I saw this question pop up at the top of my referrer logs yesterday, so I guess it’s popular, so I thought it would be fun to make a post out of it and try to answer the question. My first thought is to answer, “It’s self-fulfilling. Every exposure to Shakespeare you’ve ever had has been telling you how difficult and boring and irrelevant he is, so naturally from the moment you cracked open the book, you thought “Wow, this is difficult and boring and irrelevant.” Let me put it in perspective. My daughters, 3 and 5, understand Shakespeare. Do they understand the words, or the themes? No, of course not, that’d be silly. But if I asked one of them to recount for me the story of “the girl on the island” they’d be able to tell me that Miranda lived on the island with her daddy, who could do magic, and there was a fairy named Ariel and a monster named Caliban….and so on. My point? People start in on Shakespeare from the wrong end. They start with Act I, Scene I, line 1, word 1, and say “Hmf, I can’t understand it, I’m screwed.” They lose the forest for the trees. I say work it backwards. Learn the story, by whatever means necessary. Learn the characters, understand their feelings and motivations. And then you’ll find that the words are a bit easier to understand. How do you do that? Well, subscribe to this blog, for one :). And I’m only half joking. I could point you at “No Fear Shakespeare” and any other number of books that attempt to translate Shakespeare’s words into more readable modern English, but that’s not my point. My point is that to understand the stories you have to break it down well beyond the words and get to the characters themselves. Romeo’s a horny teenager whose girlfriend won’t give it up. Hamlet’s dad died, and he can’t stand his stepdad. King Lear wants to grow old and die in the comfort of knowing his children love him and will take care of him. There are *people* in there, people. If you’re so busy concentrating on the rhyme scheme and pronunciation of the words, you’re making it too hard for yourself. I could write all day on this subject, but I don’t have time here at work :). Maybe we can get some discussion going in the comments? Show of hands, how many people out there think that Shakespeare is hard? How many think it’s easy? Why?
Shakespeare is often made out to be more difficult than it is and that it is just words on a page, because that is they way people see it and interpret it. I will admit, that I have often times given up on Shakespeare, because I do not want to take the time to inerpret the true story and find its meaning. Shakespeare was an amazing writer, and just because we have simpler means of reading and understanding things now,does not mean we shouldn't read Shakespeare. I want to read his plays/writing and understand it and know the meaning. That is why I also think it is very important to understand the story and the characters perhaps before you read. Shakespeare created these pieces of writing for a purpose, and we should find a purpose to read them.
I agree with Nicole. You cannot overthink something , you just have to actually start reading it. Ofcourse we will all have questions, but if we read it with the intent of understanding it, then perhaps we will. If we read it, like Nicole said, for enjoyment and then tackle the language it will be much easier. Shakespeare is a challenge, Although people assume it is too hard to understand, but they just assume that and they have never really read it. With the right intentions when reading Shakespeare, perhaps the outcome will be just right.
I think Shakespeare is hard, again because we are already going into it with a bad mind set. If the reader would keep an open mind, and focus more on the story instead of getting caught up in the old English and the awkward play set up, it would be just like any other story. Just like with any other story, the reader should try to relate with the character’s emotions and put themselves into the story. The plot and characters should be the most important part of reading any story, regardless of the author. Then, after the actual story is understood by the reader, they can go back and determine how the play setting influences the meaning of the events. I agree with Bridget because it is important to use a dictionary to help you understand the parts that may use unfamiliar words, and she also brings up a good point that Shakespeare writes in a theoretical style, which also can make it confusing. But, with perseverance Shakespeare can be read just like any other story.
I think Shakespeare is hard, only because we are already going into it with a bad mind set. If the reader would keep an open mind, and focus more on the story instead of getting caught up in the old English and the awkward play set up, it would be just like any other story. Just like with any other story, the reader should try to relate with the character’s emotions and put themselves into the story. The plot and characters should be the most important part of reading any story, regardless of the author. Then, after the actual story is understood by the reader, they can go back and determine how the play setting influences the meaning of the events. I agree with Bridget because it is important to use a dictionary to help you understand the parts that may use unfamiliar words, and she also brings up a good point that Shakespeare writes in a theoretical style, which also can make it confusing. But, with perseverance Shakespeare can be read just like any other story.
