Looking for a love story this Valentine’s day? One that will push you a little further than another Nicholas Sparks novel, or gives more hardy laughs than Danielle Steel’s latest? Why not check out Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream?”
Uh Oh. Did he just say Shakespeare?
Yes. Please, don’t be alarmed or run and hide behind the newest best-seller. Shakespeare’s not as hard as most think. With just a little practice, you can be laughing along with the famous playwright in no time.
Here’s one thing college professors and high school teachers are afraid to admit: It’s okay to read along with Cliff Notes, or better yet, Sparknote’s “No Fear Shakespeare.”
If you haven’t heard of it, “No Fear Shakespeare” puts a modern English translation on the left page next to its original version on the right. At first, you might want to read the entire page in its modern translation and then compare the old text. Then you might be brave enough to read one line of old followed by one line of new.
Guess what? Do this for two or three of Shakespeare’s plays and you’re going to find it’s not too hard to read the old guy’s work after all. Just don’t let your old teachers know how you did it. Odds are they took the hard route.
“A Midsummer’s Night Dream” couldn’t be a better launching point. One of Shakespeare’s most comedic plays, “Dream” centers around a love triangle of sorts, but with four people.
Lysander loves Hermia, a fair maiden, who loves him back. Hermia’s father, however, does not wish to see the two wed, but would prefer if his daughter married Demetrius. While Demetrius would be more than happy to take Hermia’s hand, Helena, like an ignored puppy, follows Demetrius around begging that he give his love to her instead. He has no interest.
When Lysander and Hermia run away to the forest to escape her father’s persecution — and Demetrius and Helena give chase — things kick into high gear. The king of the fairies, Oberon, sends his little jester of a fairy known as Puck to have a little fun. He sprinkles love potion in certain characters’ eyes while they sleep, and when they wake up, let’s just say things get a little topsy-turvy.
In typical Shakespeare fashion, a few side stories also develop just to keep things interesting. What’s nice about making “A Midsummer’s Night Dream” your first romp in Shakespeare-land is that it’s never meant to be taken too seriously. While it may be easier to get lost in the details and symbolism of his more dramatic pieces like “Hamlet” and “Romeo and Juliet,” “Dream” doesn’t require as much from its reader. Rather, it just asks us to have a little fun.
So what if we don’t “get” every detail found in Shakespeare’s “weird” words? That was the fun of reading when we were kids — the exploration of new words and new ideas, the working out of vocabulary we had never seen before based on the words around it, or perhaps even skipping small parts of a story we didn’t understand. It’s okay to be new at something. Don’t get frustrated, enjoy it!
If you’re extra scared, just read the modern “No Fear” translation, and skip the old English. The story still shines through, even if the word play isn’t as sharp. After all, it’s not like Shakespeare’s plan was to torture us. I’m sure he’d be just fine with updated versions to help us that are new to the scene. Enjoy, and happy Valentine’s Day.
Dean Goranites can be reached through Twitter at unleashingwords..
Features
Related Videos
Related Photos
-
Dean Goranites
Related Links
Have no fear with Shakespeare’s ‘Dream’
- Features
-
-
Kenmore's food scene is a walk in the park
The Village of Kenmore has some remarkable attractions. As Village Historian, a government appointment that doesn’t pay me a dime, I spend my time researching them, studying them, extolling and explaining them in presentations and publications.
-
Stories from the neighborhood, and the concentration camp
The person with a haunted past is a familiar and reliable trope in literature and film, and perhaps all of us have something about which to be haunted. A book by Lewiston resident Joseph Leary, “Klara,” sharply explains a story of past misdeeds in a well-written and evocative novel.
-
Some tips for the fathers-to-be
All of a sudden, I’m getting to feel like a bit of an ol’ pro at this fatherhood thing.
-
Clueless and late to the garden party
The more I get into this whole gardening thing, the more I realize how much I don’t know.
It started not long after I finished my first “Clueless Gardener” column, when I walked into a store with the idea of making some gardening purchases. Seeds, I thought. Maybe some plants to transplant. But mainly, seeds. That’s kind of the point of a garden, right?
-
Easy ways to enrich your pet's life and help the environment
The day has come were my finely articulated words have been placed on the bottom of my bird cage to be soiled upon. Sure, it was funny when it was Joe Biden’s face or another writer’s work. But mine? So cruel. So proud.
-
Beyond cake & balloons
If the usual birthday routine of pin-the-tail on the donkey, musical chairs and cake and ice cream is getting older than the birthday child ... fear not.
-
Not your average pizzeria
It’s hard to say that a restaurant that has only been open for about a month is the best- kept secret in Western New York, but that’s exactly what the judges at the Buffalo Pizza Bash thought about a new pizzeria in Kenmore, Big Vinny’s Pizza.
-
What eight years of parenthood have taught me
Happy Mother’s Day.
This will be my eighth of these holidays as an honest-to-goodness mom. I actually had to count on my fingers to figure that out. (Everything they say about journalism majors and math? True here) Part of the problem, of course, is that it’s really kind of tough for me to remember life before kids at this point. -
BOOK NOOK: New golf book tees off on sport's memorable moments
If nothing else, “Golf’s All-Time Firsts, Mosts, Leads and a Few Nevers” will prepare you to win any bar bet you’ll ever enter about golf.
-
Learning to be an animal ambassador
Crikey! I was infatuated by Steve Irwin, the crocodile hunter, while I was growing up. The way he could highlight an animal and change our negative perception was remarkable.
- More Features Headlines
-
FAMU Bandmates: Victim Volunteered to Be Hazed
Raw Video: Bride Who Faked Cancer Released
Raw Video: Tornado Appears During Wedding
HP to Cut 27,000 Jobs, Save Up to $3.5B
Inquiry Hears Wider Secret Service Misbehavior
Md. 911 Dispatcher Caught Sleeping on Job
Raw Video: Toddler Trapped in Washing Machine
Iowa Man With Zebra, Parrot in Truck Gets DUI
Egyptians Pick New President in Free Election
Giant Bull Head Draws Drivers to South Dakota
Astrodome Fades As Houston Decides Fate
Franciscan Files Tell Stories of Priest Abuse
Wildfire Destroys 2 Homes
Flight Diverted After Suspicious Note
Joplin Remembers Deadly Tornado, 1 Year Later
Panel Recommends Against Routine Prostate Test
Fired Lingerie Employee Claims Discrimination
Facebook Shares Continue Negative Slide
Cuba Waiting for Cyber Age to Come
8 Hurt in Oklahoma Shooting After NBA Playoff
