I had a revelation while watching Hamlet last night. I am to Shakespeare what my Great Aunt M was to minorities: every experience is a positive exception to a negative rule, and, like Great Aunt M, that rule is totally in my own head. Do I like Shakespeare? No. Did I love Hamlet last night? Yes. Was I hanging on every word? Yes. Did I wake up this morning still thinking about it? Yes. How much of that was due to Jude Law's attractiveness? Only about 12%.
The same things happened when I saw Merchant of Venice (yes, the movie version with Jeremy Irons) and read Julius Caesar for my Theater and Sacrifice class.
I think I've figured it out. As of now, I'm swearing off amateur productions of Shakespeare. Maybe that way I'll figure out that I actually do like the guy. A little bit.