Is Shakespeare actually impossible, or am I just a total idiot?

[Reasonablemary]

I’ve been speaking English for over 20 years, yet every time I open one of his plays, my brain just leaves the chat. I know it’s 'Old English' (technically Early Modern, but who’s counting?), but since everyone acts like it’s the greatest thing ever, I assumed the language barrier wasn't that bad. To the native speakers out there: do you guys actually get this stuff, or am I the only one reading 'thee' and 'thou' and feeling like a complete moron?

It’s meant to be heard and seen rather than read so watching a great production or listening to a good audiobook is best

You should watch it, not read it. It's not meant to be appreciated in written format. The acting, gestures, tone, facial expressions all contribute to understanding and appreciation.

You shouldn't read his plays, you need to go to see them.

Beforehand read up a precis if what's going on (Lambs tales of Shakespeare for example).

It wasn’t really ever meant to be read - he wrote it to be performed and, if you get the chance to watch it, the meaning comes across much more.
I studied his plays years ago and you do get used to the language after a while, but no, it’s not really akin to modern language so it’s hard work!

Watching a play is amazing, and the audience never seems to have trouble understanding what's going on. If you can see the play, then read, you would appreciate it much more!

If you are reading it, I suggest reading it aloud to start. Also really sitting with it and spending some time on it. The longer the session, the easier it gets. There is a rhythm to the language that sinks in and starts to feel less foreign.

i do imagine it would be much more challenging if it wasn’t your first language.

They're plays to be watched performed not read as a book.
The Baz Luhrmann version film version of Romeo and Juliet is currently in cinemas as a 30th anniversary re-release.
If you can get to see it.... definitely go !

Even when we studied Shakespeare at school we read it aloud and saw a production. It is meant to be heard and seen, not read.

No you are not a moron. I only really understood it when a good English teacher took us through it line by line and explained the linguistic aspects, the context and the hidden meanings etc

i have only seen one shakespeare play, Twelth Night, and it was amazing to listen to, the story just came alive, i understood it all, despite being worried that i wouldnt.

Start with his sonnets. They are short and eminently readable and understandable. And very moving.

Definitely watch it, it’s good but you need to listen carefully as it’s all wordplay, incredibly funny in places too. Try the national theatre in cinema as they are accessible productions and cheaper than watching live but closer to the original than a film is. If you want to read Shakespeare try the sonnets first

I'm one of those geeks who can quote lengthy chunks of Shakespeare, and even so I firmly believe it is far better watched than read. You need a decent production to make it come alive for you.

I'd also argue you shouldn't read or watch it blind, but go in with a rough idea of the plot (much like Shakespeare's own audiences, back in the day). My classes always look forward to me doing a live animation of each Act before they watch it (mainly so they can slag off my illustration skills), but it's crucial that they can follow the storyline so that they're concentrating on the language / characters, as opposed to sat struggling to work out what's going on.

I'm a native English speaker, complete bookworm, studied a couple of Shakespeare plays at A level and would still struggle to read an unfamiliar work.

As others have said Shakespeare wrote his plays to be seen at the theatre, not to be read and certainly not to be studied.

Although there's a lot of beautiful language in the plays, they were meant to be accessible to ordinary people. The only reason we find them difficult now is that the English language has evolved so much.

If you can't get to a theatre to see Shakespeare live, then watch them on tv or online. National Theatre productions are sometimes available to watch at home. You might be able to find some of the BBC productions. There are also some very enjoyable films which stick to Shakespeare's texts.

Of you can’t see a film or theatre production, read it out loud - it’s much clearer spoken/heard. Do stick with it - it’s brilliant. The sonnets are a good introduction, if you like poetry, in bite size chunks.

You’re not the only one OP, I have tried to read it several times and eventually had to ask my DC who was doing English lit at Uni at the time to break it down for me! I recently thought if give Middlemarch a go and not doing a lot better with that 😄

I love Shakespeare and I disagree that the plays should not be read. Yes, they were written originally to be performed, but the language, poetry, ingenius word play etc is simply too exquisitie to go unread! Honestly, I often wonder what this guy was on. Out of this world...he blows my mind.

It's a bit like a foreign language. I've read all the plays more than once and understanding it comes with practice and familiarity. Eventually it clicks and you just understand the lingo. Reading the footnotes when starting out is a good way of picking up the meanings.

Totally agree with watching, not reading.

I had a similar reaction to you when I first encountered Shakespeare as a teenager, but then I started watching plays and I became a complete convert.

I introduced my dd to Shakespeare plays when she was around 7/8, and have very happy memories of her giggling away at some of the comedies. She still enjoys them as a young adult, and has even performed in one.

What I used to do with dd is ensure that she had a complete synopsis of the story before we watched, so that she knew what was going on, and I emphasised that she didn't need to understand every word to be able to enjoy it.

Really good actors know how to make the language come alive, and you would be amazed at how much more you might understand if you watch rather than read - because the actors and director have already done a lot of the interpretation for you.

Shakespeare is ace, please don't give up - just try doing it differently.

I love reading them too, but still think that watching is much more accessible for a novice.

Read it only in an edition where about half the page is the notes. You need all the references and sort of transliteration of complex phrases, so you can do all the kind of "hang on, what's Queen Mab?" / who is Bolingbroke, wait, which side is Norfolk on" Then go to the theatre.

Ive really tried to watch Shakespeare plays, a number of them, but really cant follow whats going on, Hamlet, The Tempest, Mcbeth, Midsummer Nights Dream

Couldnt get it

The Hollow Crown I really enjoyed that series on telly and got most of it but still didnt understand all of it and I dont know how faithfully they followed the prose.

If you say it to yourself if a 'Worzels Voice' it sounds better - still doesn't make much sense though.

I think if you watch Emma Thompson's Much Ado about Nothing and still can't get Shakespeare then you are let off forever. I wouldn't read a play without notes - I like the editions that explain as you go along.

When a man's verses cannot be understood, nor a man's good wit seconded with the forward child understanding, it strikes a man more dead than a great reckoning in a little room. Truly, I would the gods had made thee poetical.