Actors Quote by Hugo Weaving
“A lot of people have a fear of Shakespeare. Even actors do. People are like, "Oh, I won't go and see Shakespeare because the language is so hard," but it is. When you read it on the page, you go, "What?! What does that mean?!" If you go to a Shakespeare play and you've never been, you sit there and go, "I'm an idiot! I don't get it!"”
About This Quote
Source Interview: Acting and Shakespeare, 2015
People fear Shakespeare because of perceived language difficulty, yet experiencing it live can dissolve that fear and reveal its accessibility.
In simple terms: Shakespeare seems hard until you watch it live.
Key Takeaway
Watch performances to overcome literary intimidation.
Themes
fear
literature
performance
confidence
Mood
curious
anxious
Type
educational
inspirational
When to use this quote
- theatre class
- book club
- personal study
Key Concepts
Shakespearean drama
language barriers
learning through experience
Questions to Reflect On
- What stops you from attending a play?
- How could you make Shakespeare more approachable?
A Different Perspective
Live performances may still feel alien without prior knowledge.
![“The English language [during the Elizabethan era] wasn't standardized. There were no official dictionaries. There was no cultural belief that words should always be spelled the same way. So people spelled things however they heard them or however made sense. I mean the name Shakespeare had…” quote by Bayard Louis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/562/bayard-louis-222384_elizabethan_the-english-language-during-the-elizabet_3029960.jpg)
