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-   -   How well do you comprehend Shakespeare? (https://www.pokecommunity.com/showthread.php?t=179745)

Yuoaman May 22nd, 2009 11:19 PM

How well do you comprehend Shakespeare?
 
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< May 22nd, 2009 11:26 PM

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~ May 22nd, 2009 11:27 PM

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 May 22nd, 2009 11:28 PM

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 May 22nd, 2009 11:37 PM

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

The Apprentice™ May 23rd, 2009 12:04 AM

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

Richard Wagner May 23rd, 2009 3:37 AM

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 May 23rd, 2009 3:43 AM

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

Legobricks May 23rd, 2009 6:08 AM

Not particularly well; I prefer Chaucer.

♣Gawain♣ May 23rd, 2009 6:19 AM

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 May 23rd, 2009 6:55 AM

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 May 23rd, 2009 1:14 PM

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 May 23rd, 2009 2:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yamikarasu (Post 4667684)
Reading Shakespeare or other old English authors always gives me a headache. :(

Shakespeare is Early Modern English, þis is Aud Englisc.

Shadow May 23rd, 2009 2:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by オレンジ (Post 4667988)
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 May 23rd, 2009 2:57 PM

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 May 23rd, 2009 3:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by オレンジ (Post 4667988)
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 May 23rd, 2009 3:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yamikarasu (Post 4668094)
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 May 23rd, 2009 3:32 PM

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

Åzurε May 23rd, 2009 6:03 PM

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

Gummy May 23rd, 2009 6:08 PM

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

Wulf May 23rd, 2009 6:18 PM

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 May 23rd, 2009 6:21 PM

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 May 23rd, 2009 7:43 PM

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 May 23rd, 2009 8:13 PM

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.

Quote:

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?

Quote:

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 May 23rd, 2009 9:35 PM

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


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