Post a response to this discussion thread
Bravo, Toddster! As an English instructor at the university level, I contend weekly with students who say ³Shakespeare sucks,² based on their unfortunate memories of high school. Wonder of wonders, when I ignore the mechanics of iambics and show them how to tear at the meat of the plays, they get fired up and finally understand what Will was at all those years ago. I have to admit, though, that Iım a shameless Branagh fan and have been known to assign both parts of Henry IV just so I can end the class with the 1989 version of Henry V. (My favorite memory here is two young women watching King Hal grapple with the Dauphin at Agincourt and start whispering, ³Get him, Hal!²) Every person isnıt going to end up rabid on the bard, but at the very least Mr. Cranky should shed his preconceptions. By the way, if those BBC-cloned accents are really bothersome, there was a set of Shakespeare videos out a few years back with all-American casts, the rationale being that the English of Shakespeareıs time is actually closer to the American accent of today than to that of the RSC crowd.
Post a response to this discussion thread