Who was Shakespeare?

William Shakespeare. Such a complex man no other can really understand him. There are many stories that talk about where he came from, where he was born, when he was born, what was his culture like growing up, his family, etc. Yet, those are just stories. Anecdotes that we are all bound to assume as facts. I feel like we will never truly know who this amazingly brilliant creature known as William Shakespeare is.

I feel like when students even hear the name Shakespeare, they immediately let a grunt, their hands get sweaty, and they think of how for how ever long they are going to have no life during the time the are assigned to read a piece from Shakespeare. Some don't get it, but most go into it feeling like they know they won't get it and they should just give up now. I can say that I was definitely one of these students a while ago. But now that we discuss not only Hamlet, but his other works and how he writes similarly in a lot of his plays, I feel like I've progressed a lot as a reader of Shakespeare. I will now read a line or a passage, not get it at all, go back and try breaking it down, and eventually I find myself engulfed in the writing and actually understanding a lot of it. I think I now get his puns and that a lot of what he says he doesn't actually mean literally. And I find myself still tripping up on his language. Of course, it's not the same language we use today so it can be quite difficult at times. But I know that's not something that you just get, but something you have to work on.