The Complete Works

At this point in time a review of William's collected works seems redundant. However, the experience of reading all his works as a single book is worth noting. I have read The Collected Works twice. Both times I did so in one go. Read slept read slept read etc. until finished. (I would read while eating and other activities, so really only stopped for sleeping.)

This practice with this particular work is extremely beneficial. William is not an easy read, at first. That difficulty in the beginning easily fools us into believing it will remain so, but it doesn't. For a few reasons. First, the way the plays are written and to whom they were written, comes into, er... play. (Forgive me.) William wrote to an audience comprised of every level of literacy and sophistication. In every play he caters to them all.

Typically, he will have a complex literary part, filled with references particular to the time, or complex convoluted language, his equivalence of “purple prose.” These passages, now, without knowing the specifics referred to or the out of date vocabulary can be hard to decipher. But, fortunately William also had an uneducated “common” audience. He would inevitably follow those difficult sections with straightforward, simple and obvious written which clarifies everything and lets us know what we need to know o follow the story. All we have to do is wait. Suspend our understanding for a while and let the comprehension come to us, instead of the usual other way around. A most handy skill with William.

Another benefit from reading the works as a single book with minimal breaks is the Attunement of the brain. I was not writing either time I read the Complete Works, I wish I had been. A consequence of that intense immersion is that one's brain realigns and adjust and, well, actually regrows neurons to accommodate the immersion and emphasis, all resulting in an increased capacity to assimilate, understand and comprehend. This mechanism is a most incredible one, and applies to anything we do, if we give it a chance to do so. We have to “get into' whatever it is we immerse ourselves into. We have to allow a bit of time for that Immersion to take hold.

With William the effect is dramatic. The more one reads the more one “clicks' and gets the language. Not only the language, but his brilliance. his metaphors, his wisdom, his insights into psychology and motivation. His cleverness and artistry, all become magnified. The more we Attune, the more magic there is to behold. When it comes to Appreciation, Shakespeare is one author that dramatically amplifies our joy the more we tune into his language and style. he is layered beyond layering.

For me, that immersion, since I did nothing else and likely barely spoke to anyone else during the read, the immersion resulted in my speech and thinking being affected. I could talk, “in Shakespeare.” A most marvellous phenomenon. If I had been writing I would have loved to write something in that style. I came easy after the total involvement and my brain had the opportunity to retrain itself.

All in all, reading William's complete works as a book is highly highly recommended, as doing so opens us up to being able to connect with the fullness of his unparalleled genius.