Hamlet, Romeo, and Shakespeare's other "heroes"

Mary here:
As most of you probably picked up from my opinions voiced in class, I think most of Shakespeare's great tragic heroes were complete jerks. Lets do a rundown on the great characters and why they are definitely not role models for young men of any generation:

• Hamlet- Five acts of a possible nuts guy ruining the lives of everyone around him by not doing anything.
  
• Romeo- He is nineteen, which could explain away some of his impulsive behavior. Does it make him getting it on with a thirteen-year-old redeemable? Not so much. Think about who you were in "love" with when you were thirteen. Was getting married really the best idea?
• Othello- All he would have to do is ask Cassio where he got the handkerchief. Then he would not have been driven insane and thus Desdemona wouldn't have had to die.
• King Lear- Please. He asks his children to go on about how much they love him. It is like a six-year old demanding attention.
• Macbeth- All I can say: he admits to everything he does. No trying to blame fate or someone else.

That's my major list. Why does Shakespeare glorify these men, who objectify the women in their lives and cause havoc to the world around them?

Midsummer

Mary:
So, I totally recognize that we started with Midsummer, and are now way past the play, but I just have to talk about it. It has been one of my favorites for a really log time, and was one of the first plays I read. I have also been involved with two separate versions, one at my high school, one at Iowa Western. I was makeup assistant for the first, Hermia in the second.
One thing that is so incredibly cool about the play are the opportunities to set the show in different times and places. My high school director modernized the show, making Athens into a bistro and the woods into "Club Wood." (I'll wear the shirt sometimes, so watch for it.)
Iowa Western's was set in the 1960's, with the fairies acting like hippies and the Athenians being students, "mod" fashioned, or military. It set the idea of defiance in a new perspective.