Okay so this morning I got to skip school and go see a showing of Much Ado About Nothing at the local college. And it was
S O
G O O D
Here's the thing about Shakespeare. Everyone complains about him because he's boring or confusing or whatever. But when you're reading a play around a classroom in monotone, stumbling over words you can't pronounce, then yeah, anything is boring.
But when you SEE it
When you see a Shakespeare play visually with actors who know the lines and convey the story physically
It's amazing!
Because that's what Shakespeare is supposed to be. He's not a novelist! He's a playwright! In the show I went to, 50% of the story was done visually with stage blocking and body language. I'm not kidding, they added stuff that isn't in the script at all (because Shakespeare never wrote down his stage directions) without adding or changing the actual words. They made an entire character blind without changing the actual script. And it worked.
So the point is, the way schools teach Shakespeare is ineffective. They should show it visually, at least a movie if not a recording of a stage production. They should teach what the words mean and what the emotion is and how to read the language. But they don't.
Still, the next time you're suffering through an English class involving Shakespeare, just remember:
Shakespeare is considered a genius for many reasons. One of them is that he wrote amazing plays. Not books, not scripts, plays. So the story you're reading can be appreciated. It is possible.
Also, if you ever get a chance to go watch a local Shakespeare play, take it! Even if you don't understand a word they're saying, seeing it visually will make it make sense. And people do all sorts of things with shows - we did a dystopian superhero version of Julius Caesar and it was awesome.
So just
Keep that in mind
