2/24/2017 0 Comments Shakespeare Tips and Tricks! Reading one of Shakespeare's plays can be quite difficult and horrifying. Every high schooler has been forced to read one of his plays and almost everyone struggles with interpreting his works. In fact, I have always tried to avoid reading his plays because I struggle with his language. Something about his diction and the way he uses his stage directions in his plays can be difficult. However, this year I am finally understanding more about his literature, thanks to some tips I’ve learned while reading his play Othello. Below are some techniques that will help heal your stress and confusion when reading his literature. Reread If you don’t Understand: Reading Shakespeare’s long monologues and soliloquies can be hard to comprehend your first read. So, my tip to you is to reread any parts of Shakespeare’s play that you don’t understand. By rereading, you are slowly gaining more knowledge about what is happening. There are many times in Othello where I had to reread a few lines or sections to gain more understanding. For example, I had to reread one of Iago’s soliloquies when he talks about putting Othello “into a jealousy so strong” (II.i.323) in order to get Othello to turn his back on Desdemona. Once I reread the long soliloquy, I had a better idea of how Iago wanted to get Othello to abandon his wife. It is always best to reread sections of Shakespeare's play at first when you don’t understand something to get a better picture of what is happening.
Use your Resources: Now that we live in a digital age, there are many types of resources that can help you understand Shakespeare’s plays. Some teachers discourage the use of summary websites; however, they are useful to help you comprehend what you’re reading. I’m not saying only read the summaries instead of the literature, but rather read the summaries after you have read a section of the actual literature. By reading a summary on SparkNotes (www.sparknotes.com), for example, you can get a better picture of what is happening in the plot of the play. Another great resource to help you get a better idea is listening to his plays on www.youtube.com. By listening to his plays, you can focus on character interactions and what is happening in the plot. I highly suggest listening to his plays because it can get quite confusing when Shakespeare has many characters in his plays.
A Long Soliloquy or Monologue?: Shakespeare’s long soliloquies and monologues can get highly annoying and tiring. One thing Shakespeare loves to do is have characters give long and unnecessary speeches about their lives. To help you understand these soliloquies and monologues you need to look at the end of the speeches. That is where there are clues and hints as to what they’re about. For example, Othello’s speech before he kills Desdemona, “it is the cause...” (V.ii.1), is long and hard to comprehend at first. So, by reading the last few lines, “it strikes where it doth love...” (V.ii.24), you get an understanding that Othello is hurting because he is confused if he should kill Desdemona. By looking at the last few lines of a soliloquy or monologue, you can get a better comprehension as to what Shakespeare’s characters are actually saying.
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AuthorSamantha Alwood ;) Archives |