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How to read shakespeare

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Brian South
Brian South

This document provides a humorous overview of tips for reading Shakespeare, beginning with an absurd introduction about William Shakespeare inventing a kneelpogo stick and laser. It then briefly outlines some actual biographical details about Shakespeare's life and career as a playwright in 16th century England. The rest of the document parodies a Shakespeare reading lesson, emphasizing the importance of understanding each character's underlying thought or "thru-thought" in their lines, and paying attention to punctuation to properly convey meaning and emotion. It concludes by encouraging patience and persistence in mastering Shakespeare's works.

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How to Read Shakespeare: William and the Scone A long and meandering presentation that goes no where in particular
This is William Shakespeare I am a literary genius! He is the inventor of the Kneelpogo stick fearsome before my and designed visage!high powered laser a You! The nerdy looking kid!he used toawrite which Bring me dirty words on the moon. scone! JK! Actually, William Shakespeare is a 16th century playwright/actor (allegedly) responsible for 37 plays and 154 sonnets.
You should know a little about Shakespeares life For Instance last words? They were My It is believed Shakespeare was born on April 23, 1564 in a town Good friend, for was there, forbear called Stratford. Although his residenceJesus sake,William spent To dig the in London. most of his life living and working dust enclosed here; Blest be the man that spares these stones And curst he that moves my bones. He was a playwright, actor, and poet a triple threat! Now wheres my scone? He married an older woman for money (Anne Hathaway), and spent most of his years away from her in London. Shakespeares rather cold relationship with Anne later influenced his views on romance and marriage. He had three children. His only son, Hamnet, died at age 11 (no, thats not a typo!). Shakespeare was one of the founding members of the Globe Theater in London, where he continued to work and perform almost to the point of his death on April 23, 1616.
Shakespeare wrote three kind of plays: Tragedies, Histories, and Comedies Some famous Tragedies Some famous Hamlet Henry V Romeo and Juliet Richard III Macbeth King John Histories Some famous Comedies The Merchant of Venice A Midsummers Night Dream The Taming of the Shrew
Shakespeares legacy is formidablehe wrote some of the most well known, most admired works in Western literature However, due to the antiquity of his language and the sophistication of his techniques, Shakespeares works are often challenging for modern audiences. Before reading his work, it behooves you to heed a few tips
Lesson #1 (of 1) Shakespeares work was meant to be read aloud!
Somebody volunteer! Read this out loud! Romeo. [JULIET appears above at a window] But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun! Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, Who is already sick and pale with grief, That thou her maid art far more fair than she: Be not her maid, since she is envious; Her vestal livery is but sick and green, And none but fools do wear it; cast it off. It is my lady; O! it is my love: O! that she knew she were. Each time a character is speaking, they are presenting a single thought, also known as the thru-thought. The first task an actor/reader must accomplish is figure out what is the main idea of the speechwhy does it exist? Read the speech again. In your own words, what is the main thought Romeo expresses?
Okay, so you figured out Romeos overwhelmed with love the next step is to read it that way!! Romeo. [JULIET appears above at a window] But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun! Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, Who is already sick and pale with grief, That thou her maid art far more fair than she: Be not her maid, since she is envious; Her vestal livery is but sick and green, And none but fools do wear it; cast it off. It is my lady; O! it is my love: O! that she knew she were. Shakespeare would give each actor their lines about three days before the performance. The only way his actors could memorize and make sense ofthe parts was to figure out the main ideaor thru thoughtof each line of dialogue. Remember, just because a line ends, does not mean the thru thought is over! Keep going until its done! Read this with passion! Like you are overcome! You will find that even if you dont understand the words, you still understand the point of the dialogue because you recognize the underlying emotion.
Next, pay attention to all the little clues William left you to help you figure out how it should be read Romeo. [JULIET appears above at a window] But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun! Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, Who is already sick and pale with grief, That thou her maid art far more fair than she: Be not her maid, since she is envious; Her vestal livery is but sick and green, And none but fools do wear it; cast it off. It is my lady; O! it is my love: O! that she knew she were. When you see one of theseO do not say oh! This is meant to be a cry of passion, and is known as Ecphonesis O. End-stop punctuation like periods (.), question marks (?), and exclamation points (!) means the thought is complete. In other words, STOP and breathe! Commas indicate an elaboration of the main pointthey continue the thru-thought in greater detail. When an actor encounters a comma, they should usually pause, but not long enough to take a breath. Colons and semi-colons indicate the initial thought is complete, but not the thru-thought. They should be treated like a commapause, but just for a moment!
Now! Try this one! With more belly-fire! good show! Im I say, jolly First, figure out what the main pointthe thru-thoughtis! Next, read it from the actors perspective what are you supposed to be conveying in this dialogue excerpt? Finally, pay attention to punctuation! Stop where its necessary and pause where its suggested! Richard Burbage, Juliet Williams favorite actor, 'Tis but thy name that is my enemy; and I proclaim your Thou art thyself though, not a Montague. What's Montague? it is nor hand,drawer, performance top nor foot, Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part Belonging old dog! O! be some other name: to a man. A real cavalcade What's in a name? that which we yes! rose of whimsy, yes call a By any other name would smell as sweet; So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd, Retain that dear perfection which he owes Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name; And for that name, which is no part of thee, Take all myself.
Be patient! Mastering Shakespeare takes time! Of course, figuring out the thru-thought in each line is your main challenge. It will vex you. You shall tug at your hair, bang your pate against the wall, and shout obscenities to the heavens. But if some witless, lowgrade, borderline illiterate of a 16th century actor can figure this out, then, by gum, so can you!
The End! But what about the scone?!?

