I know a little more than I'd like to about Shakespeare as a man (thank you Gretchen Minton) but one thing that strikes me about his work is that if you've read it, you've pretty much read everything that's been written after him or you can at least put the pieces together enough to understand it. Shakespeare is is like The Beatles: everything that has been produced after him is either inspired by his work or a shameless knock-off. I realize that much of what he wrote was based on biblical storytelling and ancient mythology, but it is still amazing that in the midst of something as catastrophic as the plague someone could come up with such witty and sardonic stories that have lasted as long as his have.
Another thing that I know and am fascinated by about Shakespeare is the versatility with which someone can interpret the text or make their own. During my graveyard shift-induced Netflix binge over the Winter break I stumbled upon a movie called "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Undead." Basically, a young man is sucked into directing Hamlet for a small company of players who are subsequently revealed as being vampires who are part of a feud against prince Hamlet who was actually a real guy who cured his own vampirism by drinking from the holy grail that, as it turns out, was in Denmark the whole time. I loved Tom Stoppard's play that this movie quotes and pokes fun at, and I love that no matter how much time passes there will always be another way to put a new spin on a canonized work by our buddy, Bill.
I know that no matter how much I think I know about Shakespeare, there is always something more to be found and m really looking forward to digging it up with this class.
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