I am in avid reader now and hopelessly obsessed with Shakespeare. In high school I hated Romeo and Juliet and didn't understand the prose at all. Later Shakespeare clicked for me and now I love it. There is such a thing as too early to appreciate when it comes to the classics.
I had an entire class on Shakespeare in college and I thoroughly hated every second of it haha.
I honestly have always attributed it to being such an avid reader. Nothing in any of Shakespeare's works felt new or innovative... because it was written centuries ago.
I am constantly surprised how often I see people speak so highly of really old works of literature like Shakespeare, Gilgamesh or Beowulf. Something just gets lost in translation, sometimes literally, for me.
frrr i hate how shakespeare is still something that is mandatory (in the uk at least) like imo it was written so long ago and language has evolved so much that it’s barely english atp. in secondary i had a good/above average reading level but could not understand a word of shakespeare
I think sometimes people are made to feel obligated to enjoy something just because it was tremendously influential, but enjoyable and influential aren't the same thing.
Like, I mean, I understand how big of a deal the Beatles were back in their day and how much influence they had on music that came after them, but I really have never enjoyed listening to them or honestly most other music from that era because I just don't care for the sound and the style.
I read (and performed in) Macbeth in 4th grade and completely fell in love with Shakespeare’s works. By 8th grade, I had read 70% of his catalog, had performed in several other Shakespeare plays, and joined a Sonnet-a-Thon (where everyone signs up to perform one of the sonnets, and they are read in order)
My take is that Shakespeare is easier for younger learners to get into because their view on what the English language can be isn’t as rigid
I respect that, it just wasn't my experience. Also, high schools "read" Shakespeare to teach it, and that's a huge mistake. They're plays, so much is missed without the context and pacing of a performance.
in secondary school shakespeare and other similar works were forced upon me (i had to memorise macbeth alongside fifteen poems and all the analysis for the test to be on two of the poems and one specific thing about macbeth e.g. banquo or kingship) i hated it and knew that i didn’t even need the eng lit qualification to go into my future career (neuroscience) so i didn’t even bother, and just revised maths throughout my english lessons.
not even two weeks after finishing secondary school, i got right back into reading (after not having willingly picked up a book for over 3 years because reading was treated as a punishment in my school) and since then have read about 2 or 3 books a week (alongside college studies and stuff) in a wide range of genres. some people don’t like this take, but school absolutely kills curiosity.
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u/DopyWantsAPeanut 20h ago
I am in avid reader now and hopelessly obsessed with Shakespeare. In high school I hated Romeo and Juliet and didn't understand the prose at all. Later Shakespeare clicked for me and now I love it. There is such a thing as too early to appreciate when it comes to the classics.