>>or it could just be a typical reaction to being force fed "...Julius Caesar" (or the like) in middle school (junior high, to us ;).<<
A classic and unfortunately common recipe for disaster. The only book of all those I was 'force-read' at school that I can feel anything for these days is 'Pride and Prejudice.' Possibly because I had read it by myself before the teachers got near it.
I have never understood how taking something like Shakespeare, which is relatively complex language, designed to be spoken aloud in a flowing show, then breaking it up into chunks and putting it in the mouthns of bored thirteen-year-olds, is meant to create a love of the English language.
My advice, go and see a Shakespearian play performed live. Preferably with a director who believes in a simple set with minimal props and cleverness, but prefers to concentrate on the words and ensuring the actors know how to speak them as if they meant something.
