Fun “facts” to share
# 1
Shakespeare is not rocket science.
Sure, it’s not the easiest thing in the world, not like eating a pie. But it’s not that hard, either. Heck, learning to ride a bike took some time, but you did it. It took some effort to learn to read, it takes ongoing effort to maintain a great relationship, it’s not always easy to pay the mortgage. But you’ve probably noticed that those things that take a little trouble are some of the best things in life.
# 2
Reading Shakespeare helps prevent dementia.
Several recent studies show that certain aspects of Shakespeare’s writing make our brains light up more vigorously, particularly the technique called anthimeria (scientists call it functional shift) where Shakespeare switches up the parts of speech, using nouns as verbs or verbs as adjectives. For instance, if Shakespeare were to write, “They followed me at my heels like spaniels,” our brains get it. But when Shakespeare writes, “They spanieled me at heels,” our brains have to work harder to figure out how the noun spaniel operates as a verb. Check out this report at Science Daily for the details!
How to Light up your Brain
# 3
Community is good for your health!
Statistics in Robert Putnam’s book, Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community, show that joining a group is better for your health than a combination of losing weight, exercising, and quitting smoking. In fact, Putnam states, “If you do not belong to a group and you join one, your chances of dying that year are cut in half.” Wow! Join a Shakespeare Reading Circle so you won’t die this year!
How to Live Longer
Shakespeare Readers buy performance tickets.
Reading Shakespeare does not replace seeing the plays on stage. In fact, reading a play aloud with friends actually inspires a Great Desire to see it performed. But watch out—after you’ve read and discussed it, you will view every performance more critically; you will become an armchair director!
# 4
46%
The percentage of people who think, “I hated Shakespeare in school and I don't ever want to see a play because it makes me feel stupid.”
7%
The percentage of people in the world who think, “Hey, I’ve never seen a Shakespeare play before—I think I’ll go to one today!”
99.3%
The percentage of people who gleefully want to see a Shakespeare play performed after reading and discussing it with their Shakespeare reading group.
Summary
Although the charts above are obviously not scientific nor even accurate because we completely made them up, the information itself is true. :-) How can you go wrong by reading Shakespeare—out loud and in community?!