How well do you comprehend Shakespeare?

[Yuoaman]

A simple question. How well do you understand Shakespeare? When reading it I can understand the gist of it, though I usually have to go through it several more times to know exactly what's going on. Though when I watch the plays I usually understand much more, it's just easier to see what's going on, when it's in context.

I brought this up because in English class we are studying Macbeth right now.

 

[>Feelings<]

What's a "Shakespeare"?



Okay, okay...

Omg! Macbeth! - all those nightmares coming back to me!


It's been a long time since I've read any of the plays, but literature ain't my thing...

 

[Alexithymia~]

Do you mean the wording, or the plot?
Because I understand both.
The words are just the same, spelled a little differently. Sure, some of them are rarely used now but if you don't understand a word, you just look at the rest of the sentence and it usually makes sense.
The plots are understandable too. :D Who doesn't get Romeo and Juliet, or Hamlet?

 

[white lancer]

I don't really have a problem understanding Shakespeare...as a matter of fact, I love reading/watching his plays. Then again, I am an English major, so maybe I'm atypical in that regard. :D

 

[Her]

I can understand most of it, but I usually stumble a but at the end. But I can generally get the story.

 

[The Apprentice™]

Weirdly I have the talent to understand it all, and I basically failed english class.Don't ask how lol

 

[Richard Wagner]

When I started reading that in 9th grade I didn't really understand it because of the language. Now I understand it perfectly, though I don't particularly enjoy it.

And when I say that, people usually say it's because I "don't understand!".

 

[txteclipse]

You should try reading John Milton sometime. Some of his sentences take up half a page.

 

[Legobricks]

Not particularly well; I prefer Chaucer.

 

[♣Gawain♣]

Not really. But was forced to study it 3 years ago. I racked my brains a bit. And Macbeth is one of my favorites.

 

[Eucliffe]

I fell asleep when we watched a live performance of "Macbeth" (as part of our "Comedy and Tragedy" block in my high school). But that could also be because it was somewhat early and I was tired XD

But... Thanks to our teacher, I was able to understand some of his works quite well, and now I wanna read "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (which I've heard mixed reviews on) and "The Taming of the Shrew". I should bug my English/Social Studies teacher to get the books of those plays XD

But IMHO, Shakespeare is definitely a better playwright than, say, Tennessee Williams (I had to read his play when I moved to a different school, and let me tell you, it was boring, and watching the actual performance was boring).

Oh, and last year in 8th grade, since our grade/class had to put on a play, we did "The Comedy of Errors" (one of Shakespeare's shortest plays =O), and although some parts were confusing at first, I began to understand everything with more practice.

 

[Yamikarasu]

I can never understand it the first time through. Usually I have to read a few times or I just go to Sparknotes, which has this really awesome "No Fear Shakespeare" thing, which pretty much gives a side by side of every line, one in the original language and one in modern English. It is incredibly helpful for assignments.

Reading Shakespeare or other old English authors always gives me a headache. :(

 

[Legobricks]

Reading Shakespeare or other old English authors always gives me a headache. :(

Shakespeare is Early Modern English, þis is Aud Englisc.

 

[Shadow]

Shakespeare is Early Modern English, þis is Aud Englisc.

It's an older version of English. It's nothing like what is spoken today in America. So it's an old English, even if it isn't the Old English.

I cannot understand a single sentence of Shakespeare. Not a one. I am extremely advanced as far as literature goes, concerning interpretation, understanding, and the composition of written works. I can't translate a single bit of what Shakespeare wrote to the English I learned in the modern day, however.

I also cannot understand poetry, either. My mind is blocked off against comprehending prose and other languages for some strange reason. Shakespeare is both, sadly.

 

[ShinjisLover]

I understand Shakespeare well. I can usually get what he's saying when I first read the sentence or scene. Shakespeare has been my inspiration. <3​

 

[Yamikarasu]

Shakespeare is Early Modern English, þis is Aud Englisc.

Oh, well, you learn something new everyday.

But still, he's nothing like authors today. I would bet in the not so distant future, since English is evolving pretty rapidly thanks to the interwebz, they'll have to translate Shakespeare for school kids to understand. It's nearly a different language now, think of how hard it will be for kids in the future.

 

[Shadow]

Oh, well, you learn something new everyday.

But still, he's nothing like authors today. I would bet in the not so distant future, since English is evolving pretty rapidly thanks to the interwebz, they'll have to translate Shakespeare for school kids to understand. It's nearly a different language now, think of how hard it will be for kids in the future.

I've been behind them translating Shakespeare for a while now. You can actually find translated versions already (I believe SparkNotes has a full version available that is simply rewritten in modern English), it just isn't the norm for schools to use, yet.

 

[Virtual Chatot]

I have all his published books in leather binding on my family book shelf, if that answers your question :D

 

[Åzurε]

I understand it well enough, but it takes a reading or two to understand the Poet's idea of humor.

 

[Gummy]

In my younger days all of his works were gibberish to me, but nowadays I can understand it enough to enjoy it.