[Aylis]

Okay, I have never been a big fan of Shakespeare. I don't have a clue why we read his work because first of all, it's hard to understand and after I read it I get all muddled up and start talking funny myself, second, some of his stories have no plot (The Tempest) and some I thought were just plain stupid (Romeo and Juliet). Since Shakespeare is taught practically everywhere, there must be something special in his works, but I can't figure it out. So the question is, why Shakespeare?

[SusF]

Try watching it instead of reading it. It makes more sense that way. It was written to be acted, after all.

I recommned the Johnathan Winter productions that the BBC did years ago. Kenneth Branaugh's production of Henry V is also brilliant.

Susan

[Penumbra]

At least you are willing to admit your lack of education. I'm not blaming you, rather your teachers. If they never stressed the importance of Shakespeare to you, then it would be exceedingly difficult to grasp his genius now. The Bard is not someone to pick up and read casually. You have to study him and glean his meanings. You have to work to appreciate the interpretations possible and learn to differentiate between the expressions of a master and the modern lame garbage you are accustomed to. I know this sounds overly strong, but until you've encountered great literature, I don't think you have the right or the wherewithal to gainsay it. To make the statements you did above merely identifies your ignorance.

[Shehzad]

While Romeo & Juliet, The Tempest etc are cool, to truly see the extent of his craft you have to read his histories or better still his four great tragedies: Macbeth, Hamlet, King Lear or Othello. Oh and try to have a dictionary handy.

[Eventine]

some I thought were just plain stupid (Romeo and Juliet).


Please explain? Was it the ending you didn't like? The concept? What??? (I'll bet you're one of those people who hated Unbreakable because of the ending as well).

Shakespeare tells great stories, which is what all the hype is about. Some people tend to get put off by the language however, which has changed quite a bit over the hundreds of years since it was written. Which begs an interesting question: what will the english language look like in 500 years time?

Anyway, I have a special liking for A Midsummer Nights Dream (I grew up in a place called Oberon, and once got to see it performed by the Royal Shakespeare Theatre Company)
The Merchant of Venice and King Lear are pretty cool too.

[Billy]

I studied Othello last year, and I feel I must ask one question. Why did Desdemona die? I know she had to to make it a tragedy, and I know I'm not a doctor, but what killed her. Othello suffocated her, but she was still alive after he stopped, and if she had the breath to talk, she surely could have just carried on breathing. I know it's not strictly to the point, but it's something that bugs me.

[Shehzad]

Now while I am a doctor, my knowledge of forensics is fairly limited. From what you are saying if she had the breath to speak she shouldn't have died.

Hmmm... maybe I can make a thory that would satisfy you. Here goes: prolonged hypoxia led to lactic acidosis and rhabdomyolysis which then caused a profound metabolic acidosis possibly leaning to acute tubular necrosis and cerebral hypoxia. Understand?

Just enjoy the play for pete's sake!!

[This message has been edited by Shehzad (edited December 14, 2001).]

[SusF]

The plot of the Tempest, well.. compare it to Gilligan's Island. They get stranded and they want to get back home. There is a strange fellow with his daughter living there already, and a monster or two to make it more interesting.

Romeo and Juliet... Well, any movie you've seen or sitcom that has parents not letting the daughter see a guy... can find it's roots in Romeo and Juliet.

In 10th grade we were reading R & J and then we had a substitute for two days. That substitute somehow made that play come to life for me. I have loved Shakespeare's works ever since.

Susan

[Aylis]

SusF: I have watched the play for The Tempest and I found it interesting. (we watched it after reading it) I agree, watching the play is much better than just reading it...somehow the way the talk makes more sense when they say it out loud...After reading your last post, were his plays extremely original, plotwise?

Penumbra: I read things for their language and for the story. For me, it's hard to understand Shakespeare, and that only takes away from the story. As for the stories, I have heard Othello was a good play and I liked Much Ado About Nothing when I saw it (the movie). As I have said before, I couldn't really find a plot to The Tempest and the story of R&J just didn't work for me. The stories don't seem all that brilliant to me... I've only read Shakespeare when it was required reading and yes, we did go over it in much detail, but the only discussion lay in what was happening, partially because the language was hard to understand.

When you say "expressions of a master," are you refering to his writing style? Because yes, I admit he's pretty brilliant to be able to write all those plays in iambic pentameter with rhymes and stuff, but according to my english teachers, he made up words and rearranged words so that they would work with the rhythm and rhymes he was using. So then it seems to me as if he defied rules of grammar to make things work for him (I'm fine with the made up words because they are an influence to our language today since we use many of them all the time). Maybe my reasoning is faulty, but I can't see why people praise him for the way he writes when they criticize others for using faulty grammar.

Eventine: Romeo and Juliet just wasn't interesting for me. I'm fine with the family feud. It was the romance part that bothered me. I don't like romance but that wasn't my main reason for disliking the 'romance' in the play. It just wasn't realistic enough for me. Stories with the whole love at first sight deal just bug the heck out of me because I don't believe in it. In my opinion, there can be lust at first sight, but not love because you don't even know the person, although it could be possible now with the internet, but this is before computers...The ending bothered me too. Maybe it's just me, but is it really worth it to kill yourself just because your 'true love' died?? Oh yeah, I liked Unbreakable and I really like the ending, although the movie was kind of weird. I liked it even more after my friend told me about the movie's parallels with comic books...

[Penumbra]

Aylis: I believe Shakespeare would say:
"Methinks I am besieged by multitudinous inanity!" Well, not to worry. You still have the Simpsons.