Shakespeare can have his way with me

I think as many people are put off by Shakespeare as there are those who are enthralled by him. This is a terrible shame, because William Shakespeare never goes out of fashion. Connie Willis (my favorite science fiction writer) is a true blue Willie Shakes groupie; "He wrote about Human Issues - fear and ambition and guilt and regret and love - the issues that trouble and delight all of us", she says, and I couldn't agree more. The only thing dated about Shakespeare is the language; the sentiments are no different from what you'd see dealt with on modern televsion shows and movies or in modern novels. But I think because the Shakespearean play is often the focus of boring literature classes or similar, they develop something of an association with dull. That's because Shakespeare wrote dozens of plays, and they're all different and they all appeal to different tastes - there's no "one size fits all" play, so the chances of every student being captivated by whichever one (or two) plays they're exposed to is statistically low. My favorite Shakepearean play is The Taming of the Shrew. It's not a particularly politically correct choice, but I like it nonetheless. It has the wittiest dialogue and the most memorable characters of any of the plays, in my opinion. In high school, everyone was swooning over Romeo and Juliet, but I ask you, what's so fascinating about two silly teenagers going through a jag of rebellion, especially when one of them won't be bothered to check for a pulse? Can you imagine Juliet saying, "I'll see thee hanged on Sunday first"? That's what Katharina, the "shrew" of the title says to Petruchio, the male lead. And anyone who can make "she is my goods, my chattel, my house" into a funny and romantic line deserves some praise. The play is the predecessor to the romantic comedy, only it's sharper and cleverer and funnier than most of the romantic comedies on the market today. I love it and every time I read it, I get something new - I fall in love with Kate and Petruchio all over again. Petruchio especially - he's the most unsung of Shakespeare's men, lost in the shuffle with whiny Hamlet, whipped Macbeth, wheedling Romeo. Everything he says is highly tongue-in-cheek and I love that. If I met a guy half that witty with words, I'd think I were hallucinating. My best friend has always told me I'm going to pay dearly for being blinded by poetry. I'm sure she's right. If William Shakespeare were alive today, I'd have a huge crush on him.

Final thought:  "Where did you study all this goodly speech?" Katharina, The Taming of the Shrew