Reading Shakespeare is not an easy task. It takes a lot of concentration and requires you to analytically look at every sentence to try and determine what is going on. I have recently just finished reading Shakespeare’s Othello and concluded that three strategies really helped me understand and appreciate the play. These strategies may also come in handy with other literature as well since they are beneficial to do when you are confused with any piece of literature.
Strategy #1: The most helpful reading tip that anyone could give you before first picking up a Shakespeare play, is to start off as slow as possible. It sounds horrible and not worth the time when you first think about reading slow, but trust me, it will help you out tremendously in the long run.
Reading slow is the best advice I can give you because you can’t comprehend anything when you start off at full throttle. It is comparable to going down a highway at 75 mph and trying to read as many billboards in the shortest amount of time as possible. After a mile or two, you have already forgotten what the first couple of billboards said because the words just start to jumble together into a huge confusing mess. It is best to take you time and read everything with a focused mind so that you can really take in what the words mean. Reading slow also allows you to picture what is going on in your head which will definitely give you a better grasp at the plot; "remember that it's a play, so try to visualize it" (Reading Shakespeare). Reading slow takes a lot of patience in the beginning but after you get past the first Act, and you know who the characters are, and you get into the Shakespearean language, you naturally start to read at a normal pace.
Strategy #2: Before you begin your journey with Shakespeare, it is in your best interest to read some background on the characters and get a good understanding on what the play is about. Shakespeare usually begins his plays in the middle of a conversation about a topic you are not familiar with between characters that you obviously know nothing about. It starts people off in a cluster of thoughts because they are trying to determine what the characters are discussing as well as who these characters are and how the characters are connected. It becomes too much to think about and takes your mind away from what is actually going on.If you can wrap your mind around who the characters are and what their purpose is in the play, starting to read the play won’t feel so overwhelming.
My best advice would be to take a peek at Sparknotes before you begin and read the character analysis. I would also purchase a book with the footnotes in them so that you will have a nice summary of the scene before you start reading. It would be a good idea to purchase "the Folger edition" of the Shakespeare play because "the scene summary is printed at the beginning of the notes for the scene" (Reading Shakespeare). You won’t have to rely on these tools as you become comfortable with the play, but they become your best resources at the start.
Strategy #3: I am not going to be able to stress this enough: reread, reread, reread! Rereading is probably the most obvious thing to do to some people, but is the biggest waste of time to others. I am here to tell you first hand that I was a person in the latter group for the longest time. I hate to admit that, but it’s true. I hated rereading because I figured that if I didn’t understand it the first time, I wouldn’t understand it if I read it again. Boy was I wrong. Rereading is imperative if you want to ever understand what is going on in Shakespeare’s literature. Although rereading seems like something only slow readers would do, it is important to understand that "no one understands everything about Shakespeare (or any good text) on the first, second, or even tenth reading" (Reading Shakespeare), so lower your pride for a second and give it a shot. It really helps you to pause and reflect on what you do understand and what you don’t understand, and then allows you to go back and read what you didn’t understand. After you come familiar with what you didn’t understand, you can begin reading again with a better idea about what is going on. It will save you tons of time when you get further into the play and you realize that you have a clear understanding on the plot and don’t have to reread as much anymore.
If you are the type of person that doesn’t like to stop in the middle of a scene and reread something, bring a highlighter with you when you read so that you can highlight the lines that are giving you confusion. Then, when you are done with the scene, go back and dissect the lines while you reread the scene over again. This way, you will be able to mesh what you understood the first time you read with what you understand the second time.
I really hope these strategies will be beneficial to you as you open your world up to Shakespeare. Although it seem like a lot of work right now, it will be worth it when you realize how good his plays really are.
Strategy #1: The most helpful reading tip that anyone could give you before first picking up a Shakespeare play, is to start off as slow as possible. It sounds horrible and not worth the time when you first think about reading slow, but trust me, it will help you out tremendously in the long run.
Reading slow is the best advice I can give you because you can’t comprehend anything when you start off at full throttle. It is comparable to going down a highway at 75 mph and trying to read as many billboards in the shortest amount of time as possible. After a mile or two, you have already forgotten what the first couple of billboards said because the words just start to jumble together into a huge confusing mess. It is best to take you time and read everything with a focused mind so that you can really take in what the words mean. Reading slow also allows you to picture what is going on in your head which will definitely give you a better grasp at the plot; "remember that it's a play, so try to visualize it" (Reading Shakespeare). Reading slow takes a lot of patience in the beginning but after you get past the first Act, and you know who the characters are, and you get into the Shakespearean language, you naturally start to read at a normal pace.
Strategy #2: Before you begin your journey with Shakespeare, it is in your best interest to read some background on the characters and get a good understanding on what the play is about. Shakespeare usually begins his plays in the middle of a conversation about a topic you are not familiar with between characters that you obviously know nothing about. It starts people off in a cluster of thoughts because they are trying to determine what the characters are discussing as well as who these characters are and how the characters are connected. It becomes too much to think about and takes your mind away from what is actually going on.If you can wrap your mind around who the characters are and what their purpose is in the play, starting to read the play won’t feel so overwhelming.
My best advice would be to take a peek at Sparknotes before you begin and read the character analysis. I would also purchase a book with the footnotes in them so that you will have a nice summary of the scene before you start reading. It would be a good idea to purchase "the Folger edition" of the Shakespeare play because "the scene summary is printed at the beginning of the notes for the scene" (Reading Shakespeare). You won’t have to rely on these tools as you become comfortable with the play, but they become your best resources at the start.
Strategy #3: I am not going to be able to stress this enough: reread, reread, reread! Rereading is probably the most obvious thing to do to some people, but is the biggest waste of time to others. I am here to tell you first hand that I was a person in the latter group for the longest time. I hate to admit that, but it’s true. I hated rereading because I figured that if I didn’t understand it the first time, I wouldn’t understand it if I read it again. Boy was I wrong. Rereading is imperative if you want to ever understand what is going on in Shakespeare’s literature. Although rereading seems like something only slow readers would do, it is important to understand that "no one understands everything about Shakespeare (or any good text) on the first, second, or even tenth reading" (Reading Shakespeare), so lower your pride for a second and give it a shot. It really helps you to pause and reflect on what you do understand and what you don’t understand, and then allows you to go back and read what you didn’t understand. After you come familiar with what you didn’t understand, you can begin reading again with a better idea about what is going on. It will save you tons of time when you get further into the play and you realize that you have a clear understanding on the plot and don’t have to reread as much anymore.
If you are the type of person that doesn’t like to stop in the middle of a scene and reread something, bring a highlighter with you when you read so that you can highlight the lines that are giving you confusion. Then, when you are done with the scene, go back and dissect the lines while you reread the scene over again. This way, you will be able to mesh what you understood the first time you read with what you understand the second time.
I really hope these strategies will be beneficial to you as you open your world up to Shakespeare. Although it seem like a lot of work right now, it will be worth it when you realize how good his plays really are.