How I Read Shakespeare! [CC]

Here's what I do when I read Shakespeare!

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📚 Videos and Booktubers mentioned 📚

Cara @WildeBookGarden

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As always, closed captions (subtitles) available x

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Hi! I’m Olivia-Savannah. I’m a British student studying English Literature and Creative Writing in the UK. I also spend a lot of time in the Netherlands where some of my family live. I love reading, writing, yoga, cooking and baking. I love reading all genres and age audiences. Nice to meet you x

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[MarianaQuesada]

THERE'S A HAMLET WITH ANDREW SCOTT!?!?! 😍😍😍😍 I'd love to hear more about your personal favorite adaptations. I really liked Hamlet with Kenneth Branagh (though I had to watch it in 2 parts because it's so long). I also looooved Macbeth with Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard, that was *chef's kiss*. I'd love to see one on theatre someday. You have it nailed down with the cup of tea, well any reading is always improved with a cup of tea.

[jackiesliterarycorner]

I want to give Shakespeare another shot, because in my previous experience reading his plays I haven't been around people who I feel appreciate it. I took a British Lit and by the time we got to Hamlet, which was the work I was most excited, we barely spent any time with it, and I was one of the few paying attention to the movie (Kenneth Brannagh). Watching Tom Hiddleston talk about Shakespeare is actually made finally make the decision. He's currently my crush, so it was pretty good motivator, but I have been curious about Shakespeare. I love Joss Whedon's Much Ado About Nothing, Baz Lurhman's Romeo and Juliet, and a Mid Summer Night's Dream directed by Michael Hoffman. Just bought an edition of four of his tragedies off Thrift books that is easier to carrier than my Leather-bound Barnes & Noble omnibus edition of all his works.

[aseaoftomes]

This is such an interesting way to read Shakespeare. I mostly read them in school and now I just kind of read them based on my mood.
I also read the synopsis as well. But how detailed of a synopsis I choose will depend on the play.
It was always so frustrating having to use specific editions for school. I don't necessarily care what edition I use when I read because I don't mind the historical notes.
Research is a really great thing to do. I try to find a friend to talk about it with because I process more that way rather than just reading as well.
YES! Watching an adaption! I haven't done that with all of them, but I have with a lot of them. It really does make me love the play even more.
I'm not very excited about the modern adaptions either. Yeah I hate the whitewashing as well. It's so frustrating.
I really enjoyed this Olivia and thanks for sharing your tips!

[LanaFeyah]

I so agree with you about spoiling yourself for this one. It's what I tell anyone who wants to familiarise themselves with Shakespeare's art - read the synopses, and a couple of basic analyses. It saves a world of trouble and misunderstanding, and definitely creates a more enjoyable end result.

[BeautifullyBookishBethany]

This makes me want to read more Shakespeare again! I love his comedies and the versions with the word definitions are useful. After awhile you get used to the language.

[bebella]

I really like your idea of reading it from beginning to end - the reasoning makes sense! Also the research part is what I usually do with classics; I’m definitely gonna do that for Shakespeare too! Great video, Olivia 💕

[beckysbookshelf]

i really want to get into shakespeare again - i haven't read any since finishing my undergrad. reading it all in one sitting is such a good idea, i'm definitely going to do that when i pick one up

[ChelseaZhao]

I started reading Shakespeare in HS, and even got to perform Twelfth Night and A Midsummer Night’s Dream! (I haven’t ever read any of the histories, and the comedies are my favorite.)
Yes! Watching an adaption is key!

[elenathegreat]

This was so helpful, and it was super interesting to hear about how you read. I feel like I was taught to read Shakepeare in a very school-based setting and I've been wanting to get back into it in a new way

[katiebarnicoat]

I've read a couple of Shakespeare plays before in school that we annotated and discussed which made understanding them much easier. I've been nervous to read the others in my collection until now as I think I'll struggle to understand the language and keep up with the plots. I'll definitely be using these when reading for the readathon - they're really helpful. Thank you for making this video and sharing your tips!

[dompishere]

Reading synopses of his plays is similar to what all my English teachers would have us do. We were given the Folger editions. The teachers would have us skim through the modern English version first so that we could get an idea of what was going to happen before diving in to study the material. I remember spending hours highlighting the modern English to its matching Shakespeare phrase just in case I needed to look back on it so all my copies look like a rainbow vomited in the book 😂

[andreeap.]

This is a great video and very helpful! The tip about spoiling the play is the best tip I've ever heard about reading Shakespeare. I read Hamlet recently without knowing much about it and I was so confused and had to reread parts, plus there are so many layers in that play. I need to reread it.

[JimiCanRead]

One thing I’ve done with a couple of Shakespeare plays is read them out loud with a friend, so it comes a bit closer to that ‘seeing the performance’ experience and I have someone to discuss it with ‘live’ if something confuses me or anything

[emilyf]

This is so helpful, thank you! I am participating in the readathon, and I just finished Antony and Cleopatra but I found it quite confusing. When I had to read Shakespeare for school I would always spoil the plot beforehand, and I would feel kinda guilty lol. I stopped doing that now but I do think I should use that habit again. There's no shame in knowing what's going on before you go into it!

[SarahAsYouWish]

This method should definitely help make Shakespeare more approachable. Thanks.

[awanderingmind]

The reason why you spoil yourself actually makes sense and I would do it too haha especially if the writing is more complicated.
I’m going to try and read Shakespeare this weekend and do my best in participating in the readathon. I’ll probably start will something Romeo and Juliet related because it’s more familiar!

[sofiainez]

Great video! I'm enjoying Shakespeare more the more I read of it as I familiarise myself with his language. I'm reading two of his plays for a course at uni next semester (Two Gentlemen of Verona and Two Noble Kinsmen) which I'm really excited about!

[coly]

Ahhh thanks for making this video! I definitely want to start out with the tradegies! All of his plays sound really interesting!😃 I think spoiling myself is really going to help with my experience!

[nherbooks]

The only play we had to read in school was The Merchant of Venice & ugh I detested it! It also made me avoid Shakespeare for ages. I really do want to give them another shot (& as I've hinted I will probably do a video on it eventually hehe)
This was interesting to hear your process for reading Shakespeare, , ngl I gasped when you said you spoil yourself - but the way you explained it makes me want to go about reading the plays in a similar manner to you! I think I'll struggle to read the plays in one sitting though!!

[WhatVictoriaRead]

I love this and these are such good tips! I ALWAYS check the full synopsis before I go in, so I can know roughly what is happening.