ALL OF SHAKESPEARE’S PLAYS ARE GOOD. Pericles is thought by most critics to be one of Shakespeare’s weakest plays. Yet it delighted a modern audience. I posted here after we saw the three Henry VI plays, which are also considered to be some of Shakespeare’s weakest plays. A number of critics dislike these plays so much that they question whether Shakespeare wrote them. We were thrilled by them. I wrote in my post that: “Watching the Henry VI plays, I was persuaded by the vividness of each scene that I was watching Shakespeare.”
One thing I found out from seeing all the plays was that every one of Shakespeare’s plays was really good.
Dear Philip:
Your discovery of Shakespeare’s extraordinary merit is important. Hang on to it, as there are those who would try to beguile you to the nayward in the name of facile sophistication. One way to follow up on your realization would be to consult the underground classic dedicated to precisely this insight. In two volumes it is:
1) Hamlet Made Simple and Other Essays, and 2) Unreading Shakespeare, both from New English Review. Good luck!