Shakespeare might be a literary icon of the west, but his works do not have a place in today’s modern literary stage. His work does not reflect the human condition today because they were written for a different society that had different appeals and problems to solve. The language used is not meant for reading, but for stage performances too.
Take, for instance, the lines found in Act II scene II where Hamlet is visited by the ghost, which is thought to be that of his late father’s. The ghost says at the end of his solo, “ Out of my weakness and my melancholy, as he is very potent with such spirits, abuses me to damn me. I'll have grounds more relative than this—the play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the King.” The sentence structure is quite hard for any person reading this type to understand. One wonders if the author wrote the play to be critiqued by others, or he wrote it for personal uses only. This is why I think that reading Shakespeare at this time and age is not worth it.
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The setting of this play does not match with the current realities as they are different. Whereas royalties do exist in today’s world, like in the United Kingdom with Queen Elizabeth and the Nordic countries like Denmark, they are not as powerful as they are in the play. The play has several instances of how the King issues edicts, like this line. Your commission will forthwith dispatch, and he to England shall along with you: The terms of our estate may not endure Hazard so near us as doth hourly grow Out of his lunacies (Act III scene III) The wording aside, there is simply no way a King could have such powers in today’s political setting.
Shakespeare may have been a hit some 500 years ago, and some of the stuff he talked about may be happening today like deceit and revenge, but he is not relevant that more in today’s world. Not when reading a play written in old archaic English talking about stuff which does not happen anymore.
