I know in my case I was doomed for want of a sharper pencil for sticking in my eye when it came to Shakespeare because of freshman year high school english. We started out of the gate with the "classic" tale of Romeo and Juliet. As a 14 year old, I would rather have had my mom show up at my school carrying the lunch box I intentionally left at home. The teachers were not interested, the students were not interested, and it became a quicksand bog we just "had to get through".
So from day one Shakespeare was a dreaded, irrelevant, guaranteed pain in the ass. However, in the course of many more forced readings of the man himself through out both high school and college I have found a way to....wait for it....ENJOY Shakespeare. Now, I know your thinking there is no way, but I confess I cheat. In the case of Shakespeare it is the meaning that matters more then the words and if because of the outdated Shakespearian language you cannot notice the puns, the jokes, and the references then it is wasted effort on your part trying to read it. So for that reason I read the work of Shakespeare through the spark notes "No Fear Shakespeare" series. This series contains a version of the play as it was originally written on the left hand page and then on the opposing page "translates" it into modern language. Now yes, some purist will say this is blasphemy and that the story is ruined in translation, but to that I answer is it not better to give people a chance and expose them to the story rather than get all hung up on the prose and verse?
To give you an example of what this series can do I am pulling from King Lear. The original Shakespeare is on the left hand page and the modern translation is on the right. Act 3 Scene 1;
Original (Left hand page)
Gentleman: Contending with the fretful elements. Bids the winds blow the earth into the sea or swell the curled water 'bove the main, That things might change or cease. Tears his white hair, which the impetuous blasts, with eyeless rage, catch in their fury and make nothing of. Strives in his little world of man to outscorn the to-and-fro conflicting wind and rain. This night-wherein the cub drawn bear would couch, the lion and the belly pinched wolf keep their fur dry-unbonneted he runs, and bids what will take all.
Translation (Right hand page)
Gentleman: Struggling with the wind and rain. He's shouting at the wind to blow the earth into the sea, or make the sea flood the eart-he wants to see the world return to primal chaos. He keeps tearing out his white hair, which the blindly raging winds catch up and blow away into nothingness. Small but brave in his surroundings, he's trying to stand up against the wind and rain blowing back and forth. He's running bare headed, calling for the end of the world, out there on a night like this, when even savage animals ravenous with hunger crawl under cover and hide.
See how much easier it is? It opens up the amazing story telling of Shakespeare to people like me who were left with such a bad taste in their mouth that even the sound of his name made our eyes roll.
The series never came more in handy then during my junior year of college when I took, for some reason I still cannot remember, Early Shakespeare: A look into the early works of William Shakespeare; Lit 4321. The book alone could crush your soul...and your skull as it turns out. The textbook was 3,417 bible like pages. Carrying this book around was enough torture for a lifetime, let alone having to open it and read it. The soda can next to it will give you some perspective of just how big it truly was.
This course however, combined with the ability to actually read and understand the plays has opened me up to the genius that was Shakespeare. One of my favorite stories now is "Twelfth Night" and I found "Hamlet" to be fascinating as well.
So, if your like me and were destined to hate Shakespeare for lack of comprehension and lack of "giving a crap" to figure it out, then I strongly suggest picking up any one of the "No Fear Shakespeare" guides. These stories are classics for a reason and the message is still relevant even if the language and prose is not. Go ahead give it a shot...no need to fear the bard.
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