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amerikestrel wrote:

sadistic_cottoncandy wrote: I liked P&P, but Romeo and Juliet was dumb. I hated that play so much.

Um, no. You don't call Shakespeare "dumb".

Shakespeare is not "dumb" just because he used a variation on the English spoken colloquially now. If you didn't like the one play, there are so many more. My personal favourite is Julius Caesar, just because of the plot, regardless of the fact that Shakespeare is no historian. My class reenacted the play, speeches and all , except staged to look more modern. It was rather amazing; Caesar and the politicians wore suits, and Caesar(acted by a girl) was shot with a nerf blaster.

I personally don't like Romeo and Juliet. It's a bit too... tragic for me. My favorite book right now is... actually, my favorite series right now are The Last Dragon Chronicles (The Fire Within, Icefire, Firestar, The Fire Eternal, Darkfire) and the Inheritance Cycle (Eragon, Eldest, Brisingr).

...As you can see, I have a thing for dragons. XD I just noticed

i like the last dragon chronicles too! my fave of that was darkfire.

kjhsscioly wrote:

amerikestrel wrote:

sadistic_cottoncandy wrote: I liked P&P, but Romeo and Juliet was dumb. I hated that play so much.

Um, no. You don't call Shakespeare "dumb".

Shakespeare is not "dumb" just because he used a variation on the English spoken colloquially now. If you didn't like the one play, there are so many more. My personal favourite is Julius Caesar, just because of the plot, regardless of the fact that Shakespeare is no historian. My class reenacted the play, speeches and all , except staged to look more modern. It was rather amazing; Caesar and the politicians wore suits, and Caesar(acted by a girl) was shot with a nerf blaster.

That sounds like fun. Especially being blasted with a nerf gun. *sarcasm about nerf gun*
Frankly, I don't know if anyone around me even reads Shakespeare anymore.

your district doesn't mandate reading shakespeare? I know that on the honors track, we have to read R&J, Hamlet, Taming of the shrew, and one other, mandatorily.

yogoperson wrote:Frankly, I don't know if anyone around me even reads Shakespeare anymore.

I'm pretty sure they don't. I'm not sure about everyone else, but for me, I find the words kind of confusing, and I don't like reading plays because the conflict is constantly interrupted by "Act 2" or stage directions.

kjhsscioly wrote:your district doesn't mandate reading shakespeare? I know that on the honors track, we have to read R&J, Hamlet, Taming of the shrew, and one other, mandatorily.

We're in middle school. I think we do that in high school, or maybe not. I'm not sure.

honeybunchesofoats wrote:

yogoperson wrote:Frankly, I don't know if anyone around me even reads Shakespeare anymore.

I'm pretty sure they don't. I'm not sure about everyone else, but for me, I find the words kind of confusing, and I don't like reading plays because the conflict is constantly interrupted by "Act 2" or stage directions.

Hey, I would read Shakespeare voluntarily. I started Macbeth, but we're reading it in class now. And - hello - it's a play. It has to be 'interrupted' by stage directions and such because it was meant to be seen. When you read it, you either have to have a bit of imagination and follow the stage directions or have a lot of imagination and invent your own backdrop.
I've read R + J, Hamlet, and am currently in Macbeth - and I like all of them. Next up to read for me? King Lear!

Hey, I would read Shakespeare voluntarily.

I was referring to the people around yogoperson, which would be 7th and 8th graders. I'm pretty sure many of them don't read AT ALL.

And - hello - it's a play. It has to be 'interrupted' by stage directions and such because it was meant to be seen.

I personally like stories that integrate it into the background instead of interrupting the storyline to tell it, but, hey, you have your opinions and I have mine.

honeybunchesofoats wrote: I personally like stories that integrate it into the background instead of interrupting the storyline to tell it, but, hey, you have your opinions and I have mine.

But it's a completely different format. Shakespeare wrote plays, not novels, and plays have to have stage directions. That's not a weak point of Shakespeare's writing; on the contrary, it's quite essential.

I think the stage directions really add to the imagery, I don't know why you find them distracting. I just bought an antique copy of "Merchant of Venice"