What’s there not to like? I feel like Stefon from Saturday Night Live: The plays have everything. There are great characters, wonderful dialogues, monologues, asides, and soliloquies, fun and tragic plots, the different settings, everything else that has been inspired by him and his work…But let’s break it down.
First, when it comes to characters, many are emblematic. Maybe you’ve never read or seen a performance of any of Shakespeare’s plays (or any of the movie adaptations), but you know who Hamlet is. And Romeo and Juliet. And Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Maybe you’ve heard about Beatrice and Benedick, Rosalind, Hermia, and Helena, and so many more famous characters who are known because of their tragic depictions, their passionate decisions, or their witty lines.
Which brings me to the dialogues, like Beatrice and Benedick arguing in Much Ado About Nothing. And the soliloquies, like Hamlet posing questions (but not holding a skull, that’s a different scene) or Lady Macbeth facing her guilt, and Juliet’s monologue, as heard by her Romeo. (Fun fact: There’s no mention of a balcony in the original play. Second fun fact: I went to Verona and visited Giuletta’s house, highly recommended. Also bought a notebook there, because of course.)
And then come the plots; there’s something for everyone! Star-crossed lovers who put an end to their families’ feud? Yes. A prince who tries to avenge his father’s murder? Ja. A woman dressing up as a man to help the man she loves learn to express himself? Oui. Two pairs of identical twins who get mistaken for each other with a lot of confusion and chaos? Sí. Four people getting lost in the woods and having changing feelings for each other while fairies argue? Certo. And there are 33 more plots.
Sure, some repeat tropes (Rosalind, Viola, Imogen, and Portia, among others, dress as men to hide their identities, if all for very different reasons), but whether you want to laugh, cry, learn about history, or a combination of all three, there’s something for you.
And if you’re put off by the version of English or don’t love (or don’t have access to) the theater, you’re in luck. The Lion King is allegedly not based on Hamlet. (Sure.) 10 Things I Hate About You, based on The Taming of the Shrew, gave us not only an epic poem but also an incredible musical performance by Heath Ledger. She’s the Man is an almost perfect retelling of Twelfth Night or What You Will, although I do take issue with Viola playing football without a hair tie. She has long hair that gets in the way. Preposterous.
And don’t get me started on Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet. The fishtank scene.
Of course, there’s also Kenneth Branagh and his work as actor and director, Emma Thompson being everything that’s right, Catherine Tate and David Tennant both together and in their individual projects, The Simpsons retelling Hamlet, and I could keep on going but I don’t have enough time.
My point is, even if you don’t love the original work, it’s seeped into different cultures and has had a massive effect on literature as we know it. And that’s the cherry on top of the reasons why I love Shakespeare and his plays.
