Overcome+Your+Fear+of+Shakespeare

Kristin Scalzo: Hour 3

http://shakespeare.about.com/cs/homeworkhelp/a/howtostudy.htm

Everyone knows that reading and understanding Shakespeare's plays isn't an easy task. This is why this website is such a good resource for reading Hamlet, or any other Shakespearean play. It gives you five easy tips to help better understand his plays. The tips that are found here can also be used when reading and studying any of Shakespeare's sonnets or non-dramatic poetry, except for tip #4 because poems won't be made into a movie, obviously. The tips start with having the reader get a good plot synopsis that isn't too general and reading that so that a general understanding of the play is known before actually reading the play word for word. This can help so that it is easier for the reader to understand what is generally happening in the story so that he/she isn't completely lost. The next tip deals with finding a copy of the play that has annotations on the bottom of the page or on the opposite page of the actual text. This helps the reader so that if a troublesome word or passage comes along, he/ she can glance at the annotations and figure out what the word/ passage means. In the Hamlet book we are currently reading, there are annotations on the opposite page of the text and they can be very helpful to make sure that when important passages come along, the reader knows what was said and how to interpret it. The third tip explains that the first time a reader goes through the play they should focus on getting the meaning out of word and passages and paying attention to the characters and their roles in the story so that he or she is now ready for step number four, which entails renting or buying a copy of the play made into a movie and reading along as the movie plays. This shows that while reading and watching Hamlet we are on the road to success of understanding and conquering this particular Shakespeare play. The fifth and final tip is all about the second reading. While reading the play a second time they suggest concentrating on key events, the characters roles and motivations, and what the play tells us about life. Overall, I think these tips can really help us as we are reading through Hamlet, and even in the future when reading any other Shakespeare plays or poems. There is really no reason to fear Shakespeare because if you follow these tips you will be on your way to success.