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.shakespeare-online.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 D. Protagonist

• E. Antagonist F. Foil G. Stage Directions•

• H. Dialogue I. Monologue J. Soliloquy K. Aside

• L. Dialect M. Archetype N. Motif O. Symbol