Anyone Here Actually Like William Shakespeare?

Question

In my opinion,..it's absolute claptrap..!!!
Opinions please.

And thumbs down are a waste of time. This is my opinion only.
And those that answer..

Answer 1

An opinion of whether you like any author, even Shakespeare, cannot be "wrong." Saying Shakespeare wrote "The Cask of Amontillado" is wrong (that was Poe, for the answerer who ascribed that short story to Shakespeare!), but any expression of your preference is simply an opinion, and you are as welcome to yours as I to mine.

That said, I very much enjoy Shakespeare's work. (The very real question of whether he authored everything attributed to him is for another day; I will assume here he in fact did.) I think Romeo & Juliet is one of his weaker plays, and I think he engaged in some clever self-parody in "A Midsummer Night's Dream." "Othello," "MacBeth," "Hamlet," and "King Lear" are brilliant, but his use of language and his insight into human character are evident in all his plays - and in his sonnets as well. Some of his work is difficult to appreciate reading it today, and his style is not easy for today's readers (remember that his plays were written to be seen on stage first, rather than read in a textbook), but I find his work as enjoyable as I find it brilliant.

Answer 2

I'm a huge William Shakespeare fan! I have all of his plays and sonnets and history in a book that my mother was given by a friend. She's not getting the book back.
People I believe who do not like Shakespeare have this feeling because they do not understand it. It does take time and patience if it does not come natural to you to understand it.
I even have two favorite plays. My first favorite is A Midsummer's Night Dream (which I recommend if you are still a little against Shakespeare... you may change your mind with it. It's fun, creative, and has things that are not in other plays... immaginative characters... fairies, sprites, fauns, etc.) Macbeth is my other favorite. Something else that is different from others. There are witches and ghosts... though Hamlet has ghosts as well... but Hamlet is a bit of a dark play.
I'm not sure how old you are... but years ago there was a cartoon called Gargoyles... my brother loved that show when he was a kid. A lot of what is in there is based on the plays A Midsummers Night Dream and Macbeth. You may take a different interest in the plays if you see it brought with a cartoonic flare.

Answer 3

I used to find Shakespeare difficult to read and a bore. However, it needs to be taught well, and it wasn't to me. When I did finally see Shakespeare performed well it was a revelation.
You come to realise that so much of his work has entered the mainstream of western culture, that finding some pleasure in Shakespeare is unavoidable. Star Wars plot : Hamlet all over. Even Disney is not blamless - the Lion King is the same basic story. Almost every love story since Romeo and Juliet is influenced by it.
If you have read and enjoyed English, it is probably infused with Shakesperean subtleties.
Well worth looking again at Shakespeare. There's no shame in not liking his plays, but you are in a minority.

Answer 4

The whole of life is in Shakespeare. Love, hate, envy, despair, greed, prejudice, everything we recognise in human emotion he put into words.

Do you dislike him because of the flowery language? He wrote that way because theatre audiences of his day demanded it. Look beyond that to the sheer brilliance of his characters.

Polls have consistently named hamlet as the favourite play of theatre goers across the world. Not bad considering it is 400 years old and many plays have been written since.

Do you know how many other dramas have been based on his work? The Forbidden Planet was a major block busting movie of the 50s and was based on The Tempest. West Side Story was based on Romeo and Juliet. He has been translated into every language.

I'm sorry that you think he is claptrap. You are denying yourself the works of a great genius. However, your tastes are your own.

Answer 5

Yes, Shakespeare needs to be seen and heard - not read.
It's good to start with his light-hearted stuff, Midsummer Night's Dream, Comedy Of Errors, Two Gentlemen Of Verona, stuff like that.
What's really magical is to watch Shakespeare performed in the open air.

And to Erin, some of his sonnets are real hard going but if you were to hear a good actor performing 'Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?' it'd move you to tears.
So - I've gone from a sixteen-year-old who couldn't bear Shakespeare to an oldie who really loves his work.
Don't close the doors on him. Give the old boy a chance - and a bit of time.

Answer 6

Here are the two things you have to keep in mind about Shakespeare.

1: For his time, he was absolutley brilliant
2: He set the bar for what makes a great play

I really love some of his works such as a Cask of Amontilliado, Othello and the one you're not supposed to say ;).

Romeo and Julliet is classic, but it's used so frequently that it's become trite.

Answer 7

I like the style of Wm. Shakespeare. I like that because his stuff was so popular in a time when life kind of sucked for the everyday folks, it managed to last until the now. He captured stories and fables of other times, before his own and made them his own. Kind of like Tim Burton. Ageless tales made appealing once again by modernizing them and branding them with his personal style. However, I do not think the individual stories are his own. Ie: Romeo and Juliet is Tristan and Isolde. etc...

Answer 8

Actually i agree.

Also if you read the other literary snobbery stuff such as the Bronte sisters or who ever most of them are complete twaddle too!

I'm sorry but i read (on average) about 2 to 3 books a week so I'm not being thick.

I understand why they were good back then but i think they are totally irrelevant in today's world.

Sorry guys but it's just my opinion.

Answer 9

Mr/Ms Moorglade,

Actually, I like his work very much. It is interesting, occasionally funny, dabbles in all form of human activities, highlights the good and bad in his characters and shows what evolves when evil is used to gain power. Yeah, smart guy, wrote beautifully and teaches us many things. What's not to like? I will admit that I had no love affair with his works when I was studying them but I gained immense appreciation for them as time went on.

Answer 10

It's kind of a "grown up" thing. Once you are able to understand there is more to life than video games and what kind of sneakers you wear.

I hated him when I was a teen, but once I grew up, I realized how important he was.

I take it that you have never seen any of his plays. Teachers really kill his work by treat it as lit. it isn't, it's a play. You need to see it performed on stage before you can form an opinion.