How well do you comprehend Shakespeare?

[Wulf]

I can get a tiny grasp of it at first, but I have to read it a couple of times before I fully understand. It helps that I had great English teachers when we went over him.

 

[Ayano Katagiri]

I can understand the majority of it, except when he uses the really weird lines. But it isn't something I particularly enjoyed studying in English (which lead me to dropping English this year).

 

[Shem]

well, I can understand whats happening, but some of the big emotional expressions used by the characters just blow me away and i fail tests because I have no clue what they are trying to say. i think somebody should "translate" it to a modern english personally... Just to make it more enjoyable.

 

[Spearow]

It's not too bad when I'm reading it, and can go over the phrasing a few times if a sentence doesn't make sense at first. Also, those footnotes in the modern annotated editions are really helpful.

Watching a play is a different thing - it's sometimes hard if you're not already familiar with the plot, although the actors do a lot with body language and word emphasis to convey the meaning of jokes or phrases that use outdated puns and slang.

So yeah, I'm no Shakespeare scholar but I've had enough experience with his work - reading it, performing it, watching it - that I can get the gist of it pretty well.

i think somebody should "translate" it to a modern english personally... Just to make it more enjoyable.

they have. Ever heard of No Fear Shakespeare?

I understand Shakespeare well. I can usually get what he's saying when I first read the sentence or scene.

Seriously? Some of the references/words he uses are obscure. I could never understand some of the comic relief scenes (aside from the innuendo) without having footnotes to tell me how the puns all fit together.

 

[Hiidoran]

Perhaps it's just my love of the English language, but I believe that translating Shakespeare into modern English would completely ruin it. When one reads Shakespeare, one is not just looking for a clever plot and interesting characters, but rather feeling and experiencing the flow of the words; the syntax as it were.

You have to remember that Shakespeare cleverly uses both verse and prose in his works and changing his diction would completely butcher the piece as a whole. However, I do understand that it is rather difficult to understand. In reality, I'm all for "No Fear Shakespeare" because it gives a translation beside the original work. If the works of Shakespeare were to be translated, I would accept this.

As for the question itself, I don't have an issue reading Shakespeare. Yes, it is a bit difficult, and sure, I may have to read some lines a few times over. As a whole, however, I understand Shakespeare quite well. I've made a very large effort to do so. :D

 

[Capt. Couch]

I don't find Shakespeare too difficult to understand. Sure, I might need a few explanations for the several outdated idioms he may use at times, but other than those little speed bumps, reading Shakespeare is like reading anything else you'd find at a bookstore nowadays.

Our English class just finished reading Macbeth too, it was a good story.

 

[Careful With That Axe Pichu!]

So no one realized this is in the wrong section?

poof

 

[Andcetera]

Lol
Imma be truthful and say no,
I mean, i could maybe understand some of it, but over all , lol no.

 

[Marionette]

It's not difficult for me to understand at all. Some of the phrases are hard to understand because we don't use anything similar to them anymore, but overall it's easy to understand. I don't see why people find it hard. ^ ^

 

[KurlyFries]

What a coincidence, I just read my first Shakespeare about a month ago, and that would be Romeo and Juliet.

Like a lot of people I just read the side notes and plot summaries at first, but now if I know the plot it's pretty natural to me.

 

[Trap-Eds]

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.

Yeah, pretty much what you said. I've read Taming of the Shrew and Romeo and Juliet, and they were pretty good.

 

[dylandutra]

Shakespeare really isn't that hard to get if you really pay attention. Using context clues helps a lot. If you're just reading, you'll probably miss what's going on, but if you're focusing and engrossed in it, you'll find it isn't that hard to get.

 

[Yuoaman]

Well, as I've read on in Macbeth I'm finding it easier and easier to understand. I guess that's just me getting acclimated to the fanciful language.

 

[Saltare.]

Not very well...

I mean, I can comprehend Romeo and Juliet fairly well.

 

[-Raiken-]

I can understand it pretty well, but some of it becomes difficult at times but some of it is also easy to understand.

 

[Squeegee Beckenheim]

You'd think a Theatre major who has read an enormous amount of Shakespeare would understand it pretty well. I admittedly have a ton of problems.

I always quote my professors though, "Good theatre is meant to be seen, not read."

 

[幕之内 一歩]

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.

Haha. Interesting you should bring that up. It wasn't until our class was studying Macbeth that I discovered how easy I comprehend and read Shakespeare. Teacher called upon me to read the parts for Macbeth and I never looked backed.

It was really weird too, because at the end of the year, she presented the classes with awards and what have and she said I was best reader she's had in a long time. Not trying to brag or anything, I just thought it amusing and cool that this thread was started out over Macbeth.

Back to the topic at hand however, I've always been able to comprehend literature the first time around, so for me, I'd say I comprehend it pretty well. Never watched the video though. Might have slept through that, or skipped or did something else that day. >.>

Ah high school... so many years ago.... XD