Shakespeare, is he really all that?

I must admit to having a love-hate relationship with the works of the great Shakespeare. I have to have a certain amount of respect for works that have lasted and been loved for so many centuries. But I feel that they aren't perfect either. I think if Shakespeare had lived in our time, he'd be a soap opera writer, or write for a show like Grey's Anatomy or Desperate Housewives. Behind all the fancy schmancy language is usually a pretty simple story. Stories that rely on pretty simple people. Or stupid people in some cases.

And then there's the language. I have to read the versions with the translations on the side of the page just to understand it. I mean, it's English, but it's not. I know what the words mean, but when they're all put together the way he did it, I feel like I'm dyslexic. Not being able to understand such a simple story only makes me feel stupid, which makes me like Shakespeare less. But, when I do get it, I really do get it. And it's usually fun at that point.

I just don't think he should have written about stuff he didn't necessarily know anything about, like mental illness. It's one thing to write about witches and magic, cuz that's not real and whatever you want it to be, it can be. But knowing how mental illness works is kind of important when you use it so often as a story-telling device. Sure it makes for an interesting story, but it's not very helpful. There's such a stigma against mental illness already that there doesn't need to be stuff like that out there giving people the wrong idea.

I know he can't be considered responsible for it, he was a product of his times, and who knows what sort of education he had. I'm sure that's well known, but I don't care enough right now to Google it.