need serious help

[reyes_0824]

Im in 10th grade and in my english 2pre ap class im reading Tragedy of Julius Cesar i want to kno what i could do to make it less painful to read this book. half the time i coant understand the language and the other half it just puts me to sleep. can anyone help me it would be greatly appreciated

[mercymyqueen]

Talk to your teacher. I was in honors English when we did JCaeser in HS, and even in honors/ap classes teachers are usually happy to help if you're struggling. They understand: Shakespeare is difficult. You're probably not enjoying it because you don't understand it.

[littlelit]

My teacher suggested reading it aloud and according to the punctuation. Try reading it once like this without stopping for meanings or something and see how much yo can gather.
You can always watch the movie to know whether you will be interested at all or not.

[Eilidh]

When I was first given this play to read by my teacher, I began to read it by myself at home first. Even though we had planned to read it in class.

However, it was extremely difficult to read by myself. If this is the case with you too, try not to make it put you off.

As we read the play in class, our teacher explained several difficult parts and I made annotations along the margins of most of the pages.
When I read it by myself several months later, it was very easy, and I understood areas much more thoroughly; even the ones without the annotations.

My main tip is (if you aren't reading it as a class activity, which is quite unfortunate as it is a play) that you must read it slowly. It isn't too difficult when you try to concentrate on the meaning of the words. Some parts do sound like riddles, but there aren't riddles in every sentence. Phew!

Reading aloud does also help since it will slow down your reading (most people read faster in their head, obviously) and often makes you realize how some words stand out than others. And it can even help you understand the meaning of the sentence without you thinking that you are deciphering it!

When something is physically sounded, it also stays in your head better.

Try to do it with a friend, and invent some accents for each. This makes it much more enjoyable (even if it is a tragedy!). Don't mind the pronunciation too much, because it can be difficult to grasp how to pronounce each word properly e.g. some syllables have to be stressed to emphasize the rhythm, but these words can be hard to identify. Don't worry too much about it.

But if your book has some kind of index-type thing at the back, it might explain how certain words are supposed to be read.

At least, try to keep the flow according to how the speeches are displayed. Once again, don't rush it through, because then you'll be reading without taking anything in.

I hope I have provided with some help (:

PS. After having read this play, I have fallen in love with Shakespeare's works. Julius Caesar is a brilliant play, and I plan to read his other works in the summer!