It's always interesting to consider which principles guided Shakespeare in his work. He made so many brilliant aesthetic decisions that we can't help but learn, if we approach it correctly. One facet that comes up over and over is its difficulty. The first time through one of the plays is heavy slogging, even for readers with a lot of experience. Was this intentional on Shakespeare's part? It's a complicated question, but my belief is that it was. It's my contention that he wanted readers and actors to spend time with the words: to really think about them. The fact that his plays can be considered as poems (or "poem[s] unlimited", as Polonius puts it) adds to the complexity, of course, because poetry is not written to have its meanings nailed down permanently. Rather it suggests things - ways of thinking, for the most part. And of course the language itself is meant to demonstrate that. Hamlet is the prime example. It is also the work of literature that changed the game for all art to follow. More on this tomorrow.