How to comprehend Shakespeare's plays?

Question

I am dying to read them, but the English of 1600 is too different.

Answer 1

I taught Shakespeare to a group of American children ages 11 to 17. They didn't have a lot of problems with the English.
What I told them was "don't be afraid of the difference in the language". A lot of it is changes in spelling. With a little thought you can figure those out. As for the odd vocabulary, any good edition will have notes for you to look at. My favorite edition is the Yale edition of Shakespeare's plays. But it has the whole bunch of them in it and can be intimidating.

To start with I suggest geting the individual plays in the "Dover Thrift Editions".

It's usually better to start with the historical or tragedies, even if you like the comedies, better.

A comedy, in Shakespeare, isn't a sitcom, designed to have you laughing every other minute. It's a play which has a happy ending.

If you start with an historical play, "Julius Caesar" is the most straightforward. It's about power politics, and both Brutus' and Marc Anthony's speeches are masterpieces of political manipulation. Not a bad study for filtering the language of our contemporary politicians. And of course, as many are, it is both history and tragedy.

If you start with tragedy, I suggest either MacBeth or Othello.
MacBeth is, to my way of thinking, the more powerful of the two.
It is a play about the dissolution of a man's soul due to his own ambition. And it's got lots of interesting elements in it, like the witches and the ghosts. It's about what happens when a man chooses evil and then has to follow through with it. More than being concerned without outward consequences of that (although that is important tothe play), it's about what happens in his own soul.

Othello is about what jealousy can do to a man, on the surface of it. But it is really the story of Iago, who works that jealousy on Othello against his innocent and loving wife. Othello is black, and the wife is white, but that has NOTHING to do with story. In those days and in that setting being black or white didn't matter. Othello was a great soldier. He wooed and won Desdemona and her father's wrath was strictly against her having done this in secret from him. Othello's jealousy was fueled, in part, by her being considerably younger than he was.
His tragedy was that he was willing to believe Iago over her.
That he trusted his enemy and doubted his loyal love.

Personally, I think I would go with MacBeth for a first tragedy.

Now, as to how to proceed.

Pick you play, and find an audio recording of it (your library may be able to help you there). If not, then Barnes and Noble or Borders or even Amazon.com. While you are listening to the play, read through the play simultaneously. It will help.

Then, watch the play. If you choose MacBeth, then choose the version directed by Trevor Nunn. He brings out the elements at play in the play better than anyone else whose version I've seen. And I've seen quite a few.

If you want, watch the play first, and then go to the audio and the written script together.

Once you have become a pretty good apprentice at one of the plays I think you'll find the others less intimidating.

The language is not so much a problem as you think. Just don't let it scare you. And I applaud you for wanting to read the originnals. You can always send me a message if you want about this at any time. Shakespeare is something of a first love of mine, and I'll be more than glad to help. I taught my kids for a year and a half and our hour long classes turned into three or four hours (they were homeschooled), and they came to love Shakespeare. The language is beautiful, and the older ones began memorizing it and spouting it back and forth at each other all on their own.

One thing to remember is that not all, but a lot of it is metered.

The meter is iambic pentameter.

da DA da DA da DA da DA da DA
da DA da DA da DA da DA da DA

So you get a flow going, which (capitals are the stronger accent)
in FAITH they ARE as TRUE of HEART as WE
my FAther HAD a DAUGHter LOVED a MAN

That flow (where it exists in the plays) helps in just the reading of the language.

There's nobody better than Shakespeare. He's a great place to build a foundation for the whole of modern English literature,
and he's deep: he can be enjoyed on several levels.

My little ones loved MacBeth for the gore and blood.
The older ones began to get some of the incredible character work going on and the immense understanding Will shows in his plays of human character and how it works.

And in the end, every English writer since has been formed to some extent by him. (One possible exception, James Joyce).

Answer 2

I desired to take a look at Shakespeare while I was once more youthful, and my dad instructed me to learn A Midsummer Night's Dream. It was once well, nevertheless it was once plenty greater after I'd taken categories in literary evaluation and skilled slightly extra lifestyles. There's a LOT of innuendo in Midsummer, so if you are well with catching double meanings, suppose unfastened to deliver it a cross - it is fairly humorous. I could recommend getting a e-book that has footnotes explaining unfamiliar phrases - when you have No Fear Shakespeare, you'll be able to use the apparent English as a crutch. The language is not that tough whenever you get used to it. If you are watching for anything realistic, I could say Romeo and Juliet has the simplest plot that I've learn. (And there are a few film models you'll be able to watch once you conclude to make certain you understood.)

Answer 3

Its not as different, considering the contextr when you read them. Several Shakespeare plays come with a "guide" for translation that appears on the opposite page of what you are reading. It puts it in layman terms and gives a recap of the Act, Scene, etc for each play.

Go to a solid bookstore - like Barnes and Noble and ask someone there for a translated or teaching version of the plays. I believe only the bible has been translated and explaned more than SHakespeare - plenty of choices for you.

Answer 4

I always found it helpful to get a video of the play and read along as I watched. Somehow it's more understandable if you can see what actions and expressions go along with the words.

Or if you can get the plays with footnotes explaining the cultures references/differences, that is helpful too.

Answer 5

Sign up for a course at night. Shakespearen English is difficult, and needs a mentor.
Get the DVD, "The Hobart Shakespeareans."
A teacher takes his fifth grade class through a play and they understand and act it each year - inner city!!
It is a wonder! His students have made it to the Ivy League.

Answer 6

Get a guide to read along with it, like Cliff's notes. It will help you to understand some of the meanings of things that aren't in modern English. It actually gets easier as you go.

Answer 7

I recommend seeing the play FIRST, then reading the play. You'll then be familiar with the story.

Also, the more you do it, the easier it will become, because you'll gradually get used to old english quirks.

Answer 8

yes, tht era it's custom to speak like tht unless u were fr the lower/peasant class.so just have a lit. dictionary w. you.haf someone if poss. who has done plays b4.if not,on ur own,read up def. of certain phrases used then,try reading it like as if u were thr in tht era n let d play unfold b4 ur eyes.read slowly.if u dun u'stand,try reading it again.dun focus on grammar,it won't make sense n it's not suppose to.

Answer 9

yes i know they are full of language that we can't comprehend.

i read McBeth as a senior in high school and it was confusing. but lucky for us my teacher let us discuss it in small groups.

there might be a dictionary out there for these kind of books or even on the internet. and once you have it down or somewhat down then you are good to go.