I don't enjoy Shakespeare

[Eddi]

Because Shakespeare was one of the greatest English language wordsmiths in history whose plays are often masterpiece commentaries brilliantly addressing significant themes.

I agree that his characters are compelling and the plots entertaining

It's just that I can't understand them which gets in the way of me liking them

If I could watch it with modern subtitles then that would be good, or read it from a parallel text

However I have a feeling that his works may be over-rated

But obviously he was very influential so I would not have it removed from the syllabus in schools

It's just that I'm not into them myself

 

[Alien826]

All the people I know who think that their cultural tastes make them superior are contemptible to me and I think deserving of a slight measure of hatred

Nothing wrong with loving Shakespeare but if people think that doing so makes them a superior being then they can sod right off

Now there's a quote worthy of Shakespeare!

"Sod right off' .... love it!

 

[Rival]

I agree that his characters are compelling and the plots entertaining

It's just that I can't understand them which gets in the way of me liking them

If I could watch it with modern subtitles then that would be good, or read it from a parallel text

However I have a feeling that his works may be over-rated

But obviously he was very influential so I would not have it removed from the syllabus in schools

It's just that I'm not into them myself

The problem is that modern secondary schools don't teach Elizabethan English properly and do a few weeks of Shakespeare that doesn't teach anyone anything. You'd really need to be immersed in this form of English for years to really appreciate it, I think. We are no longer being given a classical education that would allow us to appreciate our own literary history.

I have been reading Middle English for years and only after that time does it begin to sound normal and affect my every day speech. But I grasp the poetry better and the culture etc. than I ever did when I first started.

The education system failed us to the point that we can't do these things. It seems your anger may be directed at public school toffs who were able to learn this properly and appreciate it in ways state school students never could.

If you want to get into 16th c-17th c. literature, try Ben Johnson, Edmund Spenser and John Donne.

 

[Debater Slayer]

I don't enjoy any of Shakespeare's works

They bore me

Maybe I would like it more if was in the latest most up-to-date version of English

Why do people like his stuff so much?

I think a big factor is that we are told from an early age that it is totally ace

I hate people who think their cultural tastes make them superior to others and I think there is a lot of that going on in the Shakespeare fandom and that many people only say they like it to sound more cultured

There is an enormous pressure on people to like it and I resent that

Among many other things, he was a pioneer of theater and added a significant number of words to the English language—a testament to the error of the "you can't just make up new words!" slogan.

No one has to like him or any other author, of course. I don't see liking or disliking his work as a reason to hate anyone. Obnoxious and snobbish fandoms exist for all sorts of authors and works, from anime and manga to Shakespeare and Tolstoy.

 

[Revoltingest]

Same, mate. So dull.

I think a lot of people only pretend to like them.

Archaic stories, language, & cultural references.

 

[Revoltingest]

The problem is that modern secondary schools don't teach Elizabethan English....

That strikes me as a solution, not a problem.
Learning to appreciate ancient languages &
stories should be seen as recreational.

 

[Kathryn]

I never felt any pressure to like it. They made us watch Hamlet in an English class which I hated. What a sad and awful story. Some of the poetry of Shakespeare is accessible and fun, and he makes some funny insults. Some funnier works are Much Ado About Nothing and The Twelfth Night and The Taming of the Shrew.

I also had to watch West Side Story, another horrible story which is not Shakespeare but imitates the plot of Romeo and Juliet. Nevertheless I felt no pressure to like it. I just felt it was genuinely awful to have a play about people that stupid that they would commit suicide each following the other. Which was the point of the play, but who would ever pay to watch it? It was written another age when people would go out to see hangings and beheadings. I guess anything is better than a hanging.

I remember watching "Romeo and Juliet" and totally falling in love with Shakespeare. I also have really loved the contemporary versions of many of his works.

 

[Eddi]

The education system failed us to the point that we can't do these things

The UK education system is rubbish

It needs fixing but I'd have no idea where to begin

But that said I think the first step would be less about the education and more about re-establishing order, today many schools are simply out of control

 

[Rival]

That strikes me as a solution, not a problem.
Learning to appreciate ancient languages &
stories should be seen as recreational.

It is, but it is also study.

If you enjoy it you'll enjoy it either way.

If you don't, you won't.

