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Writer and editor Home > Blogs > Brain Droppings > Archives > 2008 > August > 02 > Entry
How Shakespeare jolts your brain
We all know that reading and watching Shakespeare takes a bit of extra effort, and we all have our varying opinions on whether that effort is worth it; ask a sophomore student in English class or a 50-year-old theater lover for their opinions on that, and compare what you get.
But interestingly, this piece in the Literary Review from the UK says that scientists have studied the way in which paying attention to the nuances and flow of the Bard’s speech and writing will actually make both of those people smarter, just from sticking with it. Turns out that the way he wrote actually keeps your brain on a higher alert for the little linguistic surprises buried inside the sentences…
The same could likely be said for Mozart or Halo, I suppose, both of which have their supporters in the “doing it makes you smarter” debates… But Shakespeare gets my vote.
Read on, Macduff…
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By Pam
August 5, 2008 11:06 PM | Link to this
One of my favorite evenings this summer was watching “Two Gentlemen of Verona” under the stars at Springfield Arts Festival. There is just something wonderful about outdoor performances of Shakespeare’s plays.