That felt like Shakespeare on drugs. I think I liked it? ... Did I? ... I am confused. This play was confusing.

A true 2.5. It’s one of the weirder Shakespeare plays as he almost certainly didn’t write all of it. Whether he collaborated with another author or updated an existing manuscript, there’s a clear distinction between the first half and Chorus parts with Shakespeare’s contributions toward the end.

The plot is very silly and the reader would be excused for ignoring the details (gladiatorial combat resulting in a wedding, off-stage deaths by lightning, main characters just disappearing for decades at a time without little attempt at explanation). The highlights occur mainly in the resolutions of Act 5, moments of greatness that belie the stupidity of the conflicts that they resolve.

It also must be said that the play doesn’t drag. Though the action can be abrupt and unclear, it is propulsive, so the reader won’t feel lost or bored. There isn’t a ton of characterization; everyone just sort of does things. But ultimately I can’t count it among the lower tiers of his work, even if he only wrote half of it.

I hope the actual play is better than the reading of the play. This was just weird. It started out with incest and ended with a princess who was stolen by pirates to be sold into prostitution becoming engaged to a man she met who was willing to pay to deflower her, but found her too full of virtue. Not exactly a meet cute.

Not his best but still entertaining.