Shakespeare

[Yellow Fang]

What is your opinion of William Shakespeare? I am not a fan myself.

 

[numbnuts]

I went to Stratford-upon-Avon once, but was not impressed other than that I know very little about him

 

[Glow worm]

I used to like Shakespeare's Sister

 

[tyred]

He was a genius imo.

The trouble with Shakespeare is that he is forced on you as teenager when you are too immature to appreciate his writings and this puts most people off for life. Now that I'm older and (allegedly) wiser and more mature, I appreciate his writings.

 

[Herr-B]

I'm not a fan. Rumour has it that not all of his work was his work, until someone invents a time machine we'll not know the exact truth. I've heard what tyred has written time and time again. (Not that tyred has written it time and time again, although he may have, but I've heard it said time and time again. Clear? Good.)

 

[accountantpete]

Which one do you mean?

 

[Lee_M]

I'm not a fan. Rumour has it that not all of his work was his work, until someone invents a time machine we'll not know the exact truth. I've heard what tyred has written time and time again. (Not that tyred has written it time and time again, although he may have, but I've heard it said time and time again. Clear? Good.)

by rumour i guess you mean all that rubbish written by foolish americans?

It might be considered sacrilege to say this, but if you want to see good shakespeare watch the film of kenneth branaghs henry V

 

[Yellow Fang]

Which one do you mean?

The follically challenged one with the over elaborate shirt collar.

 

[Aperitif]

I thought he wrote Opera one time...before embarking on a career as a playwright. I knew 'Our Will' was also an unsuccessful lighterman on the Avon.So unsuccessful he was known as 'no holds bard'.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

My first experience of reading Shakespeare came only five or six years ago; Romeo and Juliet. I thought it was fantastic, even reading it while enjoying a walk through the Aberfoyle countryside. Then I read Julius Caesar, what a marvellous piece of work. The passion, the brutality, the intrigue, the tragedy... it's excellent.

GC

 

[Arch]

It might be considered sacrilege to say this, but if you want to see good shakespeare watch the film of kenneth branaghs henry V

Nope, I'd agree.

I think Shakespeare suffers from stilted 'hey nonny nonny' type productions. Much better performed than read cold, too. If it's done right, then any archaic language doesn't matter, because you get the gist anyway. A well done modern dress version can be brilliant.

As for the originality, of course not all the subjects are his original idea, frankly there are only so many combinations of "girl meets boy, it's complicated" you can have, so there's bound to be some borrowing of plots etc.

 

[tyred]

Fact is, a stage play, whether by Shakespeare or anyone else was never meant to be read like a novel. It's to be interpreted by a director and performed by actors so will alway be difficult to get meaning from on a casual read.

To see Shakespeare in live theatre is well worth doing.

His sonnets and other assorted poetry can be read and enjoyed at home.

 

[jayonabike]

What is your opinion of William Shakespeare?

Dunno, never met him.

 

[Fnaar]

I like a bit of Shaky, me.
However, I don't like modern versions, where it's set in an office, or they're all factory workers or stuff like that.

 

[Lee_M]

I like a bit of Shaky, me.
However, I don't like modern versions, where it's set in an office, or they're all factory workers or stuff like that.

saw a version of merchant of venice set in A boardroom - it worked brilliantly