Why Shakespeare is Harder to Read

There a number of reasons why Shakespeare is harder to read than a modern author. First, and most obvious, is his language. The English language is simply not spoken in the same way as it was when he wrote his plays. This compounded with the intellectual style of writing he has creates a way of writing that is much harder to understand than most modern authors. The next source of difficulty is the format. It is meant to be performed, and so there is only dialogue. There are few internal thoughts, actions, or description of the setting to clue you in on what is happening or what the characters are feeling. Also, because reading does not provide the visuals of the play or an introduction of the characters, I feel it takes much longer for me to be able to distinguish characters. These difficulties, instead of taking away from Shakespeare's writing, make it even more impressive. The fact that I can enjoy "solving" his writing even when its meant to be straightforward shows just how impressive a writer he was.