Ruth Morse

People often ask me, "Why do you keep reading Shakespeare (in English)?" Well, I'm not really sure. That's why I never know what answer to give. Mainly because it's meaningful to me, which invariably raises the question, "Why is it meaningful to you?", and on and on.

First of all I find Shakespeare a tremendous source of inspiration, because there's no situation that I've come up against that somehow hasn't been described in those plays.

When I read him over and over again, it's like going back to some great piece of music. It’s dramatic poetry/prose, so each time you hear/read it, it reacts on you in a different, usually a richer, way. Why in English? Because Shakespeare in translation is a different beast altogether. Not better or worst. Just altogether different.


You can find the rest of this review on my blog.… (mer)