Most people will end up studying a Shakespeare play at some point in their school career, and if you’re unlucky, it can be an absolute nightmare. Having five acts of archaic language, rubbish jokes, and weak plots rammed down your throat by a bad teacher can put you off for life. However, Shakespeare essays needn’t be a chore, and here are a few tips to help you get to grips with the Swan of Avon.
Know the Plot First
This may sound like cheating, but it’s a lot easier to work out who’s just stabbed whom, or why that guy is hiding behind that curtain, if you know how it all turns out. Most good individual editions of Shakespeare plays (such as Arden) will include an introduction with a summary of the plot. Quell your desire to jump right into the action, and it’ll make more sense when you get round to Act I, Scene I.
Read the Whole Play
Sounds obvious, but some people don’t. Even if you’re only writing about one character, or a few scenes, take the time to read through the whole play. You avoid the risk of drastic misunderstandings (like assuming it’ll all sort itself out for Macbeth in the end), and some of Shakespeare’s techniques, such as dramatic irony, rely on you knowing details of what has gone before.
Read it Out Loud
Shakespeare didn’t write plays so we could write essays about them. He wrote in order that foghorn-voiced actors could stamp about the stage at the Globe, declaiming his lines. It’s a lot easier to get to grips with a passage once you’ve heard the way it flows when read out loud. It’s even worth recording yourself reading it (if you can get over how odd your voice sounds played back) – one student got a top mark in her summer exams after recording the Merchant of Venice and listening to it whilst she played tennis.
You Don’t Have to Understand Every Word
Scholars spend years arguing about the precise significance of individual words in Shakespeare – the debate over what Isabella meant in Measure for Measure by “prone” is still raging. Whilst it’s important that you understand what the characters are saying, don’t get bogged down in constantly running to the dictionary.
See a Live Production
As mentioned above, Shakespeare wrote for the stage (there was no money in publishing plays at the time.) Try to see a performance of the play you’re studying, if at all possible. Aside from the excitement and impact of watching the Bard on the boards, it will help your memory enormously. If you can’t manage to get to a production (though theatre companies are usually pretty canny about staging the plays on that year’s syllabus...), then rent it a Shakespeare film DVD. There are plenty of good Shakespeare adaptations, and the BBC did a Complete Works cycle some years ago. Bear in mind, though, that the director may have cut or altered the text – don’t get caught out by quoting a version by Baz Lurhmann or Trevor Nunn instead of William Shakespeare!
