Among teenagers Romeo and Juliet appears to be the most popular of the Shakespeare tragedies. Perhaps this is because of the age of the protagonists. I suspect it is something far deeper than that, however. The depth of passion evinced by both Romeo and Juliet is familiar to most adolescents, and their isolation from the world of adults is also recognized by contemporary teens. Capulet's ranting when dealing with Juliet's nascent independence is no doubt familiar to today's sons and daughters. Thus, it seems Shakespeare continues to speak a universal language; this, I believe, accounts for...

Among teenagers Romeo and Juliet appears to be the most popular of the Shakespeare tragedies. Perhaps this is because of the age of the protagonists. I suspect it is something far deeper than that, however. The depth of passion evinced by both Romeo and Juliet is familiar to most adolescents, and their isolation from the world of adults is also recognized by contemporary teens. Capulet's ranting when dealing with Juliet's nascent independence is no doubt familiar to today's sons and daughters. Thus, it seems Shakespeare continues to speak a universal language; this, I believe, accounts for...

Of the five major Shakespearean tragedies-Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, King Lear, and Othello-King Lear is perhaps the most challenging. Issues of rulership, family and blood, are overlaid with bastardy, loyalty, lust, and deceit. Add to this the apparently gratuitous on-stage blinding of Gloucester, the deaths of Cordelia, Lear, Gloucester, and Kent, and one might be inclined to agree with Samuel Johnson that "The good suffer more than the evil, that love and suffering, in this play, are almost interchangeable terms and the driving force of the action is derived from the power of the...

Of the five major Shakespearean tragedies-Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, King Lear, and Othello-King Lear is perhaps the most challenging. Issues of rulership, family and blood, are overlaid with bastardy, loyalty, lust, and deceit. Add to this the apparently gratuitous on-stage blinding of Gloucester, the deaths of Cordelia, Lear, Gloucester, and Kent, and one might be inclined to agree with Samuel Johnson that "The good suffer more than the evil, that love and suffering, in this play, are almost interchangeable terms and the driving force of the action is derived from the power of the...

Love's Labors Lost is "widely considered Shakespeare's most intellectually challenging comedy" (Bate, back cover). From its extensive wordplay to the plot machinations, a reader (viewer) is continuously challenged. The recurrent bawdy is another factor that forces one to pay close attention. Thus, the play can be quite satisfying. However, it can become tiresome too, especially considering the high-flown rhetoric of Holofernes. Finally, the discrepancy between the men's view of the women and the women's view of the men should stimulate one to examine whether there is depth to the comedy or...

Love's Labors Lost is "widely considered Shakespeare's most intellectually challenging comedy" (Bate, back cover). From its extensive wordplay to the plot machinations, a reader (viewer) is continuously challenged. The recurrent bawdy is another factor that forces one to pay close attention. Thus, the play can be quite satisfying. However, it can become tiresome too, especially considering the high-flown rhetoric of Holofernes. Finally, the discrepancy between the men's view of the women and the women's view of the men should stimulate one to examine whether there is depth to the comedy or...