Shakespeare .... WHY ?

Discussion in 'Art & Culture' started by Challenger78, Aug 21, 2008.

  1. Challenger78 Valued Senior Member

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    Currently studying Othello at 12am...and It's killing me.

    Seriously, can't the values and drama done in othello be taught with modern language and easier to understand contexts ?
    I mean, Brazil I got, because we were all speaking the same language, whereas Utopia I didn't get a first because of the different levels of language..
    But Utopia was easy to get once you got used to the style.. Shakespeare however, continues to buggerize me.

    SHAKESPEARE OUT OF SCHOOLS NOW.
     
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  3. Myles Registered Senior Member

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    You should be able to get a glossary of Shakespeare's language or, failing that, a text with explanatory footnotes.
     
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  5. Nonsense Non doesn't make sense. Registered Senior Member

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    I personally wondered why Shakespeare has become a staple of pretty every school in the US. It doesn't enhance your linguistic skills and it just creates added stress Lol

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  7. Myles Registered Senior Member

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    Try a Shakespeare comedy to unstress yourself. How about " A Midsummer Nght's Dream" ?
     
  8. Nonsense Non doesn't make sense. Registered Senior Member

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    I've read every one of his published works. I got the entire collection at Barnes and Noble. And if you are reading it for class it's torture, and if you are reading it for yourself you have a very peculiar acquired taste. Kind of like escargot.
     
  9. Myles Registered Senior Member

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    You are sounding like the guy who buys books by the yard. Why did you read them all if, as it appears, you got nothing out of them ?
     
  10. Simon Anders Valued Senior Member

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    Being forced to read something can ruin anything, but Iago, for example is an excellent bad guy. Manipulative, taking revenge that far outweighs the 'injustice' he has suffered. And the language is magnificent. But forced to read it takes the life out of it. The language is very hard, but I would read it out loud. Get a feel for it, the sound of it. Read it once out loud and don't worry so much about the meaning. Get the overall feel of the play. Then one more time with the notes or glossary.
     
  11. Nonsense Non doesn't make sense. Registered Senior Member

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    I like to read collections. Like the mysteries of Sherlock Holmes or Harry Potter

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    Actually right now I am reading the books from Ender's saga by Orson Scott Card. I will write a review soon. Now I wouldn't go so far as saying that I got nothing from reading him, but I will say that it wasn't my best read as a required text in almost 100% of schools.
     
  12. Norsefire Salam Shalom Salom Registered Senior Member

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    Shakespeare was a literary genius.
     
  13. Myles Registered Senior Member

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    Well, at least you gave it a go.
     
  14. DanceAndExplode Fear me, for I am Death. Registered Senior Member

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    I had to study Shakespeare's Othello last year, and i loved it. I've had to do Romeo and Juliet, Othello, Anthony and Cleopatra and Hamlet, and i love it. I bought so many Shakespeare books the other week, and they're amazing
     
  15. S.A.M. uniquely dreadful Valued Senior Member

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    You should watch "A Play about a Handkerchief"

    It will make you see Othello and Desdemona in a whole new light

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  16. iceaura Valued Senior Member

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    Probably not.

    Getting yourself into new contexts is important. It's called "education". The language is easy - it's English. Leaving it to 12 am is your problem.

    Until Shakespeare it would have been Latin and Greek, for such lessons - thank the Bard, and enjoy the ride.
     
  17. desi Valued Senior Member

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    Shakespeare, is a way for academia to justify itself by teaching students about impertinent things that sound high minded. Its like organic chemistry. If you are going to be a chemist organic chemistry is good to know. If you are going to be a policeman organic chemistry is probably a waste of time unless you are on the CSI team.
     
  18. Vkothii Banned Banned

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    It's about understanding an earlier idiom of English, and about how it conveys the story.

    Many of his plays are blatant rips of Greek tragedies, folk-tales, the usual suspects. Many playwrights have done the same thing since.
     
  19. tim840 Registered Senior Member

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    Challenger what grade you in?
     
  20. Challenger78 Valued Senior Member

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    Yes, I admired the way his character was shaped, but I had to reread it to understand half of the shit he was saying. Yes, It did have a glossary, but it ruins the flow, having to pause and look up a word.
     
    Last edited: Aug 22, 2008
  21. Challenger78 Valued Senior Member

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    One more year until I leave High School. So, 11.

    I would love to see a satirical shakespeare play. Sort of like getting back at him.

    The language doesn't make it more enjoyable.
     
  22. darksidZz Valued Senior Member

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    Shakespeare IMO was a front for the real author. I've watched the conspiracy videos

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    In the end though we can say that if the original author didn't let us know who he was then really it's his choice and we should all just go on being blind to the possibility it wasn't Shakespeare.
     
  23. Oli Heute der Enteteich... Registered Senior Member

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    Philistine!
    Barbarian!
    Uncultured plebeian ne'er do well!

    The man was a poet and practically unrivalled in his use of language.
     

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