After, first reading one of Shakespeare’s sonnets I
always find it hard to understand what it is exactly that Shakespeare is trying
to say to the reader. I find myself reading the lines of the sonnet over and
over again. After, I have read it a couple of times it is then that the words
begin to make little sense to me. I believe the reason why I have always found
Shakespeare’s work somewhat confusing is because of the language and the way
his work is written. I find it hard transferring a language that was written
centuries ago into that language that we speak today. It not only becomes frustrating
trying to understanding the language but also it makes you want to completely
give up on Shakespeare all together.
The
thing I find most interesting about learning about Shakespeare is the influence
that he has on most people, especially writers. As a writer, I always found
Shakespeare’s work somewhat pretentious. It was probably because of my teachers
in high school that I felt this way because there wasn’t a year that went by,
where we didn’t get to a chapter in our books where Shakespeare was praised for
his writing. I always felt that if I wanted to be a writer then I should enjoy
Shakespeare but this was never the case. I never enjoyed Shakespeare’s work as
much as most of my colleagues. I felt almost compelled to like him as a writer.
Even today as I read his sonnets, I still think that I am missing out on
something because I don’t get excited or a chilling feeling when I read it as I
have heard other people described these feelings to me after, they have read
his work.
I
must admit that even if my feelings aren’t mutual for Shakespeare as others, I
do like the way his sonnets are presented. I find that reading the sonnets is
fairly easy because of the flow of words and the pace. One might find it hard
to understand to catch onto the meaning of the sonnets in the beginning but I
find if you continue to read or if you read it again and again the meaning
because clearer and eventually so does the theme of the sonnet. Eventually, after the reader understands what
Shakespeare is trying to say within his sonnet, they can realize how beautiful the
words and the language are in his work.
