A review by italo_carlvino
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare

5.0

Shakespeare is a revered author and we are all bardolatrists. I am too. But I think I got a better understanding of his work now that I have read all of his plays. There is a difference between the semi-divine Shakespeare quote at you and the human Shakespeare you read. He is an author among many who really, really delighted in poetry and turns of phrase. He has an abiding empathy, humanism, and skepticism. I love the bard, but I do not want to revere him. I wish I had taken a Shakespeare class in college (I was required to read his sonnets for my English degree before you lose you mind). Shakespeare interests me not so much as a static artifact, but how people have interpreted and reimagined him.

I think Shakespeare is still relevant and meaningful even after all of these centuries, and I am glad I read him. But honestly I am tired (yes I can get tired even of the bard) and I am ready to move on.