I have always found Shakespeare difficult because of the phrasing that he uses. It is written in old English and in the form of a poem. Modern day poets sometimes have to use filler lines or filler words just to make it flow better, so I am sure Shakespeare did a little of the same. This makes deciphering his meaning and themes that much more difficult. I agree with Elizabeth in that seeing it as a play, which was the original intent, versus having to read it, makes it much more entertaining and easier to understand.
I have always thought Shakespeare was difficult. Then again i always did exactly what the original blog post said, I would spend too much time figuring out the complicated words and not really getting to know the characters. I think Elizabeth makes a good point that if I saw one of Shakepeares play then i would really get a better understanding of the plot and the point that Shakepeare is trying to get apart. During this reading I really thought about how i want to read the tempest. I will really get to the bottom of how the characters really are. I will also not spend all my time figuring out what all the rhyming means and all the fancy words that are associated with the difficulty of Shakespeare. Shakespeare is a common theme in school and i have been reading it for a long time. I think its about time to really understand what he is trying to say in his plays. I will not use any No Fear Shakepeare especially because we are reading as a class, and I really think I will understand it really well when we discuss.
Well, to answer the original questions..I personally think Shakespeare is difficult but like most things in life, it wont come easy unless you try. What I mean by "try" is to basically put in some extra effort to beget an understanding of Shakespeare's work, such as grasping the language used and even background information to what ever piece of work of his you are reading.
Another thing, upon reading someone elses response to the blog post , i realized its also dependent on what type of reader you are and your taste in literature. So all in all , i think Shakespeare can be disputed all day long but in the end everyone's taste in literature and capability of comprehension of such work is so different that there couldn't possibly be a clear answer to whether Shakespeare's work is difficult of easy.
This is extremely true for me. When I have come across Shakespeare it has always been from the wrong angle. The language is so hard for me, so I always check out without giving it a chance. I have always felt burdened by having to read it in class and have felt like it was to much for my brain to understand. I feel like if I think of it more as actually story and give it a chance it will have more of a connection with me. I shouldn't be scared of reading it and actually try to connect with it.
This is extremely true for me. When I have come across Shakespeare it has always been from the wrong angle. The language is so hard for me, so I always check out without giving it a chance. I have always felt burdened by having to read it in class and have felt like it was to much for my brain to understand. I feel like if I think of it more as actually story and give it a chance it will have more of a connection with me. I shouldn't be scared of reading it and actually try to connect with it.
Shakespeare to me is like reading a foreign language. It has to be broken down into a variety of ways for me to even begin to comprehend it. Once I do begin to understand it though, I can string the pieces of the puzzle together to finally interpret the message. Shakespeare's messages in his stories are still relatable to situations people encounter on a daily basis. I am usually glad I took the time to figure out what Shakespeare was saying bcause I get something out of it. Not just a story, but a life lesson.
Shakespeare to me is like reading a foreign language. It has to be broken down into a variety of ways for me to even begin to comprehend it. Once I do begin to understand it though, I can string the pieces of the puzzle together to finally interpret the message. Shakespeare's messages in his stories are still relatable to situations people encounter on a daily basis. I am usually glad I took the time to figure out what Shakespeare was saying bcause I get something out of it. Not just a story, but a life lesson.
This post really shed a lot of light on my frustrations with reading and studying Shakespeare. Before, we would start at line 1, with only background knowledge consisting of what an amazing author Shakespeare was, and the complexity of his works; so not much. Then as we would start to read the text, all the complicated language and poetic elements began to make the entire message overwhelming and hard to comprehend. I love the idea of really looking at the story before you begin to read the lines, and trying to get familiar with the characters and plot before diving in.
I agree with Dylan R, that the generational gap of language between Shakespeare and now makes it much more complicated to understand. I think that the best way to deal with that is to summarize each page after reading to make sure you get the basic idea!
Duane: We have to do this for a High School English class. Awesome assignment right?:)
Like everyone has said, I have also given up on reading Shakespeare just because i'm concentrating on the wrong thing. I get so caught up in trying to understand the language that I forget to focus on his stories as a whole. In the past, it has really helped me personally to read Shakespeare as class because we discuss the important aspects of the story. That way, the majority of the class is on the same page and we're not worrying about the little details of Shakespeare's writing that distracts us from really appreciating the meaning of his stories.
For ages Shakespeare has been hard for kids in school to understand because of the phrasing and older type of languague he uses. Students are always looking for an easy read that goes quickly and that they understand so they can get their work done for that class and thats it. Shakespeare does not offer that to students because his meaning is in an underlying message that takes time to understand. I believe that Shakespeare is difficult because that is what he wanted it to be. I think Shakespeare wanted his writing to be a challenge for people because giving the reader that type of challenge makes the reader want to look harder at the piece. When people are looking harder at pieces of writing and studying it that is when they find the true message that Shakespeare is trying to get across and i think that was his goal.
