How to Understand and Perform Shakespeare
Get into the right mindset., Read the play, or at least a summary., Get used to the old-fashioned language., Examples: "For in my sight, she uses thee kindly, but thou liest in thy throat.", Familiarize yourself with stylistic means used in poetry...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Get into the right mindset.
Feel the mood of the play.
Never assume that this is too difficult for you anyway.
Going through the text step by step will enable you to understand it. -
Step 2: Read the play
It helps to know what's going on.
Look at other performances of Shakespeare; they're plays, they were written to be performed, and you can get ideas on how to say that one line you can't figure out.
Also, it helps if you read up on the context and setting of the play so you can understand what some of the laws or common practices (etc.) of the place. , Whenever you hear the word "thou," thy" or "thee"
that means "you," "your," or "you"--singular.
When you hear "art"
that means "are".
When you hear anything that ends in "-st"
don't freak out.
Shakespeare adds "-st" to any word that goes with "thou"
thus "mayst not" = "may not".
Shakespeare also likes to take out syllables to make the line flow smoother--example: "o' th' " would translate to "on the". , translates to: "From what I see, she is kind to you, but you lie." and "No, faith, I'll not stay a jot longer!" translates to "No, I will not stay here a second longer! or "What light through yonder window breaks, it is the east and Juliet is the sun." translates to "Juliet is as radiant with beauty as the sun is radiant with light".
Remember, people were people 500 years ago, and even though they talked differently, they still had emotions like we do. , These are usually discussed in literature classes at school, and knowing what they mean will make the whole process of reading Shakespeare's work less intimidating.
Look them up on the internet and try to find examples of them in your text. , The way Shakespeare puts sentences together are very unorthodox in terms of modern English, so it will be very easy for the audience to lose track of what you're actually saying.
By enunciating clearly and fully, the audience can piece together the words much more easily. , Your character has feelings just like you.
It helps if you understand your character's personality and how he or she behaves throughout the entire play and not just in one scene or act. -
Step 3: or at least a summary.
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Step 4: Get used to the old-fashioned language.
-
Step 5: Examples: "For in my sight
-
Step 6: she uses thee kindly
-
Step 7: but thou liest in thy throat."
-
Step 8: Familiarize yourself with stylistic means used in poetry
-
Step 9: like similes
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Step 10: oxymorons
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Step 11: metaphors etc.
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Step 12: If you're performing Shakespeare
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Step 13: be sure to enunciate (speak out entire words rather than a slur of words).
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Step 14: When performing
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Step 15: remember that your character is an actual person with actual feelings
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Step 16: not a fancy-talking English person.
Detailed Guide
Feel the mood of the play.
Never assume that this is too difficult for you anyway.
Going through the text step by step will enable you to understand it.
It helps to know what's going on.
Look at other performances of Shakespeare; they're plays, they were written to be performed, and you can get ideas on how to say that one line you can't figure out.
Also, it helps if you read up on the context and setting of the play so you can understand what some of the laws or common practices (etc.) of the place. , Whenever you hear the word "thou," thy" or "thee"
that means "you," "your," or "you"--singular.
When you hear "art"
that means "are".
When you hear anything that ends in "-st"
don't freak out.
Shakespeare adds "-st" to any word that goes with "thou"
thus "mayst not" = "may not".
Shakespeare also likes to take out syllables to make the line flow smoother--example: "o' th' " would translate to "on the". , translates to: "From what I see, she is kind to you, but you lie." and "No, faith, I'll not stay a jot longer!" translates to "No, I will not stay here a second longer! or "What light through yonder window breaks, it is the east and Juliet is the sun." translates to "Juliet is as radiant with beauty as the sun is radiant with light".
Remember, people were people 500 years ago, and even though they talked differently, they still had emotions like we do. , These are usually discussed in literature classes at school, and knowing what they mean will make the whole process of reading Shakespeare's work less intimidating.
Look them up on the internet and try to find examples of them in your text. , The way Shakespeare puts sentences together are very unorthodox in terms of modern English, so it will be very easy for the audience to lose track of what you're actually saying.
By enunciating clearly and fully, the audience can piece together the words much more easily. , Your character has feelings just like you.
It helps if you understand your character's personality and how he or she behaves throughout the entire play and not just in one scene or act.
About the Author
Joshua Gray
Committed to making practical skills accessible and understandable for everyone.
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