Quote:
Originally Posted by ahi
No, but you do appear to have belittled one of the greatest writers of Western Civilization for trying hard to give one of English literature's giants a chance.
Not to mention, your stance also suggest a quiet assumption that it is impossible to dislike/think poorly of Shakespeare for objective reasons.
Not having stated a personal opinion on the bard before, I shall not start now. Just making observations. 
- Ahi |
I wasn't belittling Tolstoy for trying to give Shakespeare a chance. I like Tolstoy. It just seemed that he spent
too much time trying to give him a chance. According to your quote he spent an exhorbitant amount of time trying to get something worthwhile out of his writings. All I was saying was that if Shakespeare's works didn't appeal to him after several readings and translations, then why continue to beat the dead horse? . . . so that he could drive the point home even more pointedly?. . . so that he could be considered an autority on the worthlessness of Shakespeare's work?
I was just making observations as well.
There was just a lot that could be read into the statements that Tolstoy made there, and it made me wonder why he 'wasted' so much time on works that he found no enjoyment in.
As an example, the world in general says that a rose (flower) has a wonderful scent and is (in general) the most beautiful flower in the world, or so many would say. I may not think the rose deserves all the attention and praise that it gets. I don't care for the scent of a rose either. For that reason, I see no point in continuing to smell roses over and over and over again, with the hopes that I might begin to appreciate the scent as others do. If I don't like it, why waste my time? Why keep smelling them for years, every color and variety, if I don't like the way they smelled the first few times I experienced them? So that I can say I smelled them all and they stink and don't deserve the praise they've received? Silly.
Did I fail to mention that I'm not a big fan of Shakespeare's work myself? I'm sure he was a very gifted writer, maybe even a nice man, and the world thinks his work is fabulous. It may not be popular to dislike his work, and to some that may make me uncouth and lacking in the literary graces . . . but he's not my cup of tea.
So you see, I generally agree with Tolstoy's opinions of Shakespeare's work and his lack of appreciation for the genious the rest of the world sees.
My point was and is this . . . if you don't like the music the first time you hear it, why would you keep playing the same tune over and over again for years on end before realizing it will never sound any better to your ears?
Life is too short. Get over it and move on.
And that's exactly what I'll do here.
We both stirred that stupid pot. I'm sorry I fell for the bait, but now I'm moving on.