Oh! Shakespeare! You’re the one that writes in the language I speak, but yet comes off as a foreign language. You’re the one who causes a long drawn out “ughhhhhh” from eighth grader mouth as I just heard words “Romeo and Juliet”.You’re the one I dread to read. Shakespeare! Why must you cause me so much grief?
To this day you make me have the urge of chucking my book across the room.
To this day you cause me to consistently rub my temples as a result of frustration hoping it will make me understand. To this day you create the feeling of accepting this one bad grade won’t hurt, knowing that I will do better on the next non-Shakespeare assignment.
To this day Shakespeare still gives my high school junior self grief.
To this day you make me have the urge of chucking my book across the room.
To this day you cause me to consistently rub my temples as a result of frustration hoping it will make me understand. To this day you create the feeling of accepting this one bad grade won’t hurt, knowing that I will do better on the next non-Shakespeare assignment.
To this day Shakespeare still gives my high school junior self grief.
Are you feeling the same way?
I may have the answers that will help.
I may have the answers that will help.
1. Not having 100% understanding is okay.
Don’t you hate the moment when you finish reading something and you have no clue on what you just read. Me too! When it comes to Shakespeare, it isn’t just a single moment it’s the whole book of misunderstanding. It’s okay though. No one understands Shakespeare 100% of the time-- except for Shakespeare himself. It’s okay. It’s okay if you didn't catch on to the comic relief in Shakespeare’s play, Othello, where a clown jokes about bad sounding musicians have syphilis (lll.i.1-30). It’s okay to not have a complete understanding of what happens in Shakespeare’s plays.
Don’t you hate the moment when you finish reading something and you have no clue on what you just read. Me too! When it comes to Shakespeare, it isn’t just a single moment it’s the whole book of misunderstanding. It’s okay though. No one understands Shakespeare 100% of the time-- except for Shakespeare himself. It’s okay. It’s okay if you didn't catch on to the comic relief in Shakespeare’s play, Othello, where a clown jokes about bad sounding musicians have syphilis (lll.i.1-30). It’s okay to not have a complete understanding of what happens in Shakespeare’s plays.
2. Summary before anything.
Without summaries, I don’t know where I would be. Reading a summary of what occurs in each of Shakespeare’s plays before actually reading the play will save you from moments of exploding frustrations and in some cases chucking the book across the room.
Shakespearean language + not knowing what is happening = perfect combination for giving up.
Therefore it is extremely important to read a summary before anything. It will benefit you in the end, I promise.
Without summaries, I don’t know where I would be. Reading a summary of what occurs in each of Shakespeare’s plays before actually reading the play will save you from moments of exploding frustrations and in some cases chucking the book across the room.
Shakespearean language + not knowing what is happening = perfect combination for giving up.
Therefore it is extremely important to read a summary before anything. It will benefit you in the end, I promise.
3. Re-reading is key.
Trust me when I tell you that re-reading Shakespeare is key to a better understanding. One time through is never enough when it comes to Shakespeare. When you read through it the first time, you have to take it slow-- don’t try to skim over the words. Try your best to get a good grasp of what is going on and then revisit the parts that you didn’t understand, especially monologues and soliloquies. After reading through twice, re-read one more time. I know it’s a lot of reading and can become tedious, but you may pick up on things the next time around that you didn’t the first time. For many of Iago’s monologues and soliloquies, I had to go back and re-read and pick it apart to get a better understanding especially his soliloquy in act one scene three of Othello where he expresses his some of his motives behind his plan of taking down Othello. Take my word on it, re-reading is key to a better understanding.
Trust me when I tell you that re-reading Shakespeare is key to a better understanding. One time through is never enough when it comes to Shakespeare. When you read through it the first time, you have to take it slow-- don’t try to skim over the words. Try your best to get a good grasp of what is going on and then revisit the parts that you didn’t understand, especially monologues and soliloquies. After reading through twice, re-read one more time. I know it’s a lot of reading and can become tedious, but you may pick up on things the next time around that you didn’t the first time. For many of Iago’s monologues and soliloquies, I had to go back and re-read and pick it apart to get a better understanding especially his soliloquy in act one scene three of Othello where he expresses his some of his motives behind his plan of taking down Othello. Take my word on it, re-reading is key to a better understanding.
4. Bring it to life! Visualize it!
To get the full experience of Shakespeare’s work, you have to read and see his work in action. When reading Shakespeare in class, it can be hard to visualize what is occurring and where it is taking place which can cause confusion and frustration--two things no one wants. Fortunately for us, we have many resources that provide us with video clips of Shakespeare’s scenes in action or sometimes a whole play made into a movie. Using visuals such as movies or having people act it out can help develop a different interpretation which in the end will push you further to understanding Shakespeare better. So enjoy watching Shakespeare’s work come to life!