The Tempest

A few days ago I read Shakespeare's "The Tempest" for the first time; it was my way of taking a little break from preparing for the finals. The play isn't one of his best, in my opinion, but it certainly is entertaining and very well crafted. Shakespeare is great fun once you get used to the language, and to looking at the marginal notes and footnotes. A lot of times I feel that my edition (edited by Professor Stephen Greenblatt) offers too many explanations, which could be annoying at times. Oftentimes it is better to just read the text and take whatever meanings you get from it rather than looking at every explanation.

I'm planning to read a lot of Shakespeare plays this summer. It is good to study something important while at the same time having a whole lot of fun. I used to think that no matter how much I loved Shakespeare I could never make it my field of study; I wasn't so much interested in the historical context or the Shakespearean scholarship in general. But now I think I am. I've been spending some time studying the British monarchy and the rein of Queen Elizabeth I; I have also been attending a lot of theatrical performances. This has helped me in many ways to enjoy the works; the history provides insights into the context of the plays, and the theater helps to enhance my vision of the texts. And being older and more literate also helps.