Some Tricks of The Trade

I COULD start by telling you how reading Shakespeare is simple, understandable, quick to learn, and fun. By doing that though, I would be telling a lie. Moment of truth: I hated Romeo and Juliet and I hated Hamlet. You know how when you were younger and your parents always told you to never say the word hate, because it was unnecessary and you should never show hatred toward anything? Well, I hated reading Shakespeare, and I was very firm on the those feelings. I didn’t understand a sentence I read, and then when I reached the end and everyone was dead, I was so confused. When I tell you that I found some tricks that will actually make you understand what you are reading and enjoy it, I mean it and who knows, you might even become a Shakespeare expert!

The first thing I started out doing was reading super, super slow. Now, mind you it will take a lot more time, but when you are first starting your Shakespeare experience or reading a new book of his, reading slow makes a huge difference with the information you are obtaining. Even now, after I have become a better Shakespeare reader, I still read slowly because when you read faster, I just think you can’t catch everything that is happening and then you don’t appreciate reading it. After I read slow, I would reread, and reread again. Each time I reread, the more I understood. It is time consuming, but so beneficial! 

While reading a play, let alone Shakespeare, one thing that always threw me off were the lines. I always wanted to read line by line instead of sentence by sentence. When you read line by line, you don’t fully gather and understand what you’re reading. Sentence by sentence makes it a lot easier and a lot more understandable. A sentence flows better while reading, and you have a better time comprehending the meaning of the play.

I am not one of those readers that can zip through a book, play, or article and give you this long summary on what happened, the characters represented and the meaning behind it. It takes me time and a lot of work. So when it came to reading Shakespeare, it wasn’t a piece of cake, unfortunately. I appreciate literature, so of course I want to know the characters, the feelings, the storyline, and the meaning behind what I am reading. So, with reading slow, reading sentence by sentence, and rereading, I also started reading aloud. When you read aloud you are reading slow, but it also helps you visualize what is happening. I get more into a reading, and understand it so much better because I feel like I am actually in the play, or book. When reading in my head, I find myself often getting distracted. I start thinking about other things, and then by the time I focus back on the book I am completely lost.

I always thought the worst of Shakespeare. I hated reading his work because I wasn’t obtaining the information and I wasn’t understanding what was even happening! After reading more of him and uses these little tricks, I actually appreciate his work! I understand what is happening, and I actually enjoy reading him now. I am sure you are thinking there is no way you could possibly enjoy reading Shakespeare, but I promise you, take these tricks and try again. You might surprise yourself!