Hi Everybody! This is Duane, and I run this site. I'm quite pleased to see this old post getting so much conversation! Can I ask how that happened? Was this a class assignment of some sort of you all ended up here after googling the topic?
Thanks, Lake. I wish I'd known, I could have made you a top level area to have this discussion. Once a post gets this old and archived, I have to approve every comment (prevents spam). So you're all posting your comments 3 times because they don't show up for you until a few hours later when I get them out of the queue!
After reading this blog post, i really have a new insight on the works of Shakespeare. Before, when i would read Shakespeare, my teachers would always focus line by line on the translations of every word. Iwas never really able to focus on the over arching themes and characters so i had a hard time focusing on what was presented over a chapter or section. By being able to look at the bigger picture andbackground of the story I will now be able to understand the story instead of the words. I agree with what Lake and Dylan said in terms of language. By being able to gwt past that factor, I'm sure the story becomes much more understandable and relatable. I will be sure to do my research before reading this novel.
When it comes to reading and understanding Shakespeare, I will have to agree with what Lake has shared. While Shakespeare is and always will be a respected as one of the best all time writers, the generation gap definitely plays a large aspect. I also agree that in addition to understanding the entire story before reading it, I believe it would make it much easier to understand if a summary or recap on main point of each page were discussed. Over all I believe everyone interprets Shakespeare in different perspective, so to all be on the same page is critical.
I don't think that Shakespeare, even his language, is THAT HARD. It's unusual, maybe, but hard, I don't think so. English is not my first language, and I try hard to master it, more and more. But Shakespeare is one of the first English fiction that I read. I read Romeo and Juliet, original play, with footnotes, when I was in 10th grade. I didn't think so much of its difficulties, I thought it was very beautiful, more beautiful than any English book I had read then.
True that Shakespeare's words are sometimes very hard to understand. I don't think every word he used exists in standard dictionary. But for me personally, language is a matter of mindset. Once you put yourself into Shakespeare's "vocabulary set," everything becomes a lot easier. Words that once don't mean anything start to make sense. Many people think that Shakespeare is heavy, full of philosophy and serious stuff, but few realises that some people (like me) read Shakespeare for fun. Shakespeare was a funny guy.
That's why now I'm working on Shakespeare's Bad Translation (you can find it in my blog), that is a translation to my native language. It's "bad" because it's not professional (I'm just a fan) and because rather than focusing on doing word-to-word or poetical translation, I try to grasp and impart the essense of the dialogeue and, if possible, the emotions and the jokes in it. I hope it will change people's paradigm on Shakespeare, even if it's just a bit.
I personally find Shakespeare to be quite easy to understand. I will admit that some of the words or phrases he uses might be hard to understand. When I do not understand what Shakespeare is trying to say, I analyze the text surrounding the part that I do not understand. Once I somewhat understand the context of the scene I am able to use logic to decipher what Shakespeare is trying to say.
Some tweeted a response instead and some just wrote a paragraph. Check out #mvtempest on twitter.
Jacob H: I think that Shakespeare is very difficult. He seems creepy to me and his plays do not capture my interest. When he uses others characters lines to complete his iambic pentameter It gets confusing because I skip lines. Rearranging the words to fit the pentameter is hard to understand. There are to many weird contractions and I do not want to decipher the text. I feel that Shakespeare is lame. I dislike nothing more.
Matthew Overman: I think that Shakespeare is so hard because the language he uses we are not use to. If we lived in the time that Shakespeare did we would be able to understand it like we understand english today.
Matthew Overman – I believe that Shakespeare is so hard to read/understand because we are reading something that we aren't use to. The language he uses is understandable in his time period, but because we aren't from the age of Shakespeare the style of language is unfamilular. Making Shakespeare very difficult.
For me, I take any kind of reading in stride. Including Shakespeare. This being said, I don't find his writing to be hard, per-say. Does it require you to tune in and be more concentrated? Absolutely. But if you do that, then it can be a piece of cake. Also, reading more slowly definitely helps, so that you don't have to read the same sentence more than once. You cannot expect to just blast through it, like you would blast through "Green Eggs and Ham" and expect not to be confused. Take your time.