If you’ve ever taken an English class, chances are that you’ve had to read Shakespeare.
If hearing that brings bad memories, then I’m sorry. I feel like Shakespeare gets a lot of criticism because the language is hard to understand. Or perhaps you are bored to tears and you hate that you have to study it. Maybe you had a bad teacher, or your mark dropped because you did bad on a quiz on a Shakespearean play. You may ask, what’s the point in reading the stories of a guy who’s been dead for 400 years? And you’ve probably uttered the words “I hate Shakespeare!”
It’s understandable. However, I want to share my thoughts on how you might be approaching Shakespeare from the wrong angle.
Plays are meant to be watched, not read.
The biggest offender in my eyes is the fact that Shakespeare is often only approached through reading. It’s not the full experience. Even if you have a vivid imagination, it can be difficult to picture everything that is happening. That’s what makes it harder to understand and less enjoyable. What is the tone of their voices? What do the settings and costumes look like? What makes this play compelling? Watching the play can help to answer some of these questions.
I still recommend reading the play, but it should be combined with actually getting to watch a performance of the play. That can be a film adaptation or even better, a live performance. In fact, Shakespeare in the Bow is doing performances of Hamlet all throughout the summer in Calgary. The 90-minute performances are at Prince’s Island Park and they’re free. They just ask that you pay what you can and I think the whole crew deserves it for all of their hard work. For more information, please check out their website!
Here is a section of the fencing match between Hamlet and Laertes (Act 5, Scene 2, for those who are familiar with the play).
https://youtu.be/PUDo9abZvJQ
You might have noticed that Hamlet and Laertes are being played by females, even though the original characters are male. Actually, all of the younger characters in this interpretation of the play are portrayed with a different gender. I find this really fascinating.
According to director Kate Newby:
“In our world of Hamlet, the traditional world of the older generation clashes with the ideals of youth. We have represented the conflict between generations literally in this production by contrasting the traditional gender roles of the older generation with the gender-blind world of the younger generation. This visually supports the themes raised about identity in relation to power and social constructs in a hegemonic patriarchy.” – From the Play Guide
Shakespeare presents universal themes.
The purpose of art and literature is, and has always been, to hold a mirror up to nature. That is, art and literature is a reflection of the world around us and of human nature. Shakespeare is no different. A big reason of why Shakespeare endures to this day is because of the universal questions that he explores through his plays. How does love affect us? How about ambition? What is the meaning of life and death? We have grappled with these tough questions for millennia and we are still trying to find the answers.
This universal quality of Shakespeare’s works also lends itself to endless interpretation. It is a benefit that Shakespeare uses few stage directions because that allows directors to use their own imagination about how the play will look like. As seen with Kate Newby’s interpretation, the genders of the characters can be fluid. After all, the characters face problems that all humans face – it is not bound to a specific time period, setting or gender.
This is also a benefit to someone who is looking to enjoy Shakespeare. There are now so many different formats and interpretations of Shakespeare that it’s easy to find a version that you will understand and enjoy. If I was an English teacher, I’m all for students using resources like Sparknotes to supplement their comprehension – they have line-by-line translations of Shakespeare into modern English. It removes some of the poetic quality of Shakespeare’s original writing, but it allows for a much better understanding.
There is even Shakespeare told through text messages and emojis:
There is also an amazing channel called Thug Notes which analyzes Shakespeare (and a lot of other literature) in a way that I feel like many youth would find entertaining. Here’s their analysis of Hamlet (caution – explicit language):
Shakespeare has written about a lot of different topics – you have to find one that interests you.
I think that it’s a shame that high school students will at most, only study 3 of Shakespeare’s plays. You have the the tragedy of the star-crossed lovers in Romeo and Juliet, the bloody ambition of Macbeth, and the introspective Hamlet. You will probably read these three plays and it is likely that there will be people who hate all of them just because they don’t like the content. The real tragedy is that there’s so many other plays out there that you might love, but you just haven’t gotten the chance to read.
He’s written 38 plays that include tragedies, comedies, romances and historical plays. It’s my hope that you are able to find one that catches your attention and read it or watch it at your own leisure. Sometimes studying it in class and having your grade at stake detracts from the actual enjoyment of Shakespeare.
At the end of the day, you can still hate him and I can’t change that. I personally view him as a fantastic writer, full of wit and wisdom. He has left a lasting legacy in our culture and we still use his sayings: “To be or not to be”, “life’s but a walking shadow”, “to thine own self be true” just to name a few. However, all of this doesn’t mean you have to like him.
There is a lot of other great literature out there and I hope you find one that you can really connect with. That’s what really matters.
