Where to Begin in Shakespeare's Plays
So recently I've been inspired to get more into the classics of literature. Although I just graduated from college and was an English major, the grind of reading multiple books per week really burned me out on reading as a whole, and I didn't get nearly as much out of the many books I read as I would have liked. However, now that I have more time now that I graduated, I'd like to go back and read all the stuff I've missed. Currently I'm reading Lattimore's translation of Iliad, which is good stuff.
However, tackling Shakespeare seems pretty mandatory if you want to get into the history of great literature. I have never read any of his plays, and I would like to ask the opinion of this board as to where I should begin. I have no idea of the order I should go in through his plays, and although I know that there is no set order one should go in and that all of the great ones are great, it's a bit intimidating to know where to start and to know where to go from there. I've heard some say that you should read his histories in order--that they make more sense this way--and I tend to think I will do that, but I doubt I should read all of his big ones in order (or should I?). It'd be nice to have some sort of path to follow along, although I do realize that almost everyone is going to say, "There is no ideal path!" But it can't hurt to ask. I've heard a lot say Hamlet is the best, but it also seems like one of the most challenging, and I'm not sure I'd be up to that (I'd be up for it, but I don't want to be so unversed in Shakespeare that I miss a ton in one of his most brilliant plays). Anyways, hopefully you guys have some suggestions.
I have read all the plays and didn't read any in college....
because I was an engineering student. So I was in a worse conditon than you, but here's how I read them.
Read the histories in chronolgical order.
Read the tragedies in any order you want with Macbeth and Hamlet being near the rop of your list.
Read the comedies in any order.
Two things will help. 1) The BBC has performed all the plays and they are available on dvd. Most good libraries have these and they will help considerably in understanding Shakespeare. 2) I don't like to read the plays in a few volumes. Shakespeare is best read with each play being in a separate volume. Maybe a few like Henry IV will be in two volumes. Shakespeare is a lifetime investment so buy good editions. You are out of college now and presumably you have a job. The Easton Press publishes all the plays in leather bound volumes for about $50 per volume. I think the total is about 39 volumes, including the sonnets. You can buy them one per month on a subscription basis. When you pick up a play, having it in a single volume doesn't make the task so daunting. You will have the thrill of receiving a new play every month, and if you keep at it, you will read them all before you know it.