Criticism: How to Approach Shakespeare’s plays

What it’s all about: "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts..." As You Like It (II.vii )

Classification can be a useful way to begin approaching works of art. Shakespeare’s plays can be separated into comedies, tragedies and histories. They can also be categorized as Greek plays, Roman plays, Italian plays, and English plays – the great tragedies (except Othello) are all English.

Of the plays we're reading: Much Ado About Nothing is an Italian comedy Henry V and Richard III are English histories Romeo and Juliet is an Italian (apprentice) tragedy Hamlet is an English tragedy

Generally speaking – very generally speaking – the histories and comedies were written early in Shakespeare's career, and the tragedies came later. The comedies at the end of his career tend to be more sophisticated, layered and bittersweet (The Tempest).

The Language of Shakespeare Shakespeare’s language, believe it or not, is Modern English, not Middle English (Chaucer) or Old English (Beowulf).

Still, in the 21st century, Shakespeare's language feels nearly foreign to many readers, particularly those new to his writing, owing in part to its poetic nature. Even 18th century editors were aware that much of his language was obsolete to the 18th-century reader.

Whole batallions of scholars, editors and linguists have toiled for centuries to decipher Shakespearean English, and modern editions of the plays represent the results of those labors. What we read today is somewhat different from what was written in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, but is still difficult for today’s readers.

Shakespeare's plays should be heard and seen in order to be fully appreciated and understood -- partly in response to the difficulty of language (the sonnets, for example, are better understood if read aloud), but also because drama is the half- completed art: Once it's written, the experience is only half there; plays are meant to be performed.