“That what we have we prize not to the worth
Whiles we enjoy it, but being lacked and lost,
Why, then we rack the value, then we find
The virtue that possession would not show us
While it was ours.”
These lines from Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing” could be interpreted in several different ways — however, the general translation is meant to demonstrate to the audience that we don’t know the value of what we have until it’s gone. Never read Shakespeare before? That’s OK — you can get the general idea from context. It’s not too big of a deal — or is it?
The Oregon Shakespeare Festival will soon be announcing their plan to modernize all 37 plays into modern-day English. The Festival was founded in 1935 and has been putting on Shakespeare-inspired productions ever since. Their mission statement is as follows: “Inspired by Shakespeare’s work and the cultural richness of the United States, we reveal our collective humanity through illuminating interpretations of new and classic plays, deepened by the kaleidoscope of rotating repertory.”
An interesting statement, as this festival plans to thoroughly alter their presentation of Shakespearian classics. While I am completely open to new interpretations of his works (if you have never watched Baz Luhrmann’s take on “Romeo and Juliet,” I highly recommend it), I believe there is something to be said about the raw beauty, flow and, quite honestly, confusion of the original language.
Shakespearian English can be like reading a different language without Google translate — sure, there are some similar spellings, and quite a bit of overlap in words with Modern English, but the essence of the language itself goes beyond the superficial irregularities between the two forms. Double meanings, which we are less likely to grasp through our lens of 2015 English, are abundant in this writing. Language changes continually, thus we give new meaning to words that previously could have held the opposite definition (ever wonder how the word “literally” came to have such a sarcastic connotation?).
That language has evolved over time does not imply, however, that we should disregard all of the previous forms of English which expanded and grew into what we know today. Even someone without any knowledge of Shakespeare should be able to go to a play, listen for key contextual clues and put together a basic plot line. This said, the real joy of a true Shakespearian representation stems from a person who has studied Shakespeare, read Shakespeare or is interested in the language.
By continuing to watch these plays and bring in new information each time, one is able to uncover double entendres or create new, unique interpretations of a line that may have seemed unimportant in previous viewings. A person’s creativity can flourish through the continued consistency in the lines and inflection, because there is always a new way to decipher the language. If the Oregon Shakespeare Festival refuses to perform using the original language, it will not only hinder the actors’ ability to explore the characters and continue to perfect their interpretations of the speech, but the real reflection of the play — the audience — will lose out on a valuable viewing opportunity and suffer in their own growth as active, engaged listeners.