Black magic has been cast upon me, for I have fallen under the spell of Shakespeare. As you might recall (if you posses an eerily accurate memory) I blogged last semester about my ambivalence toward WilS. But oh how O changed all that.
I realized how densely each line is packed with hidden meaning and cleverly produced imagery/similes/descriptions/etc. While reading O with Meghan, I kept screeching about the dreadful Iago and his poor manipulated "friends." It was probably like watching a soap opera addict shout at the tv from his/her couch. It's not just WilS's flowery writing that caught me, but all of the plot and underlying themes (of which I was cognizant) that sucked me in. Why had I not succumbed to the greatness that is Shakespeare before?
It was during a discussion with my brother's girlfriend (a HUGE Shakespeare fan herself) that I had another epiphany. First of all, I had only read Shakespeare in high school and in Colloquium I. High school just doesn't count. In the case of Colloquium I, we read his sonnets... and here's where Katie helped me out. She said that she liked his plays better than his sonnets, and I realized that maybe I needed a longer version of a Shakespearian work to draw me in. Don't get me wrong, the sonnets are beautiful in their own right, but an entire play can really develop a storyline and characters with the effect of prolonging my interest and intrigue. So, maybe it was suspense I was lacking in the sonnets. Maybe I need to read more to be truly entertained. HA! Who'da thunk?
Now, I want to revisit the sonnets with my new eyeglasses crafted of Shakespearian lenses. This might seem trivial and base to some readers, but this is a big deal to me. I have encountered a major turning point in my literary life. It's as if I have discovered a new world and I cannot keep myself from exploring it and extracting its gems and jewels... oh how coincidental!
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I think we may have talked about this already, but your questioning of Shakespeare's "greatness" is a really healthy, important thing. Too often we just absorb some idea of what we are supposed to admire. Being conscious of what works and what doesn't is what really gives us perspective on, well, the power of literature and language to shape attitudes, opinions, and even actions. Now, to deal with that so-called "flowery language"--what do you mean by that? What makes it "flowery"?
ReplyDeletetotally! i loved our othello-date... really helped me to catch things i might have missed. i think we were talking about this too... i could not agree more, it seems like every single line is packed full with something witty, some clever reference, a pun, or what have you. i hated shakespeare in high school too, but i guess it just takes the right play to get used to it. [: great post!
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