Hi everyone. The truth is, I haven't read any Shakespeare, I don't know why. Today I was at the library and found a book about Shakespeare's tragedies. Is there any order or something? I'm asking because when I started reading Lovecraft, I didn't ask for any advice, I just started reading, and yes, you can read it all without thinking, but when you read it, you realize there are a lot of allusions and references to other books, so that's basically why I'm asking.
by EagleMan30
1 Comment
Shakespeare’s players all standalone texts, so you can read them in any order (though I’d recommend reading some of the history plays in order).
However, some of the tragedies are easier than others. *Julius Caesar, MacBeth*, and *Romeo and Juliet* are good starting points; the plotting and language are a little easier to follow. You’ll still want an edition with good glosses on each page (Early Modern vocabulary is often a bit baffling to newcomers).
*Coriolanus*, *Titus Andronicus*, and *Troilus and Cressida* are at the harder end and best saved for later.
*King Lear* and *Hamlet* are the best of the tragedies, and bear re-reading so you might want to read them near the start of your read through and then again near the end.
The others can probably be read in the order that you find them most interesting.