Tuesday 22 April 2014

S... is for Shakespeare

Tomorrow is Shakespeare's birthday. I have read a lot of him in school, most notably Julius Caesar and Tempest. This time, I'm having to read Hamlet and A Midsummer Night's Dream. He was the reason I learnt to read plays, and his plays were the reason I learnt to like them. During my UK stay, I didn't get a chance to visit Stratford, unfortunately, but someday. I did go to the RSC-managed Shakespeare's Globe, built to replicate the original building at the original site. I took a guided tour and highly recommend it for the next time you're in London!
I do like the way he writes. While some of his themes are most definitely outdated and bizarre, I really enjoy the dialogues. The plotting and planning, the soliloquies, the proclamation of love - all of them, I find them entertaining and well written. Having said that, I think it is important for one to be initially 'taught' how to read Shakespeare, and then left on one's own to figure out the rest of his vast body of work. I would think it rather difficult to truly understand and enjoy his works if I weren't taught it. Anyway, Happy Birthday to him. He has already achieved immortality through his works...
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This is the nineteenth post for the April A-to-Z Blogging Challenge 2014.
Previously, Archaism, British literature, Critical Analysis, Drama, Edinburgh, Faust, Gothic Fiction, Humour, Interpretation, Journalling, Keats, Language, Metaphysical Poetry, Narration, Ode, Papillion(ed), Quatrain, Romanticism

2 comments:

Tony Laplume said...

If I ever make it to London, I'll keep that in mind. At some point, I'll embark on a truly ambitious effort to read his complete works. Still working on the courage...

Udita Banerjee said...

You should! No time like the present. Get OUP annotated editions :)