mackennaconnor

[mackennaconnor]

Shakespeare: A Review

     We all know the world famous, critically acclaimed, best selling author.  His works have inspired millions.  He makes us think about life, about love, about everything.  Yes, I’m talking about the one and only Dr. Seuss.  Now I’m sure if you’re reading this you already know of his wonderful works — think the criterion collection but for books — however, what you may not know is that Dr. Seuss’ writing is categorized as “poetry”. Now, if you ask me the work of the brilliant Dr. Seuss exists outside of a category entirely.  Just to show you how overqualified this man — nay, legend — is for this category I will be examining the work of a fellow up and coming “poet” in comparison with the work of Dr. Seuss.  

          This other man’s name is William Shakespeare. A man I myself had not heard of before, since, as a millennial, I have made a personal vow not to read anything longer than a Buzzfeed article. Right off the bat we have encountered our first problem: the boring pen name.  Should someone be categorized with the likes of Dr. Seuss I would think that said person could have thought out a more appealing and attention grabbing nom de plume.  I would suggest something perhaps beginning with an unearned honorific title — maybe professor or lord — followed by a short and adorable nickname — maybe Billie or Wilkie.  

          Now, upon researching this “William Shakespeare” I was surprised to discover that he is actually married to one of my favorite Hollywood actresses: Anne Hathaway, known for her work in the timeless classic The Princess Diaries. While I was truly shocked that a talented and intelligent lady like Anne would waste her time on this Shakespeare guy, I decided to give him a chance, after all Hathaway has never disappointed me before.

          After looking into the works of William Shakespeare, it has become clear to me that this guy has never heard of the saying: “quality over quantity.” When I visited the bookstore to pick up some of his writing, I found out that some of his most famous works (namely Hamlet or Romeo and Juliet) are at least twice as long as Green Eggs and Ham and with little to no pictures.  Upon learning this I became very discouraged in my pursuit to learn more about Shakespeare.  However, my quest was revitalized when I learned of Shakespeare’s sonnets.

          These sonnets are freestanding poems that follow the specific rhyme scheme: abab cdcd efef gg.  I found this to be a bit convoluted.  I myself prefer a clearer rhyme structure, like when Dr. Seuss famously rhymed “fish” with “fish” or when rapper Pitbull rhymed “kodak” with “kodak”.  There are over 150 of these sonnets, so I decided to pick one specific sonnet to focus on; Sonnet 88.  

          Put simply, Sonnet 88 is a poem about love.  While I found it to be a rather endearing tale of a lover’s sacrifice, I thought that overall the piece could use a few tweaks.  For example, perhaps the speaker could be a talking animal or fictional creature of some sort.  The poem would be much more enjoyable if it was about a talking elephant or a “lorax” type creature.  The sonnet could also benefit from an easier to understand moral, something along the lines of “sharing is caring” or “follow your dreams," something more relatable.  Lastly, while “Sonnet 88” is a descriptive title, it’s definitely not grabbing anyone’s attention. It should have a title that is a line directly from the poem so the reader knows what it’s about.

          That being said, I did enjoy the use of made up words.  As a Seuss fan, it was fun to see another author make use of a fabricated vocabulary with words like “thou,” “thee,” and even “thy.”  These nonexistent words gave the poem a little more flavor, and an “old-timey" vibe.

          Overall, I would say that while Shakespeare may never be a Dr. Seuss level poet, he certainly has potential, and if MacBeth is ever released as a 3-d animated Pixar movie, I will be first in line for tickets.