wow that's harsh

Em (or whatever your blog name is)-- obviously you have some pent up anger issues regarding Shakespeare. and i don't blame you...but i don't think it's fair to lay it all on the little dead guy. He didn't know kids would be forced to memorize his lines, and back in the day that's how they talked. Which you know of course and I get your point. (Maybe there's a fifth grade english rehab or something that you can go to).

Regarding Lear specifically, I think it's alright. It's easier to understand his plays when they're acted out. That's what they were made for. Maybe we could try watching a movie version--the newest one was made for TV in '83 starring Laurence Olivier (who did a buttload of Shakespeare's stuff so he seemed to like it) . But I don't think we should immediately jump to the film without trying to get the gist of the play first.
There's so much going on in Lear I don't know what to think. Sometimes Lear seems like just an old guy lost in a new era. I pity him. But other times he's an absolute loon who does nothing but bring calamity on himself. And that's just aggravating. Even though a lot has already happened in the first two acts--just you wait there's more action to come...I hope it's violent.