Thursday, March 25, 2010

as you like it

shakespeare is over-rated, because i've enough grey hairs to make apocryphal comments. my main quarrel: contrived plots that depend on implausible coincidences and are conveniently resolved by deus ex machina. the closest modern counterpart must be a third rate romance from mills & boons. and he relies a lot on genetic goodness triumphing over circumstances, which is rather stretching it.

on the other hand, his writing is sheer poetry if you just allow the words to bewitch you. forget the iffy plots the improbable remorse and cursory characterizations, and just enjoy the effortless cadences. it does mean we need to read the man himself (or watch him) rather than sparks notes or the lamb siblings.

No comments: