Nicholas Milem

9/11/14
LBST 2101
Shakespeare Reflection
Personally my opinion of Shakespeare is not one of appreciation. I do not personally like
Shakespeare, nor consider him of great influence on English literature. To me his works do not have
much importance whatsoever and I do not appreciate very many of his works. His works are boring to
me, and if not for them being required for education I would not want to read any of them.
Unfortunately for me the rest of the education community values his works greatly and uses them in a
majority of all education levels. Thus I must endure years of education being subject to his writings, and
like most education settings conformity is the main objective. I also believe this ultimately the
enforcement of his works has had a negative influence on my opinion of his works along with the
opinions of many other students across the world. The evidence of Shakespeares influence is every in
modern culture, especially movies, plays, television shows, and other works of media. His influence is
respected by many as well as not appreciated by others. The works of Shakespeare do not peak my
interest much at all, other than for the historical aspect of his existence molding literature and society
over the course of time. I have read a number of his works, including Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar,
Hamlet, A Midsummers Night Dream, and various sonnets. Personally other than managing to keep his
writings in iambic pentameter I do not find his works impressive by any means. His infatuation with
writing sonnets about two subjects has kindled a slight interest in his works, only by wishing to know
who or what these subjects meant to Shakespeare and why he devoted so much of his time to writing
about them. From an academic standpoint I must respect his works despite my opinions and I do not
think negatively upon those who appreciate and value his works as great pieces of literature. However I

do personally believe in moving away from education being so centralized around his writings and more
towards new modern writers of much higher caliber than Shakespeare. I do not believe that this class
will change my opinion of Shakespeare, other than just making me more familiar with his works, due to
the course content. A majority of my academic history others have tried to influence myself and my
peers to like Shakespeare, all of them failing. However, this discourse for Shakespeare harms my level of
enjoyment for this course, but is another obstacle I must cross in order to advance in my academic
career. The level of which Shakespeare organizes his words and thoughts into his works is another
reason for my personal disgust with his works, mainly due to the ultimate and unnecessary difficulty of
his writings. Shakespeare, described by scholars as the greatest writer of literature of all time, will more
than likely never peak my personal interest, and will probably never escape my list of least favorite
writers.