He pitches! She Swings! And . . .! Foul Ball!

I am going to start by explaining my previous experience with Shakespeare. In tenth grade I read Hamlet in my English class and did not understand it until after we had watch the Mel Gibson and Kenneth Branaugh version. Also that year I was the narrator for the school play. Why? Because it was As You Like It and guess what? I was not the only high schooler who had no idea what the genius was saying. The next experience came four years later . . . oh my gosh I feel old . . . it was this summer when I went to the Shakespearean festival in Cedar City with my aunt. This is where I fell in love with Shakespeare. My sympathies could take no solid allegiance at the end of The Merchant of Venice. I was shocked and appalled at the lengths the Macbeth's went  to climb the social ladder and the how wide the doorway to the pathway to hell can swing open when one only peeks through. And cried till I laughed as I watched Beatrice and Benedick engage in battles of whit over and over again. Then crack! like a slap in the face from the first page of Hamlet I am struggling with Shakespeare again. You can call me stupid and accuse me of being in the wrong major but I could hear the whoosh as the words went flying over my head. Don't get me wrong I understand the just of what is going on, I am not a total idiot, but i feel like I am missing out on a lot as I read. This frustrating fact has lead me to the conclusion Shakespeare scholars around the world will agree on, Shakespeare is meant to be seen in a theater. Some may think there is value in reading the text, however, apart from it being cheaper, I am having difficulties with the idea. Are there any sympathizer out there?