Shakespeare

[mmmcannibalism]

sorry if this is in wrong place I didnt see a more appropriate location.

 

 

 

Just thought I would make a thread to discuss the collective works of Shakespeare, or personal opinions about him or any of his works.

 

 

 

So I guess ill start off. I think Shakespeare is overrated in some sense, he is undeniably a good writer but the way he is regarded as amazing by so many people I find a largely exaggerated position. Again, not saying anything Shakespeare has written is not good writing, but I find is themes to be very topical and no deep meaning in his works.

[tryto]

I can stand two of his plays- Hamlet and The Tempest. The Tempest is far better, and it's the only one of his plays I've bothered to buy. I'll agree with your assessment of his overatedness.

[ElkNight]

My 8th grade teacher was in love with him.

[Wongtong]

He's a little hard to understand (because I'm stupid) but if it's translated into modern english or if someone explains what's happening, he's a good writer.

[Dax]

Boring to learn about, some of his stuff sucks, but sure, he was a good writer.

[l0rd]

I haven't read any Shakespeare I hadn't liked.

[Ouchy]

I don't like Shakespeare really, and I do think he is over rated, and that there are other Play Writers out there that deserve recognition. Pity though, it's in nearly all school's cirriculum.

[nickeley102]

Like Freud, he is revolutionary though he may be outdated. Their contribution to their fields is undeniable and almost forced a paradigm shift. I like him :D

[blushenka]

Oh God why.

[jemathonical]

Shakespeare = Analytical Essays.

[Will H]

I would have probably appreciated Shakespeare more if I wasn't forced to write analytical essays like Jem. It just wrecks them. :|

 

 

 

Must admit though, he was a genius. :)

[pryomancer]

MacBeth is my favourite play of his, I can still remember the scene with the Witches I had to perform like 3 years ago for Drama.

 

 

 

A sailor's wife had chestnuts in her lap,

 

And munch'd and munch'd and munch'd,

 

'Give me' quoth I,

 

'Aroint thee, witch!' the rump-fed ronyon cries,

 

Her husband's to Aleppo gone,

 

Master of the Tiger,

 

And in a sieve I'll thither sail,

 

And like a rat without a tail,

 

I'll do, I'll do, and I'll do.

 

 

 

Etc.

[megakiller32]

I'm studying Macbeth right now at school. Yes he's creative, yes he's technically a genius, but he's so [bleep]ing boring I want to drive a rusky spoke through my forehead.

 

I don't care about Odin's Raven's subplot! The language makes me want to commit suicide.

 

I don't see how studying Shakespeare will help me in later life, unless I'm an English Teacher or Shakespearian Analyser. And quite frankly, neither of those two will happen.

[RichieMcD]

When translated into modern English I think some of his stuff is great, but in it's natural formant I find it boring and confusing. I do agree though that he is overrated, I think most of his praise is due to the time he lived in, nowadays I think he'd be good but not considered the greatest writer of all time.

[Star.]

Shakespeare only lives through school. Whoever thought trying to teach Macbeth in year 8 was a good idea was wrong, I think that killed Shakespeare for me.

[Seraphi]

bloody observant reading essays.

[Zonorhc]

As a future English teacher, I believe I am in a position to say that Shakespeare is a blight upon the academic world.

 

 

 

People are far too given to overanalysis in the proximity of Shakespeare. If I hear about one more twit trying to force a Marxist or feminist reading onto Macbeth, I will remove their spinal column with my teeth.

[dragoonson]

I genuinely laughed at Henry V,so I guess he's not bad.The play on French/English words is pretty good,I never thought of those.

 

 

 

And yeah I always disliked books given to me for literature reviews.I mean come one,Bridge to Terabithia?Geez.

[ThurinEthir]

For some reason, I find him similar to Tolkien. Or Tolkien similar to Shakespeare.

 

My teacher this year is assigning us four Shakespeares, and all we're doing is reading them. (And he provides page-by-page summaries) I must say, this is a lot better than what I've been forced to do in the past...

[Lateralus]

I never had to do Shakespeare at school, which could explain why I don't hate him. I think he's fantastic. The Merchant of Venice is probably my favourite of his plays.

[mmmcannibalism]

As a future English teacher, I believe I am in a position to say that Shakespeare is a blight upon the academic world.

 

 

 

People are far too given to overanalysis in the proximity of Shakespeare. If I hear about one more twit trying to force a Marxist or feminist reading onto Macbeth, I will remove their spinal column with my teeth.

 

 

 

and I will watch like this :o :shock: :| :oops: ;) :D :twisted:

 

 

 

on topic, I thought macbeth was a pretty good piece of work, but the theme was such a simplistic story of how unbridled ambition is bad. Theres not much to analyze there, its like reading a book on nazi germany and saying what was bad about hitler. Romeo and Juliet I hate with a passion for the sheer stupidity of every single character. Seriously, noone commits suicide that quickly regardless of what they just saw. My 9th grade english teacher full explained romeo and juliet thought so she explained all the adult humor which was funny.

[dragoonson]

Romeo and Julliet wasn't good but not for why you state.My mind just rejects romance stories.

 

 

 

I thought Julius Caesar was pretty good,but I've not read the parts involving Octa-something.I haven't bothered to finish it,after "Et tu,Brutus?"

[Lenin64]

The Tragedy of Julius Caesar was decent enough. I liked how it was really more about Brutus than Caesar despite the name. I don't even remember much about Romeo and Juliet besides a basic summary of events, and I haven't read anything else.

[assassin_696]

Shakespeare was an unparalelled genius. When I read him I'm frequently stunned by the brilliance of his writing. I only really studied Macbeth and Romeo & Juliet at school. I preferred Romeo & Juliet but then we probably did it in more detail. I've also read Hamlet, and seen productions of The Tempest, Twelfth Night and The Merchant of Venice.

 

 

 

I think it's perhaps a shame that he's often forced on school children who are then put off him for life. His plays were meant to be performed. Yes they're interesting to study but there's no substitute to seeing them live. His influence on the English language can never be exaggerated.

[1_man_army]

I read the Merchant of Venice when I was in high school and quite enjoyed it. I don't understand much of the old fashioned language, if it wasn't for that I'd read more. It's interesting that people say the plays are boring when in fact, many of the play's plots are quite extreme and exciting.

 

 

 

A lot of my knowledge of Shakespeare comes from the various film adaptations of his work as they tend to reduce some of the old fashioned language which makes them a bit more accessible for me. I like Akira Kurosawa's films and some of them are basically retellings of Sharespeare's plays but set in Japan (Throne of Blood is like MacBeth & Ran is a bit like King Lear for example).