"Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come:
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved."
I have a brother, currently in grade 11, who despises the mere thought of having to sit and read Macbeth. He hasn't done too well with his latest English mark and blames Shakespeare for that; and he received a good shouting at too. He switches off at the sound of me attempting to explain the beauty of the language Shakespeare uses.
So what is it that makes Shakespeare so difficult, because I clearly do not see it? Could it perhaps be the teenage tendency of a rebellious attitude? Or maybe it is this technology age we're living in, where anything in the form of a book is not cool? Could it be that it's not as exciting as Die Hard or Inception? (Which is ironic because most genre themes of action, love and comedy originated from our dear Shakespeare's plays
Please could you tell me because I just don't understand!
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE THIS!!!!!!!! kasam.
ReplyDeleteFirstly, that sonnet above is in actual fact going to be my wedding vows one day!!LOL.
"Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments"> This opening statement says that we decide in our minds to love our partner/spouse..not our hearts, we make a conscious decision to love and it begins in our minds.
"Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds">When change occurs, we shouldn't stop loving our partner/spouse...change is to test our love.
I believe this sonnet perfectly describes my definition of true love and it's the basis upon which I love my boyfriend.
Secondly, Macbeth and Othello I hold really close to my heart and love the underlying message of both stories, both tells a story of the extent to which people can love their partner, that it can even drive to death, we love so much, we can even become blinded to reality and honesty.
To answer your question, I think many factors play a significant role to your brother's 'hatred' of Shakespeare's play's. I think, that the teacher might be boring and she herself is not inspired or appreciative of his work, maybe there's not enough interacting in class or open discussions on the various sections of the play and maybe because of his gender...unfortunately most males do not have an imagination that stretches as far as females do. Thanks for this Ra'isa, seeing this sonnet lifted my spirits! :)