Understanding Shakespeare

The Poetry

      First, I'd like to clarify something. No matter what anyone tells you, that is not just how they talked back then. Though Shakespeare lived 400 years ago, he wrote in modern English. But, then why is it so hard to read? Shakespeare wrote his plays in verse (in poetry). Of course, not all of it is poetry (Much Ado about Nothing is actually written in a lot of prose, which, if you don't know, is just anything that's not poetry) but a good bit of his plays are.

     And poetry is all about imagery. Showing, not telling. For example, in Hamlet, his mother says, "cast thy nighted colour off." Instead, she could've said "stop wearing black," but the first version is so much more visual. You can see Hamlet casting/throwing his nighted (the color of night; black) clothes away. Also, a lot is left to assumption in poetry. By informing the audience that Hamlet is wearing black, it tells us he's mourning. People wear black when they mourn. By telling Hamlet to shed his his mourning clothes, Gertrude is also telling him to move on.

       Poetry also involves a lot of metaphors and similes (comparisons). These are just fancy ways of giving more images and are effective at getting a point across. One of my favorite Shakespearean metaphors is said by Romeo after he first sees Juliet: "She hangs upon the cheek of night like a diamond in an etheop's ear." (I'm going by memory with that one, but I'm pretty sure I got it right).

     An etheop, a person from Ethiopia, has dark skin (the cheek of night. Night is black.) And Juliet is a diamond earring resting against the etheop's cheek. What a great image! And how flattering!  She's a bright sparkly diamond against a dark cheek. This is why Shakespeare is Shakespeare!  He could have made Romeo say, "she's hot." But instead we get this beautiful metaphor. (Before this quote, when Romeo first lays eyes on her he says, "Oh she doth teach the torches to burn bright." She's so bright, she teaches the torches to shine like her. Even though Romeo is a big dope, you gotta give it to him. He can sure flatter a girl.)