Now I find that what I really hated was reading it for English class. Shakespeare wasn't meant to be read - it was meant to be performed. Shakespeare wrote plays. For the stage. When performed well, his words come alive. His words are beautiful, and funny, and tragic. Each time I listen, I hear something new.
My favorite play is Much Ado About Nothing. Of the dozens of times I have watched the Kenneth Brannaugh/Emma Thompson version, it wasn't until recently, while seeing the Joss Whedon film, that I first really heard these most beautiful words, spoken when Claudio first discovers that Hero has been won for him:
Silence is the perfectest herald of joy.
I were but little happy if I could say how much.
-Lady, as you were mine, I am yours.
I give myself for you and dote upon the exchange.
I know this feeling. Sometimes, there aren't words to express happiness.
