Reading ShakespeareA simple guide
Four Issues for the modern reader
1. Words2. Sentences3. Wordplay4. Implied Stage Action
Words
1. Unfamiliar words Antiquated (we no longer use them)▪ Parle
Discussion▪ Soft
▪ Hold How do I know this?
Footnotes
Words
2. Geography• Elsinore▪ Hamlet’s Castle
How do I know this? Footnotes
3. Words that have a different meaning3. Rivals (1.1.14) ▪ Companions
How do I know this? Footnotes
SentencesConsider the meaning: The dog bit the boy. The boy bit the dog.In English, meaning is
dependant on placement of words.
Because of this, unusual arrangements can confuse a reader
Shakespeare shifts this for his rhythm
Actors will read this to help with meaning
At home, reading aloud will help.
Sentences
English builds like this:
Shakespeare will switch these:
Subject VerbHe Goes
Verb SubjectGoes He
Sentences
English builds like this:
Shakespeare will do this:
Subject Verb ObjectI Hit Him
Object Verb ObjectHim I Hit
Sentences
Shakespeare will also separate words that usually belong together:
The sentence should read:“When he combated”
Shakespeare will write“When he the ambitious Norway combated”
Wordplay Puns
Play on words that sound the same but have different meanings
Son/sun Claudius asks his “son”
why his mood is so cloudy, to which Hamlet answers he is “too much in the sun”▪ Hamlet is not Claudius son
and is not happy being called that.
Implied Stage Action
Notice there is very italicized stage action. Shakespeare will write the stage action right into the lines – this is how actors know to: Move across the
stage Shiver because of
cold Shake hands and
hug Do a spit take
Printing a book
Published Text history
1603 – Quarto (Bad) – this includes different names and only 2,300 lines
1604/05 – Good Quarto
1623 – 7 years after death – First Folio
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