When Doc told our Shakespeare class that he truly considers it his bible, I thought he was joking. But, wow, I'm realizing more and more all the time that not only was he not joking . . . I am starting to agree with him.
Not that I believe that Shakespeare is God's word, but I find that it is an incredibly complex and accurate portrayal of human nature and existance. The lines are dripping with philosophy and guidlines for living your life. His work has something to teach everyone. It's not overbearing or condeming. It doesn't flat out say, "do this, do that, don't do that", it shows human situations with people reacting differently, and you see what happens to the people from how they act. Parallels and metaphors are how Shakespeare teaches you. You're not beat over the head with it.
I feel like a door has been opened for me, and all I have to do is walk through.
It's also really interesting how I have this feeling that I recognize. When my mom first introduced me to Farscape, I was all, "that's cool, I should watch more of it". And I did, whenever the chance happened to come around, but I didn't seek it out. It kind of dropped from my conscious mind when it wasn't around. Recently, however, I've really gotten into it, to the point where I really love it, and I DO seek it out. It's a higher level of interest, I think.
Well, with Shakespeare right now, it's like when I was first introduced to Farscape: Shakespeare is really cool and all, and I would like to read more, but I don't see myself actually pursuing it in my free time. Maybe it's because I have so much else going on at the moment. But right now, I'm letting Shakespeare come to me. I like it, but I'm not going to immerse myself in it. Not yet.
Although it's really odd how I can be flowing with praise for his work, and then turn around and say that I'm not to the top level of appreciation yet. Hmmm . . . interesting. Well, I don't know how to better describe it, so that'll have to do. Besides, how can you completely appreciate anything unless you've been exposed to all, or at least most of it?
Well, I was actually planning on blogging about something else, but I've gotten side-tracked, and now it's time to go practice for my show. Maybe I'll post later. Letting things sift and settle in your mind isn't always a bad thing. Maybe my thoughts will be clearer when I blog later tonight . . .
Eric 5/11/2005 05:31:00 PM
