Shakespeare or Shake$h1t

Kenshi

Ok. I am just wondering does anybody who read him actually like him. I hate King Lear. It's just a pile of crap. Does anyone enjoy stuff like this? I really cannot get anything from Shakespeare or understand it. It's just no imagination at all.

Tusky

No imagination in Shakespeare ? Dear god what an ignorant comment. The man is a genius.

utopian

Kenshi wrote:

Ok. I am just wondering does anybody who read him actually like him. I hate King Lear. It's just a pile of crap. Does anyone enjoy stuff like this? I really cannot get anything from Shakespeare or understand it. It's just no imagination at all.

Ok. Yes. Really? You think so? Yes. Really? Excuse me??

Why not try reading something else? "Measure for Measure" has a nice modern feel to it.

cashback

Kenshi wrote:

It's just no imagination at all.

Could it be you think that because he's influenced almost everything that's come after him? He was the one with the imagination don't forget. Chaucer too.

Tar.Aldarion

OP if you can't understand it you can't like it.
but anyway i'm not much of a fan either..at the time he was great compared to 'competition' but i have read all his plays and find most of them a bit crap.this however is because they are not aimed at somebody nowadays but back then something like romeo and juliet would have been a good/fresh story i suppose.
They are well written in some aspects though.

grimloch

I don't mind the stuff at all, from my limited experience I enjoyed it for the most part. I don't terribly like studying it in school now for a couple of reasons but it's good quality "sh1t".

OfflerCrocGod

He's very quotable but that's it really I don't he is really as great as he is hyped to be. As for imagination many of his most famous play are based on historic events or stories.

Talliesin

I love how I can come across something by Shakespeare that I've read a dozen times before over the last couple of decades and it still sings so much. Beautiful stuff. I could just about live with not reading anything else as long as I had some Shakespeare to read.

Tar.Aldarion

ya i have read of the origins of them.

angeldelight

I've only read 2 of his plays so far - The Merchant of Venice (Junior Cert) and Macbeth (Leaving Cert) and I loved both. I just found Macbeth enthralling and ended up reading on ahead of the class cause I had to see how the witches prophecies would be fulfilled etc. Went to see a production of it and loved that too, would go back in the morning! I've just bought Twelfth Night and am going to read it and see. Also want to read the original Romeo and Juliet as I've seen adaptations of it

Kenshi

Tusky wrote:

No imagination in Shakespeare ? Dear god what an ignorant comment. The man is a genius.

No ignorance intended. I just can't stand it. I've only read King Lear and it's put me off Shakespeare for life. Is this a bad play to start with?

Tusky

Have yea any idea how many phrases that we use in every day life that he created ? There are 100's. For example, 'I didnt get a wink of sleep last night'.

nesf

Shakespeare was a genius and a huge influence on the English Language and developments in poetry and plays.

He captured the human spirit in his works so well that even today when they are read many hundreds of years on by people of a different culture and world they still read true and the characters are alive and human.

That's no mean achievement by any means.


It's very rewarding to get into the background behind the plays actually. For me my first meeting with him was with Julius Caesar in Junior Cert. I had an excellent teacher who brought us in extracts/discussions of the original histories that the play is based off of. (Polonius I think, although this was a very long time ago, 8/9 years)

dudara

Shakespeare was the tabloid playwright of his day, for lack of better words. He wrote vast amounts of plays, based on standard stories which were then shown to commoners and lords alike. He was talented, but no more so than Bacon or Chaucer. He just happens to be the playwright from whom the most work survived.

Personally, I enjoy Shakespeare, I love Hamlet, but I don't think that he was a genius. He was just someone with a very handy turn of phrase. As a previous poster said, lots of our modern sayings stem from Shakespeare. What I did find fascinating, while reading Shakespeare is how he wrote about things and emotions that are still relevant today.

theCzar

I'm not a fan of shakespeare, while his characters emotions are timeless (e.g. Human ones of greed/vengence/love/mercy/redemption etc...), some of his stories are a bit pants. I thought King Lear was rubbish.

Earthhorse

Kenshi, you might consider going to a production of one his plays rather than trying the reading route. Remember plays are written to be performed in the first instance, not studied or even read: that's something that comes after. I don't know King Lear myself but imagine that it is not an easy one to start with.

Shakespeare's language can be quite dense and the imagery often so intricate that it is difficult to dissemble at first. It's tough stuff, but it's worth it.

If you don't like theatre then consider picking up a copy of his sonnets. They're a good jump off point and equally as rewarding to read.

Remember what Shaw said about Shakespeare though, that he was a, "discoverer of words rather than ideas." Don't go to his plays expecting great plots or even interesting characters a lot of the time. Do expect some of the greatest and most poetic language ever committed to the page to greet you.

Chinafoot

Earthhorse wrote:

Kenshi, you might consider going to a production of one his plays rather than trying the reading route. Remember plays are written to be performed in the first instance, not studied or even read: that's something that comes after. I don't know King Lear myself but imagine that it is not an easy one to start with.

Yea i'd definitely agree with this. I'm currently doing a BA in english and history and Shakespeare is quite a large part of the course. I was having some difficulty with The Tempest last year and I managed to get my hands on a performance of the play. Seeing a play performed puts it in a whole new light and you can understand a great deal more.

Personally i was never a big fan of Shakespeare. I found the sonnets dull and repetitive and i found the plays boring. However, once i got to college i saw his work in a new light and came to appreciate the language and imagery.

King Lear wouldnt be one i'd recommend to start off with, try Romeo and Juliet, or Hamlet.

DublinWriter

Tyndall, the orignal translator of the English bible was a bigger influence on the English language, he invented phrases such as 'the balance of power', 'my brother's keeper', and many dozens more. Sadly he's been almost totally neglected by history.

However, Shakespear did 'standardise' the English language. During his time there were around 6 dialetic versions of 'English' in use in England, all of which were almost foreign languages to each other. People from London would have not been able to speak with people from as nearby as say, Bristol.

Kenshi

Ok alot of you argue that he is good because he portrays emotions that are still relelvant today. Well somedy said the were "his emotions". The emotions of people in the majority of literature are timeless. I have seen a production of the play King Lear. I didn't like it to much but what I got from it was a better understanding. Although the characters were speaking shakespeare it is much easier to comprehend. Anyone agree?