taelor comments on The Classic Literature Workshop - Less Wrong Discussion
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As a fan of Shakespeare, can I ask which ones you read? Shakespeare wrote a large number of plays, and their quality varies considerably. There are a number of his plays that I actively dislike, and an even larger number that I am indifferent towards, but the ones I like, I like enough that I understand why people consider him to be so great.
If it isn't to much trouble, can I also ask how you were exposed to them? My understanding is that most people's first (and often only) exposure to Shakespeare's plays is through reading their scripts in high school English classes over the course of several weeks; this is unequivicably the wrong way to experience them -- the plays are, first and foremost, plays; that is to say, things to be performed.
Romeo and Juliet was the one I was forced to study the most. I wasn't impressed. I saw A Midsummer Night's Dream at the theatre and it wasn't nearly as tiresome.
Excessively. Reading scripts, watching movies, watching plays, writing essays, memorizing passwords, pretending things are Deep and Insightful. Unfortunately 'English' was the one subject that wasn't an elective.
Personally, I liked Romeo and Juilet.
My favorite part is Friar Lawrence's epic chewing out of Romeo for trying to kill himself. (It's the single longest speech in the play.)
I also liked Hamlet. Julius Caesar was boring, though.