by Jamie Blais

Created on: June 12, 2008

This is a yes and no answer - Shakespeare, ever the great debate catalyst.

The obvious answer is that these are plays, not meant to be read like a storybook. Seeing the play definitely requires less thought and more instant enjoyment. You get out what you put in and seeing the play, feeling proud of yourself that you understood it and telling everyone that you went to see a Shakespeare play certainly has its rewards.

But if we do not stop there, we realize we are lucky that we can read them, with stage direction included, as this gives us the time and ability to research every word and nuance to death, to get as much from Shakespeare as he intended and, in many instances, did not intend!

It does, though, appear almost incomprehensible in written form to the untrained and frankly scared eye. "This is another language!" people cry, and then complain that it's irrelevant and unimportant and discard it. This is an extremely common misconception, as Shakespeare's words are in fact from the very same language we speak today. It's the arrangement that causes this lack of comprehension, and the arrangement is now outdated and unfamiliar. Once you understand the style, it is much simpler to read and understand the basic story being told.

But the real work and joy comes from research. Like all writing and art generally, knowledge of the artist and his/her place in history and society, brings a whole new meaning to the art and opens a new world. You can research the theatre of the 16th century, its audiences, architecture, technology', and role in society and the impact all of these things had on playwriting at that time. We can research Shakespeare the man, if this is indeed who even wrote the plays attributed to him, that's a whole other story! We can find out the rules of writing then, his patrons and their requirements, his need for payment and the effect of this on play content. It is endless and each piece of new information leads you off on another branch of comprehension and enlightenment.

The trick is, don't be scared. You are not wrong for enjoying Shakespeare films only. You are not wrong for not having read a single line of his work but having devoured his biography. Art in general suffers from its elitist positioning and cuts itself off from the simple pleasures of a surface observer. If we all stop listening to the critics, we can stop feeling guilty about not getting' art and get about the business of enjoying it however it fits into our lives.

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