Tolstoy on Shakespeare
a critical essay on Shakespeare. Translated by V. Tchertkoff and I.F.M. Followed by Shakespeare's attitude to the working classes by Ernest Crosby and a letter from G. Bernard Shaw
by Lev Tolstoi, Ernest Howard Crosby, George Bernard Shaw, V. G. Chertkov · first published 1906
33% recommend67% neutral
Tolstoy does not like Shakespeare. Not at all. In this classic rant, Tolstoy takes Shakespeare to task for having ridiculous plots, characters without distinct personalities, endless speechifying, language no mortal would utter, no morals, a disdain for the common person, and zero sympathy for the audience. by Leo Tolstoy. Translated by V. G. Tchertkoff and I. F. M. Followed by Shakespeare's attitude to the working classes, by Ernest Crosby, and a letter from George Bernard Shaw.
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Huge aside but... if you like Tolstoy and Shakespeare reading Tolstoy's take down of Shakespeare is super interesting: https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Tolstoy_on_Shakespeare He specifically goes to town on King Lear and gets into some interesting discussions on how he thinks the earlier Lear Shakespeare referenced is structurally better. Also reveals Tolstoy's own perspective…
on “A happy ending for King Lear? Trauma of plague caused Shakespeare to change it” ↗…irresistible repulsion and tedium" [1] http://www.orwell.ru/library/essays/lear/english/e_ltf ("Lear, Tolstoy, and the Fool, by George Orwell) [2] http://www.gutenberg.org/files/27726/27726-h/27726-h.htm ("Tolstoy on Shakespeare", by Leo Tolstoy)
on “Shakespeare’s Genius Is Nonsense (2014)” ↗> Huge aside but... if you like Tolstoy and Shakespeare reading Tolstoy's take down of Shakespeare is super interesting: https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Tolstoy_on_Shakespeare Holy shit. "... nevertheless I will endeavor, as well as I can, to show why I believe that Shakespeare can not be recognized either as a great genius, or even as an average author." Shakespeare isn't…
on “A happy ending for King Lear? Trauma of plague caused Shakespeare to change it” ↗