Starting with Shakespeare

Do you have a confident and cultivated appreciation for the works of William Shakespeare? Or, do you envy those who do? (Or, have you often wished that you really even gave a darn about any of it in the first place?)

I’m lucky enough to be a Shakespeare fan, although I certainly don’t consider myself “cultivated” yet by any means. Being introduced to the Bard’s works in childhood, I was led to love of them by an easy, natural, happy route. Dear husband, unfortunately, was first presented with Romeo and Juliet in adolescence, in a classroom where students were dropped into the text, told to memorize parts, and take turns reading them aloud to the class.  I have had to work hard to help him overcome his “Shakespeare PTSD,” but with the steps below, we have succeeded. If you would like to come to understand and appreciate the plays of the greatest writer of the English language, try the below recommendations that have worked for me and many family members and friends:

• The first thing you do is start with Twelfth Night. Twelfth Night is a delightful comedy which has: hilarious mix-ups, pranks, and all kinds of assorted jokes. Next step: pretend you’re a kid. Resist every impulse to start by reading the play out of a book. No, no, no, don’t do it! That’s the worst way to get yourself to love and understand Shakespeare’s words. He wrote these words for us to hear spoken aloud as we watch someone’s face. They’re mostly dialogues!
• That’s why the best way to begin with Shakespeare is to watch rather than read. Makes sense, right? As I said, pretend you’re a kid. Get a copy of Twelfth Night from the series: Shakespeare: The Animated Tales. Watch this fantastic version of the play that was adapted for children by the BBC into a 30-minute presentation. The animation for Twelfth Night is superb stop motion puppet animation. Some of the actors doing the voices were in the Royal Shakespeare company in the 1980s and ‘90s. This series is how I came to love Shakespeare’s great works—or at least, is how I began to love them. (When using them with children, however, parents should definitely pre-screen them!)
• Once you have enjoyed the children’s animated Twelfth Night, you can graduate to find a good audio recording of the play. (This is an excellent way to absorb and internalize the beautiful language.) If you can, get the old and extremely excellent full-cast audio recording voiced by actors Paul Scofield, Siobhan McKenna and John Neville . I first heard it on a record, literally a vinyl record, that my grandmother had bought for us at a thrift store. Back in the 90s my parents still had a turntable, so my sister and I  were able to listen to it and enjoy (and memorize chunks of dialogue to annoy each other with). Now available digitally, you might see if your library’s-books/audiobooks site has a copy.
• Ultimately, you will want to see Twelfth Night in person, on stage. Perhaps your state or region has a Shakespeare festival that will do that comedy this year–hopefully! Check to see if a nearby theater or college is offering a performance soon. At my alma mater a few years ago, a cast of six travelling British actors did the entire play with just themselves and a half-dozen small props. It was incredible! You will be well-prepared to enjoy such a performance after becoming familiar with it in the ways mentioned above.
• And then, after completing this list with Twelfth Night, repeat with Macbeth, or Hamlet, or The Taming of the Shrew…

I’ll wager you will become a Shakespeare fan for life if you get started listening to the words and learning the stories of these plays. And the more you see them, hear them, and someday read them, the more you will love them. Think of the Shakespearean allusions and references in books and the culture that you will be able to pick up on! It’s like finding buried treasure.

Don’t ever be intimidated by these great works: they are for all of us. It takes a little bit of work in the beginning, but soon it will feel like falling in love. Remember that, as Shakespeare himself wrote in Measure for Measure, “Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt.” Start with a small dose of Shakespeare today!