The Shakespearian Bookworm goes to Stratford

It is undeniable that Shakespeare draws on the poetic by clever use of meter, rhyme, alliteration, assonance, etc. As Styan points out in his book Perspectives on Shakespeare in Performance, until relatively recently (the past 100 years or so), Shakespeare was studied almost exclusively as a way for school children to learn English and Latin grammar (12). Shakespeare’s plays were eventually studied as strictly text. C.H. Herford describes the approach as “in their literary aspect” (13). In this way the plays relied heavily on footnotes which contain historical context and lengthy background information (13).

With this in mind, looking at Shakespeare’s plays as pure text seems to do the plays a disservice. They are not understood through a multidimensional lens that live performance allows. Additionally, Stylan suggests that theatre is a living, breathing organism that is constantly evolving. He says, “… as long as a play is still being played and witnessed, it is still being born again, still growing, and actors and spectators are helping to bring it to birth” (18). This seems to be especially true for Shakespeare, whose universality has allowed his work to be reborn on a Victorian stage as well as in a 21st century movie theatre.

In an academic setting, reading Shakespeare as text and viewing it as performance are both valuable to the student. In a close examination of the text, the amazing use of language will naturally add to the student’s appreciation of Shakespeare’s work especially in regard to his contributions to the English language. Similarly, viewing a performance will enhance a student’s appreciation of the stage craft and the theatrical nuance that Shakespeare intentionally built into his plays. It is important to understand the cultural milieu that Shakespeare wrote in as well as the contemporary relevance that Shakespeare continues to provide to new audiences.