Its weird though, to kill a mockingbird was actually good, and yet it doesnt recieve nearly as much fanfare as something like hamlet or romeo & juliet

You and I have different friends. One halloween we had a ham costume competition

Shakespeare's collective works span virtually every genre and introduce virtually every character archetype that is still used in modern literature and media. His works are brimming with word play, which often has triple or quadruple meaning; often dramatic, philosophical, and comedic at the same time. He was so prolific and such a good writer that there are conspiracy theories that he was actually several different playwrights sharing the same pen name.

Granted it's not as easy to appreciate his works today because of how the English language has drifted over the last 500 years, but what other work of literature from 500 years ago can you even point to as being popular today in its original form?

If you want to give Shakespeare a fair shake from the literary appreciation point of view, try reading an annotated copy of his works that provide context and translate the less familiar turns of phrase. It probably won't make you enjoy reading his works, but it should at least help you understand why he's so revered.

In terms of actually enjoying Shakespeare, well... He was a playwright, not a novelist! His works are meant to be seen on a stage. There are some really good performers out there whose emotivity can help bridge the language gap. Some troupes also tweak the dialog to make it more accessible to a modem audience, but I don't generally like that because they tend to lose the puns or at least diminish the layers or the poetry.

Shakespeare's influence on pretty much all English writing, fiction, theatre, film, narrative form of any sort is so utterly massive it's almost impossible to fathom. His use of plot has informed how plots are constructed ever since. His use of language is still a massive influence on the way we speak today, and phrases he invented are so rooted in our cultural language we forget they were his. Going on a "wild-goose" chase. Having a "heart of gold". To "vanish into thin air". Even: "Knock knock, Who's there?" was his.

His works might be hard work for today's student since the language isn't the language of today. But pick pretty much any genre defining film from 50 years ago and it will seem a bit slow, and flat, and stilted compared to today's films. "It's been done better since!" His works are from 500 years ago!

And they could have still made the movies with the other billion