fan of Shakespeare. I'm an English major, and am going to be an English teacher after I finish college. Shakespeare did a lot for the English language, but I like him because of the stories he has to tell. Hamlet, a story of madness and revenge. King Lear, a study in irony. Macbeth, a warning against power mongering and greed (Too bad the men of Shu, plus Wu's Sun Hao couldn't learn this story). I just think Shakespeare had quite a way with words and could craft them into amazing stories. On the other hand, while I respect his sonnets, I'm not a big fan of them.

[Kristina]

The thing about Shakespeare is that you -need- to see the plays. I hated the guy until a troupe came to town. I saw Hamlet and The Comedy of Errors, and loved every minute of each. It's amazing how much humor that is in the plays that you miss while reading, and how much the actors really effecxt the play.

Bottom line - See a play before you write off Shakespeare. It's like music - Everything is better live.

[SunXia]

I've seen them and I' still not a fan, the only one I like was A midsummer's Dream because it was mildly interesting but the rest, nope, sayingthat, he was talented for his time!!