It is better to say things out loud than keep them inside

[esmenet]

I am in no way an expert on Shakespeare. I have watched perhaps five of his plays, and read another one or two. I have read an excellent book on them (which, sadly, I cannot at present recall the title of). But here is my opinion, which I for some reason feel the need to share.

I don't think they deserve all the acclaim they have been given.

Not half of it. They are not bad, aside from the standard issues (sexism, racism, ableism, etc) of the period; they are well-phrased, though by no means as well as any number of things I could link you to given half an hour's notice; they are fairly entertaining, but not overly so.

They do not move me as I must assume -- given the amount of passionate discussion I have seen -- they move other people. Not as  春雨 or Adonai or The Journey West or they shall have stars at elbow and foot  or Orhan Pamuk's books do. Perhaps this is because I am so used to novels and the closeness they give to the story and the character; plays are more distant, and I am still unused to that. Perhaps this is because I am so thoroughly modern and not good at dealing with things that aren't. Maybe I'm so jaded I just can't care very much about stories written for white men. Maybe I'm just not a fan.

I do not mean to diminish them. They are great stories; I simply do not think they are terribly good ones. And that's fine. Things don't have to be very good to be great! Look at Harry Potter. Look at Star Wars. Shakespeare's work has had such a huge effect on English -- and by extent Western -- literature and language and popular culture that you can't turn around without running into it. All the world's a stage, is this a knife I see before me, there are more things in heaven and earth. Its greatness is not in the works itself so much as the mark they have left upon the world, all the quotes and references and books written about them.

Like so many other things, I think the true grace of Shakespeare's plays is in their fandom.


(Linkspam thursdays will return eventually. Really.)

Comments

[childings.livejournal.com]

I shocked and offended this English professor I had in college * when I said that Shakespeare was "overrated" -- I guess in a way I can see why, since he was very culturally influential and significant, but all of his stories were just rehashed versions of older stories and legends. He wasn't original, he was basically the 16th century equivalent of Hollywood (who aren't very original these days either). I have to admit that I did enjoy Julius Caesar and Macbeth but for the most part his plays don't really impress me all that much.



Perhaps this is because I am so used to novels and the closeness they give to the story and the character; plays are more distant

Totally disagree, I mean, that's like saying that movies don't give you a closeness to story and character. If you see a well-acted play, the actor's performance should give you an intimate view of a character. I guess with novels it's more personal because you can put your own spin on the characters as you read about them, but plays demand that you accept the actor's performance of the character; there's less room for personal interpretation in most cases, and I find that interesting

In any case, don't give up on drama as a genre just because of Shakespeare (based on my own personal experience, most Shakespearean actors give pretty stiff performances)

[ojuzu.livejournal.com]

Mmm, it's not that they don't give you closeness to the story and character . . . it's just that you can't climb inside their head and watch their thoughts whizzing around the way you can with novels. Like, you will never know the exact wording of what they don't say out loud.

And I do love how, with plays, you may get less personal interpretation of the characters, but the actors and director can do pretty much anything. (Btw, have you read Ashita no Ousama by any chance? Because that is the manga that made me go "Holy shit, theatre = awesome.")