Tasaio,
First off, any piece of literature is to be savored not gobbled. Slow down. Don't go into this like an accountant. Read a particular play, wrestle with the multiple meanings, enjoy the pagentry, the humor (and Shakespeare is very funny), the tragedy, and strategy, all of it. The previous poster was correct, Shakespeare was meant to be heard. The language is deliberately musical, a treat first for the ears, then for the mind. Read it, watch it, return to it. See many versions of Shakespeare's plays, read different critiques (Northrop Frye is splendid, and I love Harold Bloom for his sheer enthusiasm of Shakespeare) to give you some insights that history has cut from the modern reader. You can reread Shakespeare for the rest of your life and not be through with him. And, as I once heard said, Shakespeare is timeless as he will bury his undertakers. So have some fun. Read Cervantes, Dante, Chaucer, read them all, but don't rush. They've been around a long time. Literature is one of life's luxuries, relish it.  |