Shakespeare has been a thorn in students’ lives for hundreds of years. The problem that students have with said author is not that his stories are “lame” – excluding Romeo and Juliet of course – but that his style of writing is hard for us to comprehend. I have now completed my third Shakespearean play so I have a little bit of insight into how you can read this genre.
First off, Shakespeare talks funny. He writes like Master Yoda from the Star Wars franchise. When you read Shakespeare just imagine a tiny green alien writing the play and you’ll find it much more enjoyable. Anyway, Shakespeare talks with his words out of order just like Yoda. Instead of “It’s good you found me” he writes “'Tis well I am found by you” (1.2.49). If you can decipher Shakespeare’s sentences then you know Shakespeare.
Secondly, Shakespeare writes in lines and sentences. If there is one thing that will help it is read sentence by sentence not line by line. If you read line by line you can easily get confused. When you read line by line you may get a piece of a couple sentences mashed together. For example, the line “That weakens motion. I’ll have ’t disputed on” (1.2.78) doesn't make much sense by itself. But if you read the whole sentence
“Judge me the world if ’tis not gross in sense that thou hast practiced on her with foul charms, abused her delicate youth with drugs or minerals that weakens motion. I’ll have ’t disputed on” (1.2.75-78)
the last line makes much more sense. This may seem like a little thing but it goes a long way to understanding Shakespeare.
Shakespeare makes up words. That’s right you heard it here first folks: Shakespeare makes up words. For example, he made up the word assassinate; true story. But he also makes up really pointless short abbreviations for naturally short words. He uses the abbreviation ‘t for the word it. Don’t ask why I don’t understand either. I heard somewhere it was to make it lines more poetic but I don’t know about that. Memorize these shortcuts and sentences will make more sense.
The last thing to remember when reading Shakespeare is that he actually is writing a story. It may seem hard to read and really annoying but he was a story teller. His stories have transcended time for a reason: they are still relevant. How you may ask? For instance in Shakespeare’s Othello the black general Othello was faced with racism throughout the play. For example, the main antagonist Iago says “Even now, now, very now, an old black ram Is tupping your white ewe. Arise, arise; Awake the snorting citizens with the bell, Or else the devil will make a grandsire of you. Arise I say!” (1.1.9). Othello is compared to an animal on multiple occasions throughout the play. Dehumanization has been a characteristic of racism throughout history. In today’s society, racism is still relevant and an issue. Many other of Shakespeare stories and themes are relevant to us too. Just remember that you’re reading a story and it will help you trudge through.
First off, Shakespeare talks funny. He writes like Master Yoda from the Star Wars franchise. When you read Shakespeare just imagine a tiny green alien writing the play and you’ll find it much more enjoyable. Anyway, Shakespeare talks with his words out of order just like Yoda. Instead of “It’s good you found me” he writes “'Tis well I am found by you” (1.2.49). If you can decipher Shakespeare’s sentences then you know Shakespeare.
Secondly, Shakespeare writes in lines and sentences. If there is one thing that will help it is read sentence by sentence not line by line. If you read line by line you can easily get confused. When you read line by line you may get a piece of a couple sentences mashed together. For example, the line “That weakens motion. I’ll have ’t disputed on” (1.2.78) doesn't make much sense by itself. But if you read the whole sentence
“Judge me the world if ’tis not gross in sense that thou hast practiced on her with foul charms, abused her delicate youth with drugs or minerals that weakens motion. I’ll have ’t disputed on” (1.2.75-78)
the last line makes much more sense. This may seem like a little thing but it goes a long way to understanding Shakespeare.
Shakespeare makes up words. That’s right you heard it here first folks: Shakespeare makes up words. For example, he made up the word assassinate; true story. But he also makes up really pointless short abbreviations for naturally short words. He uses the abbreviation ‘t for the word it. Don’t ask why I don’t understand either. I heard somewhere it was to make it lines more poetic but I don’t know about that. Memorize these shortcuts and sentences will make more sense.
The last thing to remember when reading Shakespeare is that he actually is writing a story. It may seem hard to read and really annoying but he was a story teller. His stories have transcended time for a reason: they are still relevant. How you may ask? For instance in Shakespeare’s Othello the black general Othello was faced with racism throughout the play. For example, the main antagonist Iago says “Even now, now, very now, an old black ram Is tupping your white ewe. Arise, arise; Awake the snorting citizens with the bell, Or else the devil will make a grandsire of you. Arise I say!” (1.1.9). Othello is compared to an animal on multiple occasions throughout the play. Dehumanization has been a characteristic of racism throughout history. In today’s society, racism is still relevant and an issue. Many other of Shakespeare stories and themes are relevant to us too. Just remember that you’re reading a story and it will help you trudge through.