What’s your favorite Shakespeare and why?

I want to have friends I can talk about Shakespeare with! My fave atm is probably Julius Caesar because I love the characters so much - I’m reading the Tempest rn here are the ones I have read:
- Romeo and Juliet
- Macbeth
- Othello
- Midsummer Night’s Dream
- Antony and Cleopatra
- As you like it
- Hamlet
- Julius Caesar

Reply 1

gjd800

Coriolanus is an enduring fave, because it is something of a cautionary tale about pride, hubris, and betrayal ('aren't all the Bard's tragedies?', I suppose). I've seen Othello about 15 times and it never gets old, similarly the Scottish Play. I prefer the tragedies, overall. I've read basically all Shakespeare plays and had done quite early on in my life. Shakespeare is something of a constant for me.

Reply 2

michaelhw

I am actually not a fan of Shakespeare, the reason being that the text contains too much in too small a space. I also think that Shakespeare describes the reality in which he lived, and there are piles of dead bodies in order to stir our hearts. But with one simple line: "Blow out your candles, Laura" Tennessee Williams manages to do this just as well, if not better.

I like Rome and Juliet best. It is simple to understand. I also have good memories of watching Michael Young in the Franco Zeffirelli movie version as a teenager, which besides Guilgud's Ceasar movie, is the only Shakespeare movie that I have ever enjoyed. I did, however, enjoy, Forbidden Planet, which is based on The Tempest. But the lines in that movie are normal.