The Winter's Tale

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Okay, so I loved "The Winter's Tale." I think it was definitely the happy ending, or so we think. It was easy for me to just read along with this play, and I didn't think much of the beginning. Sure, it was crazy, but it's Shakespeare. Nothing surprises me anymore. The second half of the play certainly took a turn, and I appreciated it SO much. Finally, a happy ending! Maybe I appreciate Shakespeare a little more now.

Maybe....

Until our guest speaker came and ruined my thoughts...

Which is absolutely okay. We need those people to ruin our thoughts, to threaten what we think we know, to shake us until we wake up. HA.
All jokes aside, I appreciated our guest speaker's questioning of Hermione.

Why do we side with the woman? I mean of course there are plenty of times the women are the victims. Was Hermione the victim? It infuriates me that we have all these questions and NO ANSWERS.

Shakespeare. WHY.

We don't know if Hermione was actually flirting or not. There's honestly no proof, on both sides of the argument. I like to think Hermione was faithful and I do believe it. But it's the fact of the lack of evidence in Shakespeare's plays about anything really.

Maybe Shakespeare meant for that to happen so we would be constantly questioning his work. We would be constantly deciphering what he means well after he's dead. And we will be. I think Shakespeare's work is complex and difficult. BUT it has meaning. It has truth and complex themes that should be dug into.

I've always been skeptical about Shakespeare and his work. But I've come to appreciate the complexity of it. I've come to appreciate the constant questioning and opinions that come from it.

Therefore, thank you for helping shed light on the "old, white dude" and giving me this new perspective.

Finally, thank you for ending with a relatively happy play.

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