Shakesprouse: How Zack and Cody Introduced Me to Shakespeare

I first experienced Shakespeare while watching an episode Disney Channel's The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. The two brothers had recently out that their middle school would put on a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream (the episode was aptly named Midsummer's Nightmare). Cody reacted excitedly and signed up for auditions without hesitation meanwhile Zack was not nearly as quick to join the production. Cody put Shakespeare on a pedestal as one of the greatest playwrights in history while Zack saw the metaphorical pedestal and figured that Shakespeare was only meant for English teachers and theater majors. He had the same fundamental misunderstanding of Shakespeare going in as many do, myself included.

Zack and Cody prepare for their roles by practicing mirroring techniques

I found myself in between both of the brothers' positions. In one hand, I highly respected Shakespeare for the place he made for himself in history yet my inexperience with the text kept me from fully appreciating his work. My freshman and junior year English classes, in which we read Macbeth and Othello, respectively, have since changed my views and allowed me to revere Shakespeare for his work instead of his status.