Learn SHAKESPEARE with Real Code Examples

Start with plot summaries and character lists

Read simplified or annotated editions

Progress to original Early Modern English texts

Watch performances for practical understanding

Engage in literary analysis and scholarly critique

Week 1: Read short comedies or sonnets

Week 2: Study character motivations in tragedies

Week 3: Annotate poetic devices and metaphors

Week 4: Perform scenes or recite passages

Week 5: Write critical essays or adaptations

What are the main themes in Hamlet?

How does Shakespeare use soliloquy?

Explain the difference between tragedy and comedy in his works

What are some examples of Shakespearean wordplay?

How did historical context influence his plays?

Identify acts and scenes -> Annotate key lines -> Note metaphors/puns -> Highlight themes -> Discuss or perform

Track character arcs across the play

Understand historical and social context

Recognize verse vs prose

Use modern translations carefully for clarity

Shakespeare: The Complete Works

Shakespeare After All - Marjorie Garber

Shakespeare: The Biography - Park Honan

Shakespearean Tragedy - A.C. Bradley

Shakespeare’s Words - David and Ben Crystal

Introduction to Shakespeare’s Plays

Analyzing Sonnets and Poems

Performing Shakespeare on Stage

Elizabethan Language and Vocabulary

Themes, Motifs, and Character Analysis

https://www.folger.edu/shakespeare

https://shakespeare.folger.edu/

Shakespeare Societies

Folger Shakespeare Library Forums

Theatre and Drama Schools

Academic Conferences on Shakespeare

Online Discussion Groups and MOOCs

Shakespeare societies and guilds

Folger Shakespeare Library

Online forums and academic discussion groups

Theatre workshops and drama schools

MOOCs and online literary courses