Couldn't agree more, Alan ! The key to understanding Shakespeare is in the characters and what they do (and why). As I said (at length, on my hobby-horse !) earlier on, the way in to discovering Shakespeare, and helping others to discover the delight of these plays, is through the people and the situations they are in and recognizing yourself and others in them.

When Shakespeare is being acted well (with the actors *being* these people on stage, experiencing all the emotions/conflicts etc.) the audience really don't have to understand every single word that is being said. (Though the actors do !!) They understand by the way the actors/characters are behaving & reacting to each other, their body language, tone of voice and so on.

I heard one acting teacher say that with Shakespeare, the key is for the actor to "feel the feeling and say the words". And what wonderful words they are ! I have found that it is like a cycle: you feel the feeling, say the words, and somehow the words themselves help to engender the feeling... and so it goes on. Then, when you really get into the fine detail of it, by the way the verse line is regular or irregular, spoken by one character or shared between several, Shakespeare actually gives stage directions in how each line is to be spoken. He is there, on the page, directing his plays even to this day !

- jeanie