I discussed Shakespeare in a few classes already and it is probably that I might do so in the future with others. Hence[that is why] I have titled this article for all relevant classes. This means that you can come read it whenever we get around to talking about it. I would, of course, hope that even those with whom I never get to discuss the topic would read this. The man is, after all, an important part of Western culture and, therefore, relevant to an understanding of Western culture.
It seem that the first thing that gobsmacked [suprised] many of you was that Shakespeare did not, in fact, come up with the stories in his plays by himself. The plays that he wrote were a re-telling of stories that all English people of the time would have known already - just like The Butterfly Lovers here in China.
This is one of the reasons that I said that being made to read the stories behind the plays in Chinese was a bit of a waste of time from the point of view of understanding what the man was all about. It is not the actual plots and tales that are important. What has given W.S. his position as the world's best-known English writer is the words he used. These cannot be translated into Chinese so an understanding of his value is not possible for students who read him in translation.
The second thing that seemed to surprise many was that he did not spend hours and days and weeks agonising over his work, and searching alone in his room for inspiration to write the works which would be resound down the centuries. Instead, as a busy actor in a troupe[a group or company of theatrical people] he was often called upon to produce an entire play for the next night's performance.
Also, he did not write strictly alone, but collaborated [worked with others] for ideas and inspiration in the early plays at least. Of course, he wrote far more plays than the ones we know about. However, at the time, no-one knew he was going to be regarded as a genius one day, so many plays have been lost to us forever. We only know about the ones we have because, after he died, his friends got together and collected the ones they could find to put them all together in one book or Folio as it was called at the time.
Which leads to another point that surprised some, though not all, of you. He was not particularly famous or well-known when he was alive. Amongst the small group of London writers at that time, of course, he was well-regarded, but to the average person - who could neither read nor write - a play was all about being entertained. How it was written was not such importance: after all, if you have anjoyed a movie, how many of you know who actually wrote the script for that movie?
Some of you , who have taken my classes before, were aware that those beautiful Sonnets or poems, with their romantic lnguage and talk of love, were not all directed towards a particular woman. His poems are divided, in fact, between those he wrote for his male lover and those he wrote for his female lover.
So another reason for interest in Shakespeare is that, reading his sonnets in the order they have now been put, reveals a personal love story which is exciting, mysterious and beautifully expressed. However, if one is not aware of this, once again, there is not so much point in reading these poems. There were many wonderful poets around at the same time whose works survive down through the ages and who are just as well known in the field of Literature.
In one class I asked people if they considered Shakespeare was a genius? Many people answered that yes, they did. When we got right down to it, however, it seemed that the only reason some people have for believing this is because they have been told it.
Reading Shakespeare is difficult even for Westerners as his works are written in a language called Early Modern English which only a few academics understand fluently. As students of English as a Second Language, its impossible to understand this language. Shakespeare is no longer taught automatically in Western schools for the simple reason that the average students can't understand him. And they are native English speakers!
Guys, the whole purpose of our discussion classes is to get you to talk about and discuss things so you can arrive at your own conclusions. The word "genius" is pretty subjective, really. One person's 'genius' is another person's half-wit. I personally do not agree with the 'genius' lable...which is not to say that I do not appreciate Shakespeare's work. There are many reasons for my holding this view and I have outlined them and argued them in Academic circles for a long time. Mine is not a popular opinion among many people. In fact when I first presented it I was treated with disdain by many!
Once I have given my reasons for this opinion and backed it up with research, however, it has opened up new ideas to others and, though they might not agree with me (my lecturer from University thinks Shakespeare is God and nothing will shake him from that position) they respect the idea and it gives us a point from which to continue research and thinking to support or change our own particular beliefs.
Holding on to your own ideas, arguing them convincingly and proving them, is what knowledge and education is all about. Just accepting something because someone has told us this, or because it is what most people think, does not cause advances in thinking or open the way for new ideas.
So there is no reason either to swing over to my way of thinking - especially as you are not aware of all the reasons for which I hold it.
So...was Shakespeare a genius? Was he the greatest English writer who ever lived? Are his works wonderful? Should everyone who learns English be made to study him, whether they are Westerners or Chinese? Perhaps the only answers to most of those questions is "I dunno". But if we are going to answer a question - any question - with either a yes or no it is important that the reason we do so is based on our own personal knowledge and not simply because everybody else thinks so.
