HOW TO STUDY
SHAKESPEARE
FIVE STEPS TO SUCCESS
READING A SHAKESPEARE PLAY
1) READ A GREAT PLOT SYNOPSIS.
• I recommend Charles Boyce's
Shakespeare A to Z, which contains
excellent scene-by-scene summaries
of all Shakespeare's plays, and the
perennial favorite, Stories from
Shakespeare by Marchette Chute.
2) FIND AN ANNOTATED COPY OF THE
WORK YOU WOULD LIKE TO READ.
• Skim over a passage at random and identify
any words that you do not understand.
• I would choose an edition from one of the
following three series: The Falcon
Shakespeare; The Kittredge Shakespeare; and
The New Cambridge Shakespeare.
3) GET COMFORTABLE AND READ
ONCE THROUGH THE PLAY.
• You should focus on learning the
meanings of difficult words, and, as
you read, you should start to become
familiar with the personalities of the
characters.
4) RENT, BUY, OR BORROW FROM YOUR LOCAL
LIBRARY THE BBC PRODUCTION OF THE PLAY
• The BBC Shakespeare series is an amazing
resource which includes the complete text of
each drama.
• Read along with the video.
• The speeches will come to life for you, and
passages that were unintelligible before will
become clear.
5) IT IS TIME TO READ THE PLAY AGAIN.
•
By now you should have a solid
understanding of the key passages,
and hence you can concentrate on
larger themes represented in the play.
IT IS TIME TO ASK YOURSELF QUESTIONS LIKE:
• • What are the main events of importance?
• Which characters are involved in the sub-plot
and how does the sub-plot relate to the chief plot
of the play?
• How do the characters relate to one another?
• What motivates the central characters?
• What does the play tell us about life and our
ability to control our own destiny?
CITE THIS ARTICLE
• Mabillard, Amanda. How to Study
Shakespeare.Shakespeare Online. 2000.
(day/month/year you accessed the
information) < http://www.shakespeareonline.com/plays/howtostudybard.html >.
TOOLS FOR ANALYSIS OF SHAKESPEAREAN
TRAGEDIES & TRAGIC ACTIONS
1. Type of person - consider:
- Character & personality
- Integrity
- Lucidity
TOOLS FOR ANALYSIS OF SHAKESPEAREAN
TRAGEDIES & TRAGIC ACTIONS
• 2. Tragic flaw - the input the person has into the action. The stronger the
input, the more intense the tragedy. The better the motive, the more
intense the irony, and the more powerful the tragedy. Consider:
- Virtue
- Good judgement
- Faulty or bad judgement
- Affirmation of self, self-assertion in the face of challenge to dignity
- Hubris (lack of insight, or arrogance due to excessive pride and
insolence towards others)
- Weakness in some area (not having *enough* of a good quality)
- Vice or bad quality
TOOLS FOR ANALYSIS OF SHAKESPEAREAN
TRAGEDIES & TRAGIC ACTIONS
• 3. Nature of consequent misfortune,
misery, loss, or disaster - tragic
actions result in degrees of loss.
DRAMA TERMS:
• A. Drama
B. Tragedy C. Theme
• E. Antagonist
F. Foil
D. Protagonist
G. Stage Directions
•
• H. Dialogue
• L. Dialect
I. Monologue
M. Archetype
J. Soliloquy
N. Motif
K. Aside
O. Symbol