Am I the only "bookworm" that hates shakespeare ?

Question

I find all the things I've read by him utterly boring. Everyone praises him and marvels on about how "wonderful" his writings are, yet none of his writings are good. I'd rather read some Poe. In my opinion, Poe was BETTER than Shakespeare. Anyone else not liking Shakespeare?

Answer 1

I don't like him at all. Romeo and Juliet was the most horrible story line ever.

And I love Poe :)

Answer 2

Even though having a graduate degree in English, I agree with you that Shakespeare can be "challenging" reading at times, making this activity more like "work" than anything relaxing or entertaining. The comedies are especially formidable because so much of the word play escapes one who is not familiar with the colloquial expressions of Shakespeare's time. To understand them at all, one needs an edition with explanatory footnotes.



I find the tragedies (like Hamlet) more valuable use of my time because of insights into human nature and the way people think and act. For example, Hamlet is faced with such issues as distinguishing between appearance and reality (what "seems" vs. what "is").



As you may know, languages change over time, so much so that Chaucer (about 1400) now needs to be translated into modern English (from Middle English) or one needs to learn Middle English (especially the different word meanings and spellings then as well as the everyday expressions).

It's only a matter of time before Shakespeare (about 1600) will also need to be translated unless one learns Elizabethan English.

Answer 3

Shakespeare wasn't meant to be read; it was meant to be watched, in play form. Or, thanks to modern technology, in movie form.



I am admittedly a huge Shakespeare nerd, but I will say that if you watch some of the better productions of his plays you may understand what the big deal about Shakespeare is. You also have to remember that without Shakespeare, there might be no Poe, or Hemingway, or any other of a number of writers.

Answer 4

Agreed. I've never really understood all the hype about Shakespeare other than that he was a marvel for his time. I guess it's because Shakespeare's writings seem cliche and predictable and pretty much like every typical story written today. Poe was different, dark, quirky, and still is and I also agree...I would MUCH rather read Poe.

Answer 5

And yet, on any given evening, thousands of people around the world plunk down good hard cash to buy tickets to enjoy his plays, 400 years later. If there's something wrong with the Shakespeare-and-you relationship, it's not Shakespeare's problem.



(Tolstoy hated Shakespeare too. But Orwell wrote a brilliant essay demonstrating that this was not because there was anything wrong with Shakespeare, but because Tolstoy, for religious and ideological reasons, deliberately refused to "understand" Shakespeare, and deliberately misrepresented his writings as "not good," which is what I suspect the original asker is doing.)

Answer 6

Raising Bookworms: Getting Kids Reading for Pleasure and Empowerment by Emma Walton Hamilton is a wonderful new book that promotes literacy. The author offers many specific strategies that adults can use to encourage children to read and lists some recommended books and book-related activities for children from preschool age up through middle school. She addresses various concerns: "When should a child learn to read", "How do I know if my child has a reading problem", and "TV and the Internet", and suggests some additional resources: books, journals, organizations, programs and websites.



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Answer 7

The "language barrier" is the biggest one I've ever encountered, but it's like drinking/eating something exotic: familiarity makes you comfortable, comfort makes it enjoyable.



Poe and Shakespeare are both excellent writers, but stylistically they have quite a few differences... I think the judgment-by-comparison of them is unfair, BUT, every well-read bookworm is completely entitled to any opinion.



To each their own! :)

Answer 8

Not at all. There are plenty of people who don't like Shakespeare. I like him for the most part, but I'm not one of those people who thinks he's the greatest writer of all time. I absolutely agree that Poe is better. Of course, in my opinion, Homer blows them all out of the water. The Odyssey is my favorite book of all time, equaled only by its predecessor, The Iliad.

Answer 9

Poe is talented, so is Shakespeare too. i like them both

Answer 10

No, there's plenty of people who don't like Shakespeare.



Most of them know what opinions are as well.

Answer 11

I'm not big on him. I'm not a big fan of the play format for reading a story. The iambic pentameter writing style is impressive, but I still prefer "show, don't tell."

Answer 12

I don't like Shakespeare either. I hardly get his writing and his stories seem boring to me too. I tend to like more recent authors better.

Answer 13

I never cared for either personally.