03-29-2019, 02:00 PM
Tolstoy found the plots contrived, which is a perfectly valid point.
Tolstoy was reading the plays translated, so he could not form a full opinion on their literary merit, only how they stood up as plays. Orwell’s “defence” similarly has a hint of hurt English language pride.
That Shakespeare is read today is a bogus contention, because much of that reading is through a self perpetuating education system where Shakespeare is already held up as the nonpareil, no questions asked.
Tolstoy was reading the plays translated, so he could not form a full opinion on their literary merit, only how they stood up as plays. Orwell’s “defence” similarly has a hint of hurt English language pride.
That Shakespeare is read today is a bogus contention, because much of that reading is through a self perpetuating education system where Shakespeare is already held up as the nonpareil, no questions asked.