It seem that the first thing that gobsmacked [suprised] many of you was that Shakespeare did not, in fact, come up with the stories in his plays by himself. The plays that he wrote were a re-telling of stories that all English people of the time would have known already - just like The Butterfly Lovers here in China.
This is one of the reasons that I said that being made to read the stories behind the plays in Chinese was a bit of a waste of time from the point of view of understanding what the man was all about. It is not the actual plots and tales that are important. What has given W.S. his position as the world's best-known English writer is the words he used. These cannot be translated into Chinese so an understanding of his value is not possible for students who read him in translation.
The second thing that seemed to surprise many was that he did not spend hours and days and weeks agonising over his work, and searching alone in his room for inspiration to write the works which would be resound down the centuries. Instead, as a busy actor in a troupe[a group or company of theatrical people] he was often called upon to produce an entire play for the next night's performance.
Also, he did not write strictly alone, but collaborated [worked with others] for ideas and inspiration in the early plays at least. Of course, he wrote far more plays than the ones we know about. However, at the time, no-one knew he was going to be regarded as a genius one day, so many plays have been lost to us forever. We only know about the ones we have because, after he died, his friends got together and collected the ones they could find to put them all together in one book or Folio as it was called at the time.
Which leads to another point that surprised some, though not all, of you. He was not particularly famous or well-known when he was alive. Amongst the small group of London writers at that time, of course, he was well-regarded, but to the average person - who could neither read nor write - a play was all about being entertained. How it was written was not such importance: after all, if you have anjoyed a movie, how many of you know who actually wrote the script for that movie?
Some of you , who have taken my classes before, were aware that those beautiful Sonnets or poems, with their romantic lnguage and talk of love, were not all directed towards a particular woman. His poems are divided, in fact, between those he wrote for his male lover and those he wrote for his female lover.
So another reason for interest in Shakespeare is that, reading his sonnets in the order they have now been put, reveals a personal love story which is exciting, mysterious and beautifully expressed. However, if one is not aware of this, once again, there is not so much point in reading these poems. There were many wonderful poets around at the same time whose works survive down through the ages and who are just as well known in the field of Literature.
In one class I asked people if they considered Shakespeare was a genius? Many people answered that yes, they did. When we got right down to it, however, it seemed that the only reason some people have for believing this is because they have been told it.
Reading Shakespeare is difficult even for Westerners as his works are written in a language called Early Modern English which only a few academics understand fluently. As students of English as a Second Language, its impossible to understand this language. Shakespeare is no longer taught automatically in Western schools for the simple reason that the average students can't understand him. And they are native English speakers!
Guys, the whole purpose of our discussion classes is to get you to talk about and discuss things so you can arrive at your own conclusions. The word "genius" is pretty subjective, really. One person's 'genius' is another person's half-wit. I personally do not agree with the 'genius' lable...which is not to say that I do not appreciate Shakespeare's work. There are many reasons for my holding this view and I have outlined them and argued them in Academic circles for a long time. Mine is not a popular opinion among many people. In fact when I first presented it I was treated with disdain by many!
Once I have given my reasons for this opinion and backed it up with research, however, it has opened up new ideas to others and, though they might not agree with me (my lecturer from University thinks Shakespeare is God and nothing will shake him from that position) they respect the idea and it gives us a point from which to continue research and thinking to support or change our own particular beliefs.
Holding on to your own ideas, arguing them convincingly and proving them, is what knowledge and education is all about. Just accepting something because someone has told us this, or because it is what most people think, does not cause advances in thinking or open the way for new ideas.
So there is no reason either to swing over to my way of thinking - especially as you are not aware of all the reasons for which I hold it.
So...was Shakespeare a genius? Was he the greatest English writer who ever lived? Are his works wonderful? Should everyone who learns English be made to study him, whether they are Westerners or Chinese? Perhaps the only answers to most of those questions is "I dunno". But if we are going to answer a question - any question - with either a yes or no it is important that the reason we do so is based on our own personal knowledge and not simply because everybody else thinks so.
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