Random Observation

[unforth]

It vaguely horrifies me to notice that 4 times as many LibraryThing users own "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" than own "Hamlet."

Comments

[squishymeister.livejournal.com]

400 years old...and just how many hundreds of years ago did "the people" start collecting works of literature? The general population, I mean.

Very few schools actually make students purchase a copy of books they read, they are usually in a huge text book, or the library has copies. The wealth is not out there for most students to afford that kind of spending, and how many of those students are actually going to "fall in love" with Hamlet and go buy their own after reading it in school? Some, yes. But definitely not the majority.

Hamlet might be the greatest play ever written, but in that sentence lies your problem, it's your opionion, which does not necessarily reflect the general public. And it doesn't matter if it's a great work of art, and the cultural significance and yadda yadda. That's your academic elitism...most people do not have a high enough reading level to get anything but frustration out of reading Shakespeare, no matter how masterful it is. Harry Potter is easy, and entertaining, and does not require a whole lot of schooling or smarts to enjoy.

No offense, you should be proud that you are one of the small percent of Americans who have been gifted with being able to feel the way you do about Hamlet. I guess I just live outside of the academic bubble and can freely admit that we are not a country full of geniuses.

And for the record, I too love Shakespeare...it's just I'm trying to see it from a broader view than my own feelings on the work.