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How to read shakespeare

  • 1. How to Read Shakespeare: William and the Scone A long and meandering presentation that goes no where in particular
  • 2. This is William Shakespeare I am a literary genius! He is the inventor of the Kneelpogo stick fearsome before my and designed visage!high powered laser a You! The nerdy looking kid!he used toawrite which Bring me dirty words on the moon. scone! JK! Actually, William Shakespeare is a 16th century playwright/actor (allegedly) responsible for 37 plays and 154 sonnets.
  • 3. You should know a little about Shakespeares life For Instance last words? They were My It is believed Shakespeare was born on April 23, 1564 in a town Good friend, for was there, forbear called Stratford. Although his residenceJesus sake,William spent To dig the in London. most of his life living and working dust enclosed here; Blest be the man that spares these stones And curst he that moves my bones. He was a playwright, actor, and poet a triple threat! Now wheres my scone? He married an older woman for money (Anne Hathaway), and spent most of his years away from her in London. Shakespeares rather cold relationship with Anne later influenced his views on romance and marriage. He had three children. His only son, Hamnet, died at age 11 (no, thats not a typo!). Shakespeare was one of the founding members of the Globe Theater in London, where he continued to work and perform almost to the point of his death on April 23, 1616.
  • 4. Shakespeare wrote three kind of plays: Tragedies, Histories, and Comedies Some famous Tragedies Some famous Hamlet Henry V Romeo and Juliet Richard III Macbeth King John Histories Some famous Comedies The Merchant of Venice A Midsummers Night Dream The Taming of the Shrew
  • 5. Shakespeares legacy is formidablehe wrote some of the most well known, most admired works in Western literature However, due to the antiquity of his language and the sophistication of his techniques, Shakespeares works are often challenging for modern audiences. Before reading his work, it behooves you to heed a few tips
  • 6. Lesson #1 (of 1) Shakespeares work was meant to be read aloud!
  • 7. Somebody volunteer! Read this out loud! Romeo. [JULIET appears above at a window] But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun! Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, Who is already sick and pale with grief, That thou her maid art far more fair than she: Be not her maid, since she is envious; Her vestal livery is but sick and green, And none but fools do wear it; cast it off. It is my lady; O! it is my love: O! that she knew she were. Each time a character is speaking, they are presenting a single thought, also known as the thru-thought. The first task an actor/reader must accomplish is figure out what is the main idea of the speechwhy does it exist? Read the speech again. In your own words, what is the main thought Romeo expresses?
  • 8. Okay, so you figured out Romeos overwhelmed with love the next step is to read it that way!! Romeo. [JULIET appears above at a window] But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun! Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, Who is already sick and pale with grief, That thou her maid art far more fair than she: Be not her maid, since she is envious; Her vestal livery is but sick and green, And none but fools do wear it; cast it off. It is my lady; O! it is my love: O! that she knew she were. Shakespeare would give each actor their lines about three days before the performance. The only way his actors could memorize and make sense ofthe parts was to figure out the main ideaor thru thoughtof each line of dialogue. Remember, just because a line ends, does not mean the thru thought is over! Keep going until its done! Read this with passion! Like you are overcome! You will find that even if you dont understand the words, you still understand the point of the dialogue because you recognize the underlying emotion.
  • 9. Next, pay attention to all the little clues William left you to help you figure out how it should be read Romeo. [JULIET appears above at a window] But, soft! what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun! Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon, Who is already sick and pale with grief, That thou her maid art far more fair than she: Be not her maid, since she is envious; Her vestal livery is but sick and green, And none but fools do wear it; cast it off. It is my lady; O! it is my love: O! that she knew she were. When you see one of theseO do not say oh! This is meant to be a cry of passion, and is known as Ecphonesis O. End-stop punctuation like periods (.), question marks (?), and exclamation points (!) means the thought is complete. In other words, STOP and breathe! Commas indicate an elaboration of the main pointthey continue the thru-thought in greater detail. When an actor encounters a comma, they should usually pause, but not long enough to take a breath. Colons and semi-colons indicate the initial thought is complete, but not the thru-thought. They should be treated like a commapause, but just for a moment!
  • 10. Now! Try this one! With more belly-fire! good show! Im I say, jolly First, figure out what the main pointthe thru-thoughtis! Next, read it from the actors perspective what are you supposed to be conveying in this dialogue excerpt? Finally, pay attention to punctuation! Stop where its necessary and pause where its suggested! Richard Burbage, Juliet Williams favorite actor, 'Tis but thy name that is my enemy; and I proclaim your Thou art thyself though, not a Montague. What's Montague? it is nor hand,drawer, performance top nor foot, Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part Belonging old dog! O! be some other name: to a man. A real cavalcade What's in a name? that which we yes! rose of whimsy, yes call a By any other name would smell as sweet; So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd, Retain that dear perfection which he owes Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name; And for that name, which is no part of thee, Take all myself.
  • 11. Be patient! Mastering Shakespeare takes time! Of course, figuring out the thru-thought in each line is your main challenge. It will vex you. You shall tug at your hair, bang your pate against the wall, and shout obscenities to the heavens. But if some witless, lowgrade, borderline illiterate of a 16th century actor can figure this out, then, by gum, so can you!
  • 12. The End! But what about the scone?!?