Shakespeare and Me

Shakespeare first entered my life, with real power, in the seventh grade. Our poor, patient, and worthy of pity English teacher, Ms. Rose, introduced us to "Midsummer Night's Dream". It really touched me. The rhythm of the words, the clever play with language, the story. I liked it a lot but I was a too cool for Shakespeare, just like every other young teenage boy my age. It ended there.

Not to be averted, Shakespeare tried once again to come into my life in the ninth and tenth grades through the plays of "Romeo and Juliet" and "Julius Ceasar". I loved them once again. Unfortunately, I was still to cool for it. I could only have a closet love for this iambic pentameter prose. It wasn't until eleventh grade that Shakespeare was able to really become a comfortable part of my life.

In the eleventh grade I developed a transitory twitterpation, a crush, on a girl in my ward. She loved Shakespeare, and I thought she was wonderful, so Shakespeare must be wonderful too. I promptly went out and bought a copy of The Complete Works of Shakespeare and began to read religiously. Yes...I started reading Shakespeare to meet girls... Nothing developed out of this crush i had, except for a deep deep love and relationship for all things Shakespeare. I devoured his plays and tried to understand them as best I could. I developed an admiration for his way of saying things and revered dear Will as almost a minor prophet, penning scripture.

Since then I have loved Shakespeare. I love reading the plays, I love seeing them performed in the theater, I love the movie renditions, (Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet...anyone? yes?) My favorite play is "Hamlet" the original emo. I think it's fantastic.

Shakespeare and Mason...are friends.