About William Shakespeare
Learning about William Shakespeare has been a fascinating process for me. Ever since reading William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet in 8th grade, I have been fascinated by the man. For a long time, I wasn’t interested so much in facts about William Shakespeare as I was in his plays. I read basically every Shakespeare play I could get hold of, although I did not understand all of the lines. I read King Lear, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, and Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream. The latter was my favorite. It was humorous, lighthearted, and just as enjoyable.
I think that I learned the most about William Shakespeare simply by watching his plays. I got a Shakespeare DVD a week ago, and it includes several different productions. I’ve been watching it nonstop since I got it. My favorite way to watch the plays, however, is to see them live. Although there aren’t a lot of theater companies around where I live, occasionally there is a Shakespeare festival up north. I will go there with some friends or my parents to see a few plays now and then. It is always the highlight of my month. There’s nothing quite like seeing Hamlet put on by professional theater. It is really exciting to see the characters come to life so vividly.
Sometimes, I do learn a little more about William Shakespeare plays simply by reading them. There are certain nuances in the language that are difficult to absorb while you’re watching a live Shakespeare production. Everything goes fast and the language is so difficult sometimes it takes all you have just to get the main points. But reading Shakespeares plays gives you a little bit more luxury. You can really take it all in at your own pace, not worrying so much about keeping up with is going on. This can also enhance you play viewing experience, since you will already know what is going on and be able to concentrate more on the interpretations than on understanding the story itself.
Lately, I’ve been focusing more on learning about William Shakespeare and the life he lead. I’ve always been fascinated by how Shakespeare’s writing works on a few levels. There is a main story and then there is a sort of subordinates story meant for popular entertainment. I learned recently that this is no coincidence. Apparently, the comic relief characters are meant for the hoi polloi. The masses of Victorian England who came in would be less concerned with the main story than they would with the antics of minor characters. That is why these little people would be put in comic relief. Meanwhile, the Royal courtesans watching the play could concentrate on the epic struggles of the rulers of the land. One of the best things About William Shakespeare is that there was something for everyone.