Fie Upon it, They're "Translating" Shakespeare!

The Wall Street Journal reports that the Oregon Shakespeare Company is doing translations of all of Shakespeare's plays to make them more comprehensible. Why? According to a Columbia University professor, because:

Most educated people are uncomfortable admitting that Shakespeare's language often feels more medicinal than enlightening. We have been told since childhood that Shakespeare's words are "elevated" and that our job is to reach up to them, or that his language is "poetic," or that it...