If you just want to read the Classics so you can say that you have read the classics, it isn't worth doing. The people who have said earlier that you need to take your time to enjoy it are absolutely right.
Shakespeare actually is modern English, the vocabulary is just a bit different. Try finding a copy of footnotes, or look up problem words online or in a dictionary. If you want to read some real Archaic stuff read the original Chaucer. Even that can be understood fairly easily with a good glossary and a bit of effort.
Don't even think about speed reading. This takes all the beauty and humanity out of the literature. All you get with speed reading are the hard facts, you miss the language which is the whole point. You shouldn't see reading as a race. Speed reading will only let you grasp the plot. If that's all you want to know, pick up some cliff notes.
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