(Part 3) Top products from r/shakespeare

Welcome to the cool-kids club.

I agree with much of what has already been said. Try to see them live, if you can't, a great "introductory" course is to watch videos while reading. Youtube, [PBS Great Performances}(http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/), Digital Theatreand even cheap used DVDs on Amazon offer a host of free and low-cost options for viewing them at home. It can also be a great tool to start understanding the difference between reading the lines as written and hearing how they rhythmically change in performance.

You will, to be honest, miss some things without reading annotations, but it's also important to note that Shakespeare is incredibly complex-- I've been studying Shakespeare for about 9 years now seriously, and there are STILL days where I open up a script I've read a million times and go "Wait...that's TOTALLY a play on words!"

If you're really serious about getting into references aspect, I would recommend picking up a Lexicon. It's an amazing resource for learning words and references, organized in about every fashion you can think of. You can get them for pretty cheap-- I think I picked both of mine up for around $5 in the "used" section. They usually come in a two volume set, so make sure you get both!

There are all sorts of great reference books available-- a really rare one (but fantastic) is called "Playing Bit Parts in Shakespeare". I tracked down a copy at a used bookstore for about $60, but it's brilliant. It breaks down all of the plays by the smaller roles and gives an explanation of why they are significant and what purpose they serve in the show.
There's also this one. I am unashamed to say I proudly display this on my bookshelf.

You will also find that every Shakespeare scholar has a STRONG opinion on what versions of texts they prefer. I personally hate the versions Penguin publishes and really prefer the Folger Library editions, but much of it has to do with personal preference.

Good luck, new Shakespeare friend!

You should purchase The Riverside Shakespeare, which is a large book filled with the complete collection of Shakespeare's plays and poems from the best folios. It also has accompanying literature for each play and poem. My copy is very precious to me so if you love studying Shakespeare, I would highly recommend purchasing this collection in particular.

I always recommend following along in the book while watching a performance of the play. I personally feel as though that's one of the best ways to experience the plays. I also suggest reading up about Shakespeare and his time period before you actually read any of the plays. Knowing the time period or history behind the plays is just as important to understanding them as the actual content.

My advice, pick up this: http://www.amazon.com/The-Riverside-Shakespeare-William/dp/0395044022

Oh! And as far as order, read them chronologically. You can see just how much he evolves in his writing from Comedy of Errors to All's Well

Boy do I always recommend Goddard's "The Meaning of Shakespeare" for this stuff. He is very interested in Shakespeare's development and reach essay (one per play basically) connects the tropes and motifs he uses throughout his career. I would never say Shakespeare is "borrowing" from himself in "Twelfth Night". I think he's perfecting his ideas. "Twelfth Night" is my favorite Shakespeare play!

Here's Goddard's book:
The Meaning of Shakespeare, Volume 1 (Phoenix Books) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0226300412/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_Vg2IwbDTVKTGD

Lukas Erne, for one, has made a good case that Shakespeare was writing to be read also, and I, as well as many others, find his argument compelling. Hamlet, for one, cannot be played in anything like the customary "two hours' traffic" of the stage without severe cutting. Others seem unplayable at all, such as Timon of Athens. At least I've never seen it played well, while others that don't read well at all--Titus Andronicus and Pericles, Prince of Tyre, are surprisingly good on the stage.

Shakespeare as Literary Dramatist

A good Complete Works. My favorite is the Riverside. Arden is good too.

ORRRR something that's really cool are First Folio fascimiles. Here's a complete works, or Shakespeare's Globe in London sells individual plays.

The two classic Shakespeare books would be "Will in the World" by Greenblatt, which is about Shakespeare in the context of the world / culture he lived in, or "Shakespeare: Invention of the Human" by Harold Bloom, which discusses every single play. Personally, I really love Jan Kott's "Shakespeare Our Contemporary" but that might be a little intense for a teenager. Maybe not, though.

Personally, I think it's always worth reading the synopsis. Almost every time I go to see Shakespeare I read a synopsis. Personally I like Lamb's Tales from Shakespeare and other children's versions. You don;t want to get lost wondering who such-and-such a minor character is or why so-and-so is plotting against someone. Knowing the plot helps you focus on the poetry IMO.

There's the OMG Shakespeare series--a rendition in text messages. e.g. Macbeth #killingit

(Don't get those, they are terrible. The novelty wears off after 2 pages.)

There are a number of book series aimed at young adults that re-tell Shakespeare in modern language. Shakespeare Today is one such series. I have not read any books like these, but wanted to mention them to let you know that the Young Adult section of your local library may be a good place to look.

Has anybody read Steinbeck's Claudius and Gertrude? I've not read it myself, but given that it exists I'm curious the story he told.

My favorite is "What Happens in Hamelt" by J. Dover Wilson.

This book is worth checking out if you're looking for reading material.

It isn't OP, but The Eloquent Shakespeare by Gary Logan is the authority for Standard American Stage Dialect for the pronunciation of all of Shakespeare's words.

The Eloquent Shakespeare: A Pronouncing Dictionary for the Complete Dramatic Works with Notes to Untie the Modern Tongue https://www.amazon.com/dp/022600631X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_Zv.WzbE34EY5C

https://smile.amazon.com/Norton-Shakespeare-Histories-Third/dp/039393859X/

Go have a look at this:

http://www.amazon.com/Will-World-How-Shakespeare-Became/dp/039332737X

Maybe something about his upbringing in Stratford, his education, his father's up and then down economic fortunes or whether he grew up in a "secret Catholic" household.

What level are you at? If high school/secondary, Adrian Goldsworthy's Caesar should have all that you need. If you're in college, you should be doing some of this work yourself.

https://www.amazon.com/Titus-Andronicus-Oxford-Shakespeare/dp/0199536104/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?keywords=oxford+titus+andronicus&qid=1556841635&s=gateway&sr=8-2

Here are some links for the product in the above comment for different countries:

Link: http://www.amazon.com/Abducted-People-Believe-Kidnapped-Aliens/dp/067402401X/ref%3Dsr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1320956746&sr=8-1


|Country|Link|
|:-----------|:------------|
|UK|amazon.co.uk|
|Spain|amazon.es|
|France|amazon.fr|
|Germany|amazon.de|
|Japan|amazon.co.jp|
|Canada|amazon.ca|
|Italy|amazon.it|
|China|amazon.cn|



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Do you have access to a university library? The definitive citation on this issue is The Division of the Kingdom by Taylor and Warren.

If you just need basic talking points, why not wikipedia?.