A Semester of Shakespeare

It's amazing to think that some popular TV shows, songs, books, and movies from just a few years ago have completely fallen out of fashion, yet a few dozen of plays and a just over 150 sonnets from over 400 years ago have not! 

I am, of course, speaking of the enduring works of William Shakespeare. 

This semester I took an Introduction to Shakespeare class, and we dove into eight famous Shakespearean plays and a grip of his Sonnets. 

One thing I really enjoyed about this class was the close reading. Many of us read for the plot, but we were required to close read certain passages and in doing so, I gained a much greater understanding of the themes of the play and/or the significance of the passages. 

While the class didn't cover every work of Shakespeare, including some I was really hoping we would, we did read Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Henry IV part 1, The Merchant of Venice, Much Ado About Nothing, Othello, Macbeth, and The Tempest. 

If I were to rank them from my favorite to my least favorite, I would rank them as follows:

1. Much Ado About Nothing
A lighthearted comedy about love and deceit. There are a few risqué parts in the play, and even more so in the 1993 movie by the same name directed by Kenneth Branagh. 

2. A Midsummer Night's Dream
Another comedy about love, but this time, the play is set in the ancient city of Athens and the "Green world" of the forest where the play explores the magical & supernatural realms. 

3. Othello
A shocking tragedy full of twists and turns that I feel the poet Robert Browning must have drawn inspiration from when writing his poem "Porphyria's Lover." 

4. The Merchant of Venice
A complicated play that explores sensitive topics of religion and antisemitism. It's hard to place this play in the category of a comedy or a tragedy, some characters fair well at the end of the play, while others do not. Read it for yourself and you be the judge. 

5. Henry IV Part 1
A historical play with the comical character Falstaff. Be prepared to fall in love with this bumbling knight who majorly reminds me of many of the characters the late Chris Farley portrayed.  

6. Macbeth
A jarring tragedy that explores themes of murder, greed, power, and unchecked envy. There are some great quotes from this play, but it's not just one of my favorite plays as a whole.  

7. The Tempest
My least favorite of the plays we read. I know many people love this play, but for me, it just didn't do it for me. The story involves magic wizards and spirits, storms and shipwrecks, but it fell flat in comparison to the other plays we read this semester.

If you were wondering what plays I was hoping we would cover and didn't, those would be, The Taming of the Screw, Hamlet, Twelfth Night, A Winter's Tale, and King Lear. 

Although I wasn't able to read any of these plays during my semester of Shakespeare, I have watched a few very lose adaptations of these plays in film. 10 Things I Hate About You is a modern version of The Taming of the Shrew, The Lion King is loosely based on the storyline of Hamlet, Twelfth Night inspired the 2006 film She's The Man, and 1,000 Acres staring Jessica Lange is based on King Lear. If there is a modern adaptation of A Winter's Tale, I haven't seen it! 

Shakespeare's work has endured the test of time because much of it is still relatable today. His works explore the human experience that is more or less the same experience for most of us. Love, hatred, jealously, anger, fear, envy, and desire, which are all emotions we all feel at one point or another in our lives. 

If you haven't yet experienced Shakespeare, or if it's been a while since you have, why not brush set a bit of time aside and read a play or two! You can read all his plays for free here:  Folger Shakespeare Library

Note: I've previously included links to purchase the books I mention on Amazon, but I've decided that Bookshop.org is a site I would rather share. Instead of supporting an already successful billion-dollar company, Bookshop.org helps to support local bookstores of your choice. Learn more about how it all works here.