 

[Revoltingest]

It is, but it is also study.

If you enjoy it you'll enjoy it either way.

If you don't, you won't.

There are many things more worthy
of study. Modern literature is more
accessible, more interesting, & doesn't
require learning obsolete language.

 

[Rival]

There are many things more worthy
of study. Modern literature is more
accessible, more interesting, & doesn't
require learning obsolete language.

But not as culturally relevant.

We owe people like Chaucer and Shakespeare for why folks like Dickens or others could write the way they did at all.

It's also more than literature; it's an education in history, language, philosophy, religion and other aspects of culture.

 

[Debater Slayer]

That strikes me as a solution, not a problem.
Learning to appreciate ancient languages &
stories should be seen as recreational.

My school curriculum included Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, and Jane Austen, among others.

For daily conversation and practical usage, I have learned more English from RF and movies than I learned from any of them.

I realize that those writers are best studied for purposes other than merely learning the language, though.

 

[SalixIncendium]

I hate people who think their cultural tastes make them superior to others and I think there is a lot of that going on in the Shakespeare fandom and that many people only say they like it to sound more cultured

A adage I found useful is “hate the behavior, not the person.”

There is an enormous pressure on people to like it and I resent that

Is there? Must be on that side of the pond, because I’ve never experienced that here.

Here there is just enormous pressure on people to like my fashion sense.

 

[Debater Slayer]

[...] my fashion sense.

No doubt a form of Shakespearean tragedy.

 

[Revoltingest]

But not as culturally relevant.

It all depends upon what portion
of a culture is to be covered in school.
I argue that Kurt Vonnegut is more
relevant than Shakespeare.

We owe people like Chaucer and Shakespeare for why folks like Dickens or others could write the way they did at all.

Many modern authors are owed too.
BTW, at least Dickens is readable without Cliff's Notes.

It's also more than literature; it's an education in history, language, philosophy, religion and other aspects of culture.

The same goes for works I consider even
more relevant. Opinions about what is
most valuable are highly subjective.

 

[Eddi]

A adage I found useful is hate the behavior, not the person.

What if the people are the source of the behaviour?

Is there? Must be on that side of the pond, because I’ve never experienced that here.

Over here Shakespeare has a monumental status and is a big part of the civic national identity

He is seen as something that can unite the nation

I acknowledge that he is a very significant historical figure who is of great importance

It's just that I am not really into his stuff

I'd even go as far as to call him a part of the establishment even though he is dead!

 

[Yerda]

Read Romeo and Juliet and Merchant of Venice as well as suffering through some of his sonnets in English class. At the same time I was being introduced to poets like Tom Leonard and Norman McCaig and discovering literature on my own. Reading Shakespeare felt like grinding before I could get back to having fun. I remembering chuckling a few times and spent most of the time reading the footnotes to see what the hell all the ye olde wordes meant.

I don't grudge people enjoying it, though. I can see the chap was clever, funny and skilled with words.

Also, how creepy is Romeo and Juliet? It's sold as this incredible love story and it's actually about a guy in his early twenties grooming a child.

 

[Rival]

What if the people are the source of the behaviour?

Over here Shakespeare has a monumental status and is a big part of the civic national identity

He is seen as something that can unite the nation

I acknowledge that he is a very significant historical figure who is of great importance

It's just that I am not really into his stuff

I'd even go as far as to call him a part of the establishment even though he is dead!

Join the club.

I can't stand the NHS but the majority of Brits say it's the number 1 thing that makes them proud to be British.

I'm a pariah for that, but hey ho!

 

[Revoltingest]

My school curriculum included Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, and Jane Austen, among others.

For daily conversation and practical usage, I have learned more English from RF and movies than I learned from any of them.

I realize that those writers are best studied for purposes other than merely learning the language, though.

Are they more important than Mark Twain,
Herman Melville, Edgar Allen Poe, Joseph
Heller, Harper Lee, etc? Are they more
important than literature from other
languages?

 

[Debater Slayer]

Over here Shakespeare has a monumental status and is a big part of the civic national identity

That seems reasonable to me. If a country is to celebrate or regard someone as a national icon or symbol, a prolific and culturally significant author seems to me to perfectly fit the bill. Such cultural figures are often a significant part of forming a notable and recognizable image for a country around the world.