Why is Shakespeare soooo borinnggg

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luiface

Well-known member
I went to this play today because someone who was playing in it told me I should go. And because this is my friends cousin and this guy is sort of a friend also, I decided I probably should go just to be better friends with them I guess. I went alone because I assumed I would find someone I knew there but instead I didn't recognize anyone so I sat alone.
IT WAS SO ****ING BORING!!!! Everyone seemed to be enjoying it but I couldn't stand it. As soon as the intermission I called my dad so he can pick me up (I'm 16 in high school).
 
Sea Bass

Sea Bass

Well-known member
I think Shakespeare is boring because it is of a different time. People back in the days when Shakespeare was alive found their entertainment in different ways. I think today people can't appreciate a classic like Shakespeare because it is written in a voice of a different era and doesn't have visual affects as innovative as the ones one is used to seeing now a days on the big screen (and don't forget about auditory as well). With the advent of computers and technology and how far they come, Computer Generated Imagery (also known as CGI) can work wonders. Ever notice how real and intense movies have become today? In the words of a prominent movie producer (his name is probably George Lucas), all you need is a big case full of money and say "hey I wanna make some special effects". Computer technology is the cornerstone of a new movement in entertainment and has made the more old forms of finding stimulating visual, as well as auditory fixes dull and somewhat boring. Shakespeare just doesn't have the visual and auditory affects as well as the realism that newer forms of entertainment have today.
 
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Lilly789

Well-known member
I found all Shakespeare boring until I realised I didn't actually know what it was about, or why it was so famous and considered so "great".

Once I started looking things up and developing my critical analysis and communication skills to the level required, I realised he's brilliant.

There's nothing wrong with not liking Shakespeare (obviously, its personal taste), but if you cant even appreciate how brilliant the plays are... then its probably because you're not actually understanding what they are really about, and why.
At 16 yrs old, unless you are an advanced student, your'e probably not there yet. This is why Shakespeare is only *seriously* just *introduced *at 15/16 in schools.

Nothing wrong with that, you're not born knowing calculus - you need to learn the basics before you get there.

But unlike Kim and Kanye, he's not famous for no reason ;)

Which play was it?
 
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springk

springk

Well-known member
I have never seen any play of Shakespeare,but read many of them( yes,read..being a lit student). There is something in Shakespeare, I am not sure how to pinpoint it. He provided a means for entertainment in those days when people didn't have TV, and whatever he wrote reflect those times. There are some things in his writing that appeals to modern generation as well, and also some that many don't like. Its more a personal taste as everyone has said. So if he appears boring to you know, may be later on you will find something that interests you or may be you will not.
 
BlackPuma

BlackPuma

1
I'd still like to see a Sharkespeare play some day. Boring or not, the plays are part of our global culture and heritage. But I'm not so sure I would have appreciated it much at the age of sixteen either.


EDIT: I realize I misspelled 'Shakespeare', but I'm too entertained by the typo to change it.
 
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Odo

Odo

Banned
Because of the modern attention span and the culture that panders to it with special effects, loud noises, and formulaic plots.

You missed the exciting twist where it was revealed that the villain 'wanted to get caught', btw.
 
kilojoule

kilojoule

1
Anyone who tells you they read Shakespeare with no former knowledge or understanding and appreciated it off the bat is LYING to you lol. Shakespeare's great but it takes work. And not because it's hard work, its not, it's great, it's the language barrier that can be tough, hither mine thee unto thine woe and all that. It takes a bit of practise and re reading. When I did Shakespeare in school I found it tough because of language. And that was before all the texting started with the abbreviated everything so that nobody actually knows any grammar anymore. I can't imagine being 16 now trying to learn Shakespeare. Itd be like sitting through a world cinema film without subtitles Id be bored out of my head too.

Once you can figure out what hes on about, its great, Im a big ol fan (as you can see from my signature)

My advice to you is to try reading some stuff and re read it, it does make sense, it just takes a bit of thinking about and re reading. Its really worthwhile. :) Good luck with it
 
Opaline

Opaline

1
I don't find Shakespeare boring. I love his plays for many reasons, not the least of which is because they are often very witty.

However... it does take a lot of work to actually be able to comprehend what is taking place. I can see how just viewing a play could be boring because you might only be able to understand bits and pieces and miss all of the subtle humor that you could eventually come to understand if you read and re-read it with the footnotes.

Also, personally speaking, I find a certain pleasure in "decoding" Shakespearean dialogue - those "aha! THAT'S what he means, I get it now!" moments are pretty cool. But I'm an English major ;)
 
squidgee

squidgee

Well-known member
I watched a play of 'Macbeth' once. It was engaging for the most part, but not something I'd prefer over a good film.

Why can't they perform Greek plays? They seem so much more brutal and interesting. For example, the play 'Medea' has a grieving wife take revenge on her cheating husband by stabbing her two children to death and burning the royal princess to a crisp, to which her unfaithful husband was to marry. Victorious, the play ends as she flies into the sky towards Athens on a magical chariot.
 
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Earthcircle

Well-known member
There are some really intense movies based on Shakespeare plays:

Titus, by Julie Taymor

Macbeth, by Roman Polanski

Macbeth, and Chimes at Midnight, by Orson Welles

Prospero's Books, by Peter Greenaway
 
Still_Waters

Still_Waters

Banned
Shakespeare is anything but boring to me. I find anything existential to pull at my heart strings. I mean how existential are these quotes by Shakespeare; enough to move me to tears while making me think such deep thoughts:

"To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing."

"All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages."

"Our revels now are ended. These our actors,
As I foretold you, were all spirits, and
Are melted into air, into thin air:
And like the baseless fabric of this vision,
The cloud-capp'd tow'rs, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples, the great globe itself,
Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve,
And, like this insubstantial pageant faded,
Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff
As dreams are made on; and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep."

"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy."
 
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