Let's be honest: Shakespeare is hard
Shakespeare is not just difficult for English learners — most native speakers find him challenging too. His plays were written around 400 years ago, in a form of English that has changed significantly. Words like "wherefore," "dost," and "hath" are not in everyday use. Sentence structure is often inverted: "What light through yonder window breaks" puts the subject and verb in an order that feels unfamiliar to modern readers.
Add to this the fact that the plays are written in verse — with rhythm, metre, and poetic compression — and you have something that requires real effort. Being honest about this is not discouraging; it is respectful of your time. Going in with the right expectations is the first strategy.
Who is ready for Shakespeare?
We recommend Shakespeare for C1 and C2 learners. At those levels you have enough vocabulary range and reading stamina to work through unfamiliar language without losing the thread of a scene. If you are at B2, you are not far off — but it is worth building confidence first. A play like The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde is an excellent stepping stone: it is witty and theatrical, written in crisp modern prose, and will give you the pleasure of classic drama without the extra layer of Early Modern English.
Not sure of your level? Visit Levels to find out where you are, or browse the library by difficulty.
The single most effective strategy: learn the plot first
This one change removes most of the difficulty. When you already know what happens in a scene — who speaks, what they want, what the outcome is — your brain can focus on the language rather than decoding events. A brief plot summary before each act costs five minutes and saves enormous frustration.
For Romeo and Juliet, the broad story is widely known. That familiarity is a genuine advantage. Use it.
Four practical tips for reading Shakespeare
1. Use the narration — do not skip it
Shakespeare wrote for the ear, not the page. Hearing the lines read aloud unlocks their rhythm and meaning in a way that silent reading cannot. On The Reading Corner, the full narration plays in sync with the text. Let yourself listen to a speech before you try to analyse it. The melody of the verse carries meaning that the words alone sometimes obscure. This is supported by what we know about how listening aids reading comprehension — see the science for more.
2. Read scene by scene, not page by page
A scene is a complete unit of action. Finish one scene, pause, and ask yourself: what just happened, and how did the characters feel? If you can answer that, you understood enough. Move on. Do not stop mid-scene to look up every word — it breaks the flow and is rarely necessary when you already know the plot.
3. Tap words, but stay selective
The word-tap feature gives you a definition graded to your level — useful for a word that blocks your understanding of a line. But tap selectively. If a word seems archaic or poetic and the sentence still makes rough sense without it, keep moving. Shakespeare's vocabulary is large and unusual; trying to master every word on first read will exhaust you.
4. Aim for feeling, not full comprehension
Even scholars disagree about the precise meaning of some Shakespeare passages. A learner does not need to understand every line — you need to follow the scene and feel its tone: is this comic, tender, furious, despairing? That emotional understanding is the real reward, and it is completely achievable.
Where to start
If you are ready to try Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet is the most accessible entry point. The story is universally known, the emotional stakes are clear, and some of the most famous speeches — the balcony scene, Juliet's soliloquy — reward the effort with genuine beauty. Start there, use the narration, and read one scene at a time. You may surprise yourself.
Build confidence first: try The Importance of Being Earnest if you want theatrical language without Early Modern English, or A Doll's House for gripping drama in plain, modern prose.