Tis Almost Fairy Time

Everyone knows the name "William Shakespeare", but it takes some added effort to really dive into what Shakespeare truly embodies as a playwright. Like many others, I was turned away by the language Shakespeare uses in his play and I struggled understanding the inner parts of the play as a result of the complexity of the writing. Despite this, I was still interested by the fact that Shakespeare is so popular and creative that I decided that I had to take a class about him just so I could learn more about him and his work throughout his career. I had already read Romeo and Juliet and Othello, but reading three different plays in one trimester would surely help me understand more than the other two plays ever could. I knew that I would have to overcome the language that Shakespeare uses but I was confident in what I would take from this class. At first, I imagined classes to be similar to my other experience with Shakespeare's plays: purely analytical. Yet, with the first play we read, A Midsummer Night's Dream, I was surprised to see us spending more time acting out the scenes and envisioning them rather than stating the themes or character development we saw within the scenes. Of course, these were incorporated as well but it was a breath of fresh air. 

On the topic of A Midsummer Night's Dream, I was skeptical at first at how Shakespeare would make the play comedic and humorous. Having only read tragedies from Shakespeare. I was not sure if the play would actually be funny. Reading the play, I could certainly see the funny moments within the scenes but I never really felt the humor. Mr. Kiczek reassured us that Shakespeare was meant to be acted out on stage, not read in a classroom. When we were told that we were going to see A Midsummer Night's Dream live, I viewed this is a great opportunity to see whether Shakespeare's comedies were the real deal. With the rest of my class, we were not expecting much at first and prayed for the best. 

Boy, did we get the best. In the beginning of the performance, I was very lost and confused and thought this was going to be the rest of the play; but it eventually transformed into a comedic masterpiece that brought me nearly to tears from laughing so hard. Being someone that laughs at nearly anything, I was holding my stomach at every little joke or innuendo. It became a struggle containing my laughter especially when the play transitioned into a more serious scene. Just thinking about the last scene made me hold my mouth shut. As the play ended, I couldn't help but realize that this is what Shakespeare is about; it's not about analyzing the significance of a symbol or how a character represents something far greater. I originally felt I needed to understand everything about Shakespeare but I realized it's more about enjoying it, whether it is a tragedy or comedy. When I had to reenact a scene from A Midsummer Night's Dream for the final project, I immediately recalled my experience of watching it at the theater. Looking back, I was determined to carry that sense of enjoyment and laughter into our performance of the play. While we were not professional actors, we put a lot of effort and preparation into making sure our play was the best it could be. It was also enlightening to realize that we can put our own little touch into the performance; even if it is the same play, every director has their own vision for their performance and that is what makes Shakespeare all the more intriguing and enjoyable. After my experiences in the Shakespeare class, I will never doubt the genius that is Shakespeare and I will surely never hesitate to watch a Shakespeare play whenever I have the chance.