Shakespeare for the modern mind?

Question

Though the classic interpetations of Shakespeares works have always been the guide in teaching, isn't ti time that another look was taken? If, IF, Shakespeares themes are timeless, and reach out generations with their appeal, then why are we not applying new interpretations to them?

Is anyone willing to think outside the box for me? Pick your favorite Shakespeare...play or sonnet...and apply a modern interpretation to it.

Answer 1

I don't think there's anything to change in our interpretations.. It might've been a different time that Shakespeare's people lived in, but the things that Shakespeare writes about are so human that they might as well happen today. Like in the play Romeo and Juliet. In the first act, two teenage boys get together and start making s*x jokes. One of them says that while his family is fighting the Montagues, he's gonna take the women to the wall and he's gonna take the heads of the maids. Then the other says, You're gonna kill the women? You're gonna take the heads of the maids? And the first one says, Or their maidenheads (virginities). Mercutio, throughout the play, all he talks about is s*x. There's nothing non-modern about these interpretations.

That's the interpretation that my teacher offered. My previous teachers too. That means that we're interpreting Shakespeare modernly, so what classic interpretations are you talking about? And, the audience that this was written for would interpret it the same way. Because Shakespeare uses words that we don't use today that had certain connotations back when he was alive. We study these connotations and we interpret his plays based on what they suggest. So what classic interpretations are you talking about?

PS You think teenage boys didn't talk about s*x in the 17th century?

Answer 2

I think the themes of Shakespeare's plays - jealousy, love, revenge, social classes, etc. are timeless and need no modern interpretation just modern application - to modern situations/problems.

Also, I think it is awesome when Shakespeare is presented in a modern way - but with the same language like in Leonardo Dicaprio's Romeo and Juliet. I think that should be done more often!

To think outside the box for you - My favorite Shakespeare play is Othello, a moder interpretation of Othello might be that we can't trust as much as we do. There is so much robbery, murder, rape, etc. done in the world by people we know and trust, and just as Othello shouldn't have trusted Iago - maybe we need to be more careful of who we trust. I don't even think that is that modern, this was a tough thing to do because his themes are so timeless!

Answer 3

I think what we should change is the way we present Shakespeare to students. He wrote plays, not novels. His pieces aren't meant to be read, they are to be put together on the stage and viewed.