@steeph @Amoshias part of it has to do with American culture - anything with an English accent can often be considered "high-falutin" by some, and Renaissance-era English especially so. There's also the reality that most of us are exposed to Shakespeare first on the written page, where tone and fluency can't be conveyed. Hearing it spoken by good actors is a totally different experience.

I was lucky to have an enthusiastic and effective Shakespeare teacher in high school. He and I could barely stand to be around one another due to personality issues, but he did manage to convey to me a love for the form.

@Amoshias the "arguments" that I've heard usually revolve around the language being difficult.

@benjamincox only now figuring this out?

@karlauerbach as a former resident of Ashland, Oregon I can only agree about seeing Shakespeare performed live.

When people say Shakespeare isn't relevant to modern life it's good to have people like Sir Ian around to prove them wrong: