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.

You have a degree in English and haven't read any thing by Shakespeare?

That aside. Honestly anywhere is nice to start. Obviously there is recurring "stuff" throughout the plays, but that is not to suggest that the best place to start is the beginning of his career.

If I were you I would sample the best of the different genres: Hamlet/King Lear, As You Like It, and Henry IV, saving the later romance/tragicomedies for after.

Well, I've read some Shakespeare, I just never made it through one of his plays completely to the best of my memory--I was a slacker in college because I could never read fast enough while doing other stuff, and then the teacher would move on to the next book, so I would just give up trying to keep pace. I am not the fastest reader ever, so like I said, being an English major burned me out. I've read most of Lear and Othello (Othello in high school), but I don't believe I finished either. Read some of his sonnets, too.

Also, another question, if one was to buy his complete works, is the Riverside version generally the best one to purchase?

Well, Shakespeare's not going anywhere so: better late than never.

Personally, I would recommend the Norton Ed. of his complete plays and poems (which feature very nice introductions to each play), and the Arden Ed. of whatever individual plays you want to look at with particular scrutiny.

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.

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Originally Posted by Vladimir777

I would like to ask the opinion of this board as to where I should begin.

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The first act?

:goof:

The tragedies are the most interesting. Titus Andronicus is nicely gory although some critics don't like it.

Julius Caesar is brilliant- I'd start with that. Then maybe Macbeth.

Julius Ceasar is astoundingly good, but I'd start with something lighter, Troilus and Cressida, simple and on a human scale.

I'd have to recommend Romeo & Juliet and Macbeth as staples as well as great places to start.

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Originally Posted by prendrelemick

Julius Ceasar is astoundingly good, but I'd start with something lighter, Troilus and Cressida, simple and on a human scale.

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Troilus and Cressida should be saved for later, in my opinion, to be truly appreciated. It's actually structurally very different from the others and has some very (dare I say) post-modern aspects. It might be better to first familiarize yourself with the norm. But to each his own! To each his own.

I'm going to be a little annoying and reiterate the Hamlet suggestion and will attempt to give you a brief rundown of what I call my spiel. A good reader of Shakespeare is more or less an actor of Shakespeare and every actor of Shakespeare finds a part of himself in this play. There's a reason most Shakespeare companies' virgin productions are productions of Hamlet (Like LitNet Theatre's!). Yes, yes, yes, it's a masterwork of literature and nuances abound, but I would like to underline the fact that it's also very personal and personable. It speaks to almost everyone. Yeah. That's it. Carry on.

Thanks for the suggestions, all. Yes, I do have a job, but at the moment it is merely working at Borders bookstore, so I don't get the biggest paychecks ever. I somewhat wanted to buy him in one volume, because this would be the most cost-efficient (although hopefully one day soon I will find another job). I am beginning to lean towards reading one of these as my first play: Macbeth, Julius Caesar, Romeo & Juliet, or Hamlet. I definitely want to read the histories in order, though. Everyone says Henry IV (both parts) is the best.

Macbeth, definitely Macbeth: shortest play, no sub-plots (which is very rare), fast paced action, one of the four great tragedies - great place to start. As for what version, I would definitely recommend the RSC version of the complete works, I have just bought this to update my complete works, as my old one was getting tatty, and it is very good. Good introductions and stats, and more importantly, notes on every page of obscure words, great for the beginner and the experienced alike, it will stand you in good stead throughout, what's more it only cost £10 inc delivery from amazon, what could be better value than that? Also the Arden is very good too. Happy reading!

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Originally Posted by prendrelemick

Julius Ceasar is astoundingly good, but I'd start with something lighter, Troilus and Cressida, simple and on a human scale.

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Hah, yeah I hope you're being sarcastic here. Troilus and Cressida is easily one of Shakespeare's most complex plays, and one of the most cynical.

I find it funny that you compared it with Julius Caesar as the more human play, considering the fact that Troilus and Cressida deals with a subject matter that is largely mythical, while Julius Ceasar at least dramatizes historic events (albiet obviously in a fictionalized way).

I'm slowly but surely leaning towards Macbeth. Maybe I should read one of his tragedies first, then a comedy (perhaps Twelfth Night?), then a history, and once I've read a fair amount, begin work on his romances? You guys are great at giving fast feedback, by the way. Thanks. How many on here have read all of his plays?

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Originally Posted by Vladimir777

Also, another question, if one was to buy his complete works, is the Riverside version generally the best one to purchase?

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I prefer the RSC Complete Shakespeare edited by Bate and Rasmussen

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Originally Posted by Vladimir777

Thanks for the suggestions, all. Yes, I do have a job, but at the moment it is merely working at Borders bookstore, so I don't get the biggest paychecks ever. I somewhat wanted to buy him in one volume, because this would be the most cost-efficient ...

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Why not just get the RSC Complete Shakespeare and read it from beginning to end? The history plays then come in order, and you get a light-hearted start with the comedies. The first play is "The Tempest", one of his greatest, so you get a great kick start.

The RSC complete is *better* than any single version I've read because the scholarship is cut down to the essentials. So you get all the help you need, but no boring scholarship to weigh you down (you probably had enough of that doing your degree :D

Merely working at Borders? Is there a more worthwhile job...

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Originally Posted by mal4mac

Why not just get the RSC Complete Shakespeare and read it from beginning to end? The history plays then come in order, and you get a light-hearted start with the comedies. The first play is "The Tempest", one of his greatest, so you get a great kick start.

The RSC complete is *better* than any single version I've read because the scholarship is cut down to the essentials. So you get all the help you need, but no boring scholarship to weigh you down (you probably had enough of that doing your degree :D

Merely working at Borders? Is there a more worthwhile job...

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Haha, well retail really starts to be a drag after a certain amount of time. Also with the economy how it is, hours get cut like crazy, but even if they weren't, I don't think I could take it too much longer. I can't imagine myself wanting to ever pursue a career in retail, even if it involved getting a cushy manager job, because it would take A LOT of money for putting up with the day-to-day monotony of retail. But yes, working at a bookstore is better than working at, say, a clothing store or a restaurant, I imagine (never having done either).

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Originally Posted by Vladimir777

How many on here have read all of his plays?

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I have read many, including some of the apocrypha and at least skimmed the rest if that counts.

And YES! the Riverside IS THE BEST choice for a complete works. Get the recent release which includes Edward III.

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Originally Posted by xman

I have read many, including some of the apocrypha and at least skimmed the rest if that counts.

And YES! the Riverside IS THE BEST choice for a complete works. Get the recent release which includes Edward III.

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Edition 2 is the most recent one, correct? One actually just came to our store. I might get it when the next 40% coupon comes out, because that really cuts a huge chunk of the price out. Same goes for buying the Beatles box set.

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Originally Posted by Vladimir777

Edition 2 is the most recent one, correct? One actually just came to our store. I might get it when the next 40% coupon comes out, because that really cuts a huge chunk of the price out. Same goes for buying the Beatles box set.

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Yes, that appears to be so. I'm not convinced about the Funeral Elegy which it also contains, but I still have it in my own library. Oddly it appears to have a portrait NOT of Shakespeare on the cover. Like him and a nice portrait though. Better than that stupid Chandos thing we've been staring at for decades.

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Originally Posted by xman

Yes, that appears to be so. I'm not convinced about the Funeral Elegy which it also contains, but I still have it in my own library. Oddly it appears to have a portrait NOT of Shakespeare on the cover. Like him and a nice portrait though. Better than that stupid Chandos thing we've been staring at for decades.

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Wait, wait, so that's not Shakespeare on the cover of Riverside? I recently read an article in a magazine about pictures of Shakespeare and how there were only like 2 that were actually authentic ones, many copies and forgeries.

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Originally Posted by Vladimir777

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.

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This is so simple, start with Titus Andronicus and I can guarantee you will lose all interest in the Bard forever. Unfortunately there is no easy route to understanding Shakespeare. Try Hamlet, read it once, look to the notes and read it again, and again and again. Once you have mastered it could you please enlighten the whole forum. Seriously, you have to work hard in an intellectual sense and even then there is no certainty of understanding. There is no quick fix for Will, just a determination to try. ' there is no mystery in it ' ;)

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Originally Posted by jocky

This is so simple, start with Titus Andronicus and I can guarantee you will lose all interest in the Bard forever. Unfortunately there is no easy route to understanding Shakespeare. Try Hamlet, read it once, look to the notes and read it again, and again and again. Once you have mastered it could you please enlighten the whole forum. Seriously, you have to work hard in an intellectual sense and even then there is no certainty of understanding. There is no quick fix for Will, just a determination to try. ' there is no mystery in it ' ;)

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Yeah, from what I understand, you get out of Will what you put into him, but in that sense you can keep getting new things out of him forever, because his well is endless.

Vladimir, I think a great place to start would be Julius Caesar for a few reasons: it's one of Shakespeare's greatest plays but the language isn't as heavy or complex as something like Hamlet.

I think it has an easy flow and a simple elegance, and some of Shakespeare's best characters and is set during a time in history Shakespeare loved and wrote compellingly about. It's got action, drama, war, murder (not "most foul" but still murder), the supernatural, and one of the best moments in all of Shakespeare: Julius' Caesar's death, Mark Antony's soliloquy and funeral oration.

If you don't want to explore all the deep themes but just want an interesting read, then this is the play. It reads more like a thriller and trust me, the action never stops.

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Originally Posted by Abdiel

Vladimir, I think a great place to start would be Julius Caesar for a few reasons: it's one of Shakespeare's greatest plays but the language isn't as heavy or complex as something like Hamlet.

I think it has an easy flow and a simple elegance, and some of Shakespeare's best characters and is set during a time in history Shakespeare loved and wrote compellingly about. It's got action, drama, war, murder (not "most foul" but still murder), the supernatural, and one of the best moments in all of Shakespeare: Julius' Caesar's death, Mark Antony's soliloquy and funeral oration.

If you don't want to explore all the deep themes but just want an interesting read, then this is the play. It reads more like a thriller and trust me, the action never stops.

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Thanks for the advice, Abdiel, I will take it into strong consideration. Now that there is a 40% coupon available at my bookstore, I might be getting the Riverside Shakespeare soon.

I would say this depends on a lot of things like your personal temperament and how much time/effort you plan on devoting to reading Shakespeare. Since I was determined to read everything he wrote I simply got a complete edition (the Norton because it was the cheapest at the time) and read it from beginning to end since it had the plays listed in (roughly) chronological order. The early plays are a real mix in quality, but the middle plays start to get great (from Romeo & Juliet/Midsummer Night's Dream on) and from there on it's just transcendent masterpiece after transcendent "Oh-my-god-I-could-never-write-like-that-in-my-life-how-did-that-f'ing-Bard-WRITE-THAT?!!!" masterpiece.

If you just want "the best", just start with the "big four" tragedies; Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth and then read Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra, Romeo & Juliet, and Coriolanus to round them out. For the comedies, they're really a more personal thing and everyone has their favorites. I love his late Romances (Pericles, Cymbeline, Winter's Tale, The Tempest) and my two favorite comedies of his are A Midsummer Night's Dream and As You Like It. His "problem plays" (Measure for Measure, Troilus and Cressida, All's Well that Ends Well) are great but probably better tackled later when you're better equipped to realize Shakespeare's breaking down of dramatic/comedic conventions. I also love The Merchant of Venice for its interpretational complexity.

The Histories are, for me, hit-and-miss. Henry VI parts 1-3 he wrote at the beginning of his career and I was only mildly interesting. The concluding part of the his early History quartet is Richard III which is one of the best, however. His second Historical quartet consists of Richard II (the weakest link) Henry IV 1 and 2 (both very good) and Henry V (great). King John was mixed for me; I'd have to read it again to really decide how I felt about it.

Personally, I'd recommend mixing it up; mix tragedies and comedies equally to keep your interest or to fit your mood. Reading a heavy tragedy when you're in the mood for a comedy is a sure-fire way to lose interest. Also, definitely augment reading Shakespeare with watching/listening to Shakespeare. The BBC has DVDs out of all of his plays and even though they vary in quality it's great to see the plays acted out. There are, of course, tons of film adaptations and many great ones. I'd recommend anything by Olivier or Brannagh. I also highly, HIGHLY recommend Arkangel's Shakespeare on CD which are dramatic readings of his plays on disc. The entire set is $420 but I got mine from the library, ripped it to my PC and burned it onto CD-Rs and they're fantastic. They use the Complete Pelican for the text and it's helpful if you follow along while listening to it.

Good luck in your journey! For me, discovering Shakespeare was like discovering the greatest friend I never knew I had. There's something in Shakespeare for every mood, occasion, thought, etc. The only thing frustrating about him is realizing the impossibility of ever being that good!

Ah, Morpheus, you've somewhat inspired me to go through them chronologically! I just got the Riverside Shakespeare, so it's definitely something I could do easily (while in terms of having the available materials on hand...it might take a while to get through). I'm really thinking I might do that, but then again, might not. I am reading All the Pretty Horses now, and once I finish that and a Bill Bryson book on Shakespeare, I'll begin my first play. Thanks for the reply.

It's taken me about a year to go all 38 plays, 2 long poems, and 154 sonnets; but I don't read them everyday, either, as I obviously take breaks to read other things and for music, film, etc. I've always found it best to read Shakespeare in spurts and then put him down for a while and come back when you're hungry for more. Reading plays is a bit odd because you have to keep in mind they were intended to be ACTED and not READ. Even though I enjoy reading them I think I enjoy thinking about what I read more than actually reading it (if that makes sense). Watching or listening to it acted is really where the fun is, but reading them is a great way to familiarize yourself with the nuances more beforehand.

Hamlet is my favorite and I suggest start with Hamlet. It is immaculate.

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Originally Posted by Abdiel

Vladimir, I think a great place to start would be Julius Caesar for a few reasons: it's one of Shakespeare's greatest plays but the language isn't as heavy or complex as something like Hamlet.

I think it has an easy flow and a simple elegance, and some of Shakespeare's best characters and is set during a time in history Shakespeare loved and wrote compellingly about. It's got action, drama, war, murder (not "most foul" but still murder), the supernatural, and one of the best moments in all of Shakespeare: Julius' Caesar's death, Mark Antony's soliloquy and funeral oration.

If you don't want to explore all the deep themes but just want an interesting read, then this is the play. It reads more like a thriller and trust me, the action never stops.

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Agreed. It's a very visual play and the plot's pretty simple, so you can find your way through without much difficulty.