Did Shakespeare write Shakespeare? To be honest, I don’t particularly care. That’s not what this post is about. Rather, this post is about being a reader of the plays and poems attributed to the man.
English, as a subject, was not readily taught in schools at the beginning of the American educational system. In higher education, men were taught the classic languages-greek and latin mostly. The expectation was that these students would be able to memorize large amounts of information, and would one day be fit for public office. Until the 1800’s, Shakespeare was considered appropriate for pleasure reading and the theater, but not for study. For many reasons, over time, this mentality shifted.
My first introduction to Shakespeare came in 1994. I was three years old. Given, I didn’t know it was Shakespeare until I was much older. But for those of you who say that The Lion King doesn’t count as Shakespeare (it totally does), I read my first abridged play in 8th grade and my first non-abridged my freshman year of High School. Can I just tell you, I absolutely hated it. Like LOATHED Shakespeare. He used words that I didn’t understand, and iambic pentameter was confusing. I couldn’t understand why people thought he was this amazing playwright.
I held onto this belief until my first year of college. Between my first and second year I participated in a short-term study abroad in England. I wasn’t planning on going to England, I wanted to learn about World War II in Prague, Czechia. But since most people weren’t history geeks like me, Prague got canceled and I decided I wanted to visit England regardless of the class that was being taught. So that’s how I got roped into watching 11 plays in 13 days.
It was in these 11 plays that my opinion of Shakespeare drastically changed. Before we left for England, we had to read 4 plays-As You Like It, The Tempest, Much Ado About Nothing, and Winters Tale. I diligently read all 4, attempting to figure out the plot while muddling my way through college level analysis. When I tell you I failed miserably, that is an understatement.
But then I got to London and everything changed…
OK, not really. There’s way more to it than that.
I am going to use one play as a perfect example of this-As You Like It. Basic plot: two girls run away into the forest for reasons, one dressed as a man. They meet the love interest of the one dressed as a man, but he doesn’t recognize her. Shenanigans ensue. Girl loses her disguise and they fall in love. The End.
The first time I read this play, I hated it with a passion. I couldn’t get passed the idea that Orlando didn’t recognize Rosalind. To me, Orlando was an idiot, and I couldn’t become invested in the story because of that. Trust me, if you have read it, you will agree with me.
Then, I saw the play before I left for England. Hated it. Then, I saw the play in Stratford-Upon-Avon. Hated it. THEN, I saw the play at the Globe Theater and I fell in love. As You Like It was crass and bawdy. Orlando was sarcastic AF and Rosalind was a strong woman. I couldn’t stop laughing. I didn’t want it to end. THIS is how Shakespeare was meant to be.
Once I had that experience with Shakespeare, there was no turning back. Later on in college, I actually took another Shakespeare class just for ha-has. When I read Shakespeare before, I was afraid of it. I thought it was written for people smarter than me. Now when I read Shakespeare, I look for the jokes. I look for the political commentary. I look for the wordplay. When Shakespeare was written, it was written to be entertainment, not highbrow literature.
So that was a super duper long way of saying Shakespeare is actually fun. But also, Shakespeare was never designed to be read. It was meant to be watched. When taking Shakespeare at school, I found that listening to the audio while reading was actually super helpful. Sites like LibriVox allowed me to hear different speakers for different characters.
But the Ah-Ha moment for me was watching a fantastic documentary which included a bit from Ben Crystal discussing original pronunciation, or “OP”. This sealed the deal for me. I will never be able to look at Shakespeare the same way.
So to answer the larger question…to be or not to be a reader of Shakespeare. I say yes. You should be a reader of Shakespeare. But not because Shakespeare will make you smarter, or because Shakespeare is fancy. But rather, you should read Shakespeare because it is truly entertaining.
Jenn V. Reads 