2/26/2017 0 Comments How to Read ShakespeareI always find reading Shakespeare as a fun challenge. It is satisfying to understand a version of the English language that is quite different than our own. Reading Shakespeare is almost like a puzzle, trying to put together all the things that he says that form brilliant, unique ways of saying things. Reading Shakespeare can be hard, but using simple methods and tools, it can become easier to understand just what makes Shakespeare one of the greatest writers of all time. You Don't Have to Understand Everything Shakespeare can sometimes seem so different than our own language that is sounds like you are reading a whole different language. There are a lot of weird ways that Shakespeare says things that can make it extremely hard to understand what he means. What has always helped me is during a long speech or a large chunk of text, you can sometimes find out the meaning just by picking apart the things that you do know, rather than spending forever trying to understand each and every line. Using your ordinary comprehension you can usually pick apart what Shakespeare means just by understanding the majority of it. It is still Modern English after all. When you can't understand enough to understand past the main idea is where it gets tough. Use Your Tools! When things get really difficult to understand, or when you can't get much more than the main idea, don't be afraid to use outside resources. A great resource to use for important words or phrases that you don't understand is the definitions on the left side of the book (in the Folger Edition). It usually defines words or phrases that are important to know, but not all of them. This goes back to the idea that you don't need to understand everything that is said, just the important things. Be careful not to look up everything, as it becomes hard to stay focused on the play. If there is a part that is extremely important that you just can't understand, it never hurts to look up the meaning. A great website for understanding Shakespeare is Sparknotes. For example, it would be great to use Sparknotes for help in understanding Iago's speech at the end of Act 2 scene 1 as it is one of the first big speeches and it is crucial to the play. Give yourself a break Reading Shakespeare can take a lot of work. When reading Othello I found myself just wanting to get it over with, and not caring whether or not I understood it as I read. I caught myself and tried to focus more, reading slower and doing the same thing just at a slower pace. Eventually I had to leave it and come back and reread after a short break. Taking breaks allowed me to come back ready to actually read and comprehend, rather than just saying the words in my head and hoping I retained it. Don't be reluctant to take breaks while reading Shakespeare, it can be hard! Learning to actually analyze whether you are comprehending things or if you are just skimming and not understanding is crucial to reading any piece of literature. Plays are great for breaking up what you are reading into different parts, as there are a lot of different sections and changes in topics. If you know that you aren't focusing on what you are reading, take breaks in-between scenes, and even when characters enter and exit. This will give you a good place to come back to without being completely lost and confused as to what was happening before you left. Have Fun! I know, Shakespeare isn't exactly the top on your list of fun things to do, but it can be interesting. Picking out the clever name-calling, jokes, and other unique things that Shakespeare does can make it much easier to work your way through reading. Using all these strategies will have you on your way to finding out who dies at the end in no time!
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