Hamlet on Audible

I started  in on Hamlet listening with the commentary rather than without it. Personally, I really liked the commentary. I thought the lady's voice was far from distracting, and I thought the comments were just enough to keep you engaged.  The commentary says the things you think you know but could use hearing. I thought it was really interesting how they put a scene with Shakespeare burying his father and speaking to his dead son as an introduction to the play. If I had the time to listen to the play entirely with commentary I think I would do so. As for the actors, I feel that they are rather engaging taking into consideration that all they have to work with is the inflection of their voice. I'm not sure if I prefer listening or reading but listening seems to make a little more sense (especially with the commentary) and seems to be a bit more clear. I like being able to hear anger, stress, and worry in their voices. You can hear in their sheer tone if they detest something, which I thought was very useful.

Now, as for my research...I've been trying to make my topic more social, so I have contacted some friends in India (college graduates or current college students) and am asking them about whether or not Shakespeare is taught in schools. If it is, I want to know what it is they're being taught. I am also going to contact University professors and ex-University professors and ask them about their take on Shakespeare. I know my questions sound vague, but in my experience, when there is any type of language barrier people tend to answer only exactly what you ask them and give nothing more. I found at the end of my research in India that there was very valuable information that my interviewees didn't deem relevant until I asked them about it directly. So, that was that, and I also looked at Twitter and everybody was hyped up about the movie Omkara (an adaptation of Othello) even after the movie has been out for some time. So I'm in the first stages of the social networking, it's very new to me, but I think it will work out well.