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20 January 2016

7 Reasons Why Today's 20-Somethings Should Read Shakespeare


William Shakespeare. I'll admit, I too, automatically think of a half-bald white guy writing about a skull from Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet's doomed relationship, and "Et Tu, Brute?" from Julius Caesar all in Elizabethan English (or Early Modern English if you prefer). Like many, I considered watching movie versions instead of reading the plays. But recently, I've had more and more of a desire to skip the movie version and read the book version instead. (Not just with Shakespeare but, with other books as well.) 

7 Reasons Why Today's 20-Somethings Should Read Shakespeare

  1. He was a contributor to words that we use daily. He made everyday words such as: 'swagger', 'rant', 'addiction' and, 'uncomfortable' popular. Words we've recently made up and use today like: 'bromance', 'sexting', 'hater' and 'chillax' have now wormed (haha) their way in to the dictionary. Can you imagine future genereations 400 years from now using those words (and more to come) in everyday speech and not really knowing the etymology of them? Yeah, me neither but, hey... same situation.
  2. In addition to coining new words and terms, he also came up with some pretty clever (and crude) insults. Ever been so heated with someone that you wanted to use and insult that would burn them so bad it leaves them speechless? (Don't lie, I know you've had times like that and so have I. You know like that rude guy that cut you off in traffic or the co-worker who just went too far...) Check out some of these insults:
    *Bite your thumb at someone* = To flip someone the bird (Romeo and Juliet, Act 1 Scene 1, just before a fight almost breaks out)
     "Tempt not too much the hatred of my spirit; For I am sick when I do look on thee." = "Seriously, don't even try me. I already can't stand you!" (A Midsummer's Night Dream Act 2, Scene 1, Demetrius to Helena)
    "Away you moldy rogue, away!" = "Get lost, dirtbag!" (Henry IV-Part II, Act 2, Scene 4)
    "I wonder that you will still be talking... nobody marks you." = "Oh, shut up! No one's listening to you!" (Much Ado About Nothing Act 1, Scene 1 Beatrice to Signor Benedick)
    Are you with me so far?
  3. Shakespeare was a feminist?? Okay, so the term 'feminism' most likely wasn't used back in early-1600 England. In a time where censorship by the government was no joke, many scholars today think that Shakespeare hid some "feminist" ideas in his works; most notably The Taming of the Shrew and The Merchant of Venice. So if he was "pro-women", how would he make his point? With comedy of course. Sound familiar?
  4. The subject of discrimination was included in his works, too. It's easy for us to think that Shakespeare was a guy from the 16th-17th century who stood against sexism, racism and anti-semitism. We don't truly know what his thoughts were on the matter but, he had to have been at least aware of it if he included it in Romeo and Juliet, The Merchant of Venice, Hamlet, and Othello. 
  5. He drew parallels of 17th century England to Ancient Rome. The most common example of this is Julius Caesar. Most people around Shake's time already knew about Ancient Rome and its history. So, perhaps by choosing a well known name of Ancient Rome, turning it into a story, and making it 17th century-friendly, he was trying to make a point. Kind of like what people are doing now by comparing Trump and his (crazy) followers to Hitler and the Nazis.
  6. Rebels. 'Nuff said. Most likely, not a day goes by that we just get tired of it all. The idea of being a rebel, going against grain, and not caring about the consequences sounds ideal. In reality, we do care and we know we can't really afford to rebel against authority. And then, some of us do become rebels and we let the tears of our haters roll off of our backs. (I see you nodding your head.) Well, Shakespeare's plays have those, too. What's a story without a good rebel?
  7. There are some conspiracy theories about his life. For whatever reason, I think we all kind of enjoy learning about a conspiracy theory or two. You don't have to believe in them, but just listening to what others think are the answers to some of history's great mysteries can be interesting. (Kind of like how some people today believe that Obama and certain celebrities are actually part of the Illuminati.) Throughout time, some people started to think that William Shakespeare was just a pen name and that the real author of the famous sonnets and plays could be Edward de Vere, Christopher Marlowe, Sir Francis Bacon, William Stanley, Roger Manners or multiple authors. What better reason to pick up some of his plays yourself and make your own conclusion?

Time to dust off those old Shakespeare plays from high school, huh?


I'd Like to Say that I Figured All of This Out All By Myself but, I'd be Lying

Happy reading!

-B

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