Shakespeare

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There are so many people I've met, even English majors, who say that they don't like Shakespeare or have a difficult time understanding it. I've never really had that problem. In fact, I find reading Shakespeare fun because it's almost like cracking a code of puns and connotations to get at the deeper meaning.

Anyone else have an easy/fun time with Shakespeare and not get what the big deal is?

Or, if you do have problems with Shakespeare, what would you say the most challenging part is?

I love the bard. I've been reading his works repeatedly ever since elementary school. Never really had a problem understanding him, even at a young age. And we agree, his puns and double meanings and cross-references are truly enjoyable to me.

I love Shakespeare. As soon as I get my current book finished, I'm going to start reading his works.

Me. I like "Romeo And Juliet" and I hear that his other works are good. There is one in particular (I can't think of the name) which is said to be very funny.

The only way I can read, understand, and enjoy a work by Shakespeare is if I'm reading it with a class and there's a teacher present to guide us along the way, telling us what's going on.

If I were to even attempt to read a work by Shakespeare I'd probably be lost on the first page. It's not just his use of symbols and metaphors, it's the fact that it's all written in an archaic form of English.

I remember reading Romeo and Juliet in 9th grade English and Julius Caesar in 10th grade English. I really enjoyed R&J, particularly because the teacher let us read aloud individual roles. I read for the part of Friar Laurence.

I love it!

I love old Elizabethan English and remnants of old declension system.

I didn't have any problems understanding the plays I looked at, but I did find them very boring.

I had taken a required Shakespeare class in college, lo many years ago. At first, I could barely make heads or tales out of his stuff, because the language was just so archaic. But you know, as time progressed, comprehension came much more easily for me. I went away loving the bard, appreciating him for his unique contribution to the English language. My favorite Shakespeare play is without a doubt Othello. Iago is just about the greatest villain of all time - hundreds of years before the advent of psychology, Shakespeare was able to describe the mind and motives of a psychopath.

-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer

I love him utterly. My favorite is Twelfth Night, but I also love the Pyramus and Thisby play in A Midsummer Night's Dream.

There's a reason they called him the bard....

I used to have a really hard time with Shakespeare. Even if it were assigned in school, I could never get past the first paragraph.

I also used to think every English speaking person in his time period spoke like that. I've since learned that simply isn't true. He did actually influence the way many, but not all, people spoke after he published his works.

Thing is, I also hated most poetry for a long time. I still don't like a lot of it, but one thing did influence my opinion of Shakespeare.

Believe it or not, it was the incredibly corny production of the movie "Romeo and Juliet," starring Leonardo DiCaprio. Set in L.A. but all dialogue taken directly from the original work, somehow, as corny as it was, it helped me begin to appreciate his style for the first time.

Later, I watched the movie "Much Ado About Nothing" with Kenneth Branagh, and laughed so hard I had to admit I was finally "getting" Shakespeare's language and humor.

I do find him a bit "stuffy" though, but that's probably to be expected considering that he essentially wrote for royalty, so the attitude was probably expected.

I love Shakespeare. As far as I'm concerned, someone who is an English major and doesn't understand Shakespeare is doing the wrong degree.

I prefer performing his plays to reading them.

having read a bio or two, yeah, they are full of contemporary puns that don't 'age' well. As for the 'stuffy', the plays were written for royalty and rich folks, so that was what the audience wanted. That being said, they're full of dirty jokes and situations, so the normal folks of the time could read them as well.

I love Shakespeare, always have. I was lucky to see some plays performed when I was young, before having to study him in school, so for me Shakespeare has always been about entertainment. I loved any kind of theatre that I saw as a kid.

People complain about the language and things being archaic but that's where the enjoyment is - as you say, it's a puzzle. The more you learn about how the words evolved, and he many layers of meaning, the secrets hidden in the uses he makes of verse (to direct the actors and so on), and the more different versions I see of the same plays, the more interesting (and thus enjoyable) it gets. Shakespeare can be a perfect subject for obsession because there's just no end to the new surprises you can find in it. Language itself is a fascinating puzzle, especially English, which has changed so much and has incorporated so many other languages over the centuries.

I was an English major and can't imagine how anyone could be an English major without loving the language, and if you find the language fascinating, then how can you not enjoy all Shakespeare has to offer?

I recall reading Romeo & Juliet in 9th grade English. The teacher and the whole class (including myself) found it very enjoyable. Since I'm now developing an interest in English literature of centuries past, I'm considering taking up his works again, this time for my own amusement.