The Dink Network

Shakespeare seems to be the one playwright mandatory in American schools, which is wrong for three reasons:

1. He sucks.
2. He's boring.
3. He wasn't American

So... do Norwegians have to read Ibsen? He should be read in Norwegian schools for three reasons:

1. His plays are good.
2. The people in his plays swear a lot in 19th century Norwegian.
3.He was, in fact, from Norway.

So, do you guys read Ibsen...?

I agree, Shakespeare is boring.

Ibsen? never heard.

I'm not going to study shakespear until a year, so I havent actualy seen/read one of his plays.

I've never heard of Ibsen either.

Uh...but I like shakespeare.

Shakespeare is something I have to work at. Mainly because of the old style of language. And so is Chaucer.

Just imagine if you had to restrict yourself to reading, seeing, listening to artistic works done only by your fellow countrymen/countrywomen?

I can't. There are too many great works out there - Ibsen included. Not to mention Beethoven. Man, now there was a genius! (Goes off to listen the 7th Symphony again for inspriation)

Other than ole bill shakespeare being a perv he is cool in my book

Eh, once you get good enought as something, you are allowed a few foibles. Take Beethoven for example. He was a cruel bloody arsehole when he wasn't writing music. Or at least I think it was him... It could have been one of the other famous music people.

3. He wasn't American
Are you sure that's a reason against reading Shakespeare? You do have Fitzgerald though, and he's brilliant, so maybe I'll leave it there..

And yeah, I've read Ibsen.. to be more precise, only one of his plays (A Doll's House) and I did like it a lot. I'm definitely going to read more after the final exams... or well.. I might have to continue on Dostoyevsky before him though. Anyway.

Interesting topic. I like these literature questionnaires, they give me a chance to sound more sophisticated than I am

I am norwegian.

We have been reading an playing Ibsen at school. "The wild duck" or something ("Vildanden"). I have seen two versions of Peer Gynt aswell (they are beginning to get insane now. originality, you know) and also "Vildanden", but not with the school. I think Ibsen is good, but kind of boring anyway... I mean, just not fun. Knut Hamsun rocks, and modern authors like Erlend Loe. We have been learning more about those new "big boys" (not that big yet) lately, because some people hate conservativity.

Essentially all of the really good American authors came after world war I: Fitzgerald, Salinger, Hemmingway. Before that, European literature was miles ahead: Dostoyevsky, for example, had no counterpart.

For whatever reason, American literature is big here... I don't know why, but we read a lot of mediocre US authors of the 19th and early twentieth century instead of their European counterparts (Crane instead of Zola, etc.)

You'd think that in keeping with this philosophy, they'd find some dull domestic product to take the place of Shakespeare and Dickens (not especially intersting authors anyways IMO). But they don't... ah well.

Ibsen.. Yeah, made a presentation about one of his books for college once, A Doll's House. He is rather good.

I myself like European (especially British) literature considerably more than American. Citing some examples: George Orwell, Poe, Tolstoy (especially Orwell). Shakespeare isn't terribly boring, seemingly less so after living in this crappy town for eight years (there literally is nothing to do but appreciate classic literature and mod).

Er, Poe was American.

My favorite authors are probably Kafka, Dostoyevsky, and Salinger. I haven't read much by Orwell, just Animal Farm, which I liked, although it's really a children's book.

--Animal Farm, which I liked, although it's really a children's book.
Are you being intentionally provocative or just ignorant? I'm... very confused now.

You wouldn't have your children read Animal Farm?? My mom read it out loud to me and my brother when I was around 8 or so... I also read it for school at the age of 13. I'd still appreciate it if I read it again, but it still seems more of a children's introduction to totalitarianism and the Russian revoution.

Animal Farm is an easy read, but I wouldn't really label it as kids book. It was an interesting read at age 9, but I didn't quite grasp the various underlying meanings until I read it again when I was 11.

I considered Poe's work British because he attended college in England and wrote a lot of his work there. As for George Orwell, Animal Farm is one of his more famouse books. His best work is easily 1984 . It's required reading in high school, but they cut out the chapter where he buys a hooker in the school books.

Just a quesion of interest. What the fudge does the subject of your post have to do with your post? 'Cause I keep on thinking about how we are going to discus some freaky deaky snow action, but I get this. And I am sadly disapointed.

I'm sure it's some line from some famous play or story

Why she dog about what you have to read, if it's changed to what you want i'm sure others would she dog themselves

Yeah, I guess I was a little harsh, but I was pretty depressed right then, I thought I had lost my bid for a fusion furnace. But, lady luck helped me along, and now I only have to pick it up. I'm so freaking happy right now.

"AASE: What is left of all the wealth your wealthy grandfather used to own?
PEER: Where are the snows of yesteryear?"

From Peer Gynt.

The irony is that Ibsen himself probably liked Shakespeare; there are a lot of Shakespeare references in his work.

I guess that's not really all that ironic...