Shakespearean plays; written in riddles and rhymes, Shakespeare has defied nearly every rule of English literature with the swapping vowels and adjectives in a sentence, ending sentences with propositions, writing with indirect tone and action, and even making up his own words. His literature can be a pain in the butt to comprehend but once you learn the art of reading Shakespeare, his plays will be some of the most memorable literature you’ll ever encounter. His plots are complex but realistic, dramatic but humorous, and filled to the brim with dramatic irony and sex puns. Good question, sixteenth-century-man-on-a-computer! There is no dictated procedure to reading Shakespeare but the following tips can help you get around that learning curve and send you down the road to reading his plays like a pro! Tip #1: Don’t be afraid to skip a word or two While reading, you are bound to encounter words such as “zounds”, “gage”, and “wot” but do not fear! While these words can be important to understanding the meaning of a sentence, you can almost always ignore words like these and still comprehend what is being said. Take for example this passage from Romeo and Juliet, where the nurse is talking to Juliet about Romeo; “...I’ll find Romeo To comfort you. I wot well where he is. Hark ye, your Romeo will be here at night. I’ll to him...” Even though this passage contains some Shakespearean words like “wot” and “hark ye”, it is still very readable and the general idea, that the nurse is going to get Romeo, is very clear. Even if you skip a word and find yourself confused, there is this wonderful tool called the “Internet” which allows you to finds the definition of a word and the explanations for any scenes you might have not quite of understood. Tip #2: Read like you are watching a play Shakespeare wrote plays, not novels, meaning his literature was meant to be acted out on a stage. When you read his plays, try to imagine the characters in whatever situation they are in. The actors on a stage would enter and exit, use props, move their arms, and change their position around the stage so in order to pick up the mood of a scene, being conscientious of these things is vital to keep from getting lost. Tip #3: Read and then watch a play If you’re imagination can’t conjure up a stage and actors while you are reading, actually watching the play acted out can help you better understand just what is going on. Shakespeare is still a pretty popular guy so his plays are still being live acted today. If you are lucky enough, maybe you can buy tickets and go see the acted out version of whatever play you are reading. If that is not an option, you can always go back to the trusty ol’ Internet! YouTube has thousands of screen adaptations of scenes from Shakespeare, free to watch, that you can search for online. While this is a great opportunity and tool for understanding Shakespeare, keep in mind that Shakespeare’s plays are very interpretive and the way you read the play may be very different from the way a director portrays the same play on screen. These are just a few of the many Romeo and Juliet screen adaptations. They don’t even look like the same movie, do they? For this reason, I highly suggest that, if you decide to watch a Shakespearean play on YouTube, you watch multiple in order to compare and decide which adaptation is closest to how you interpreted. Just watching one adaptation of a play can distort your understanding whenever you think about the play again, which could be really bad if you are reading Shakespeare for school; You don’t want to mistake the star-crossed lovers for arm-wrestling comedians! To sum it all up... Shakespeare can be confusing and can be pretty difficult to just sit down and read but that doesn’t mean that his literature is any less amazing! As long as you can accept that fact that you won’t understand everything, reading Shakespeare is a very possible feat. If you struggle, go online and see what other people have to say or find a screen adaptation of the play you have read. Shakespeare’s plays were meant to be controversial and to be talked about with others, so don’t be afraid to ask an experienced reader what they thought of the play. Just remember; Reading Shakespeare isn’t easy. If it was, I wouldn’t have written this post! Just sit down, open up one of Shakespeare’s many plays, and remember the tips I’ve given you. I promise it won’t kill you. Citations:
Captainisbee. Shakespeare Confused By Computer. Digital image. William Shakespeare Things. Tumblr, 2014. Web. 1 Feb. 2016. <http://williamshakespearethings.tumblr.com/post/68834197495/captainisbee-shakespeare-confused-by-technology>. Captainisbee. Shakespeare Mad at Computer. Digital image. William Shakespeare Things. Tumblr, 2014. Web. 1 Feb. 2016. <http://williamshakespearethings.tumblr.com/post/68834197495/captainisbee-shakespeare-confused-by-technology>. McGlone, Peggy. Shakespeare on Stage. Digital image. NJ.com. NJ.com, 6 July 2012. Web. 1 Feb. 2016. <http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/07/all_the_states_a_stage_nj_perf.html>. Romeo and Juliet Tamil Movie. Digital image. Kerala9.com. N.p., 2013. Web. 1 Feb. 2016. <http://www.kerala9.com/movie/romeo-juliet-tamil-movie/wallpapers/page-1>. Ryan, Shane. Romeo & Juliet - 1968. Digital image. Paste Magazine. N.p., 23 Apr. 2012. Web. 1 Feb. 2016. <http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2012/04/the-7-best-shakespeare-film-adaptations.html>. Ryan, Shane. Romeo + Juliet - 1996. Digital image. Paste Magazine. N.p., 23 Apr. 2012. Web. 1 Feb. 2016. <http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2012/04/the-7-best-shakespeare-film-adaptations.html>.
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