Quote:
Originally Posted by N. Matheson
What I was taught was Shakespeare is not merely an artist, but art incarnate. His works are so far removed from us mere mortals that to even think he is capable of being measured is like trying to put a chain around the wind.
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That sounds like lazy teaching.
As a reader/playgoer, you're free to feel that way, but attempting the impossible might lead to greater enjoyment. What is it that you love about Shakespeare? Do you find these qualities equally in every play, every sonnet, every line? Where do they most stand out, and why?
Quote:
Originally Posted by N. Matheson
Harold Bloom, who has been mentioned, also relegated every one of his contemporaries to hacks..
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In the appendix to his
Western Cannon, Bloom includes several of Shakespeare's contemporaries. He didn't rate them as Shakespeare's equals, but he found them worth reading and studying.
https://www.openculture.com/2014/01/...oogle_vignette