Start with one of Shakespeare’s more popular and quintessential works, such as Romeo and Juliet or Hamlet.
Be wary of modern interpretations of Shakespeare’s plays. Just because a movie has the same name does not necessarily mean that it will follow Shakespeare’s script.
Pay careful attention to punctuation, which is how Shakespeare outlined how he wanted lines to be delivered with the use of commas and other breaks.
If you are too shy to act the play out, consider having a read-through instead. A read-through is where you sit with other actors and read your assigned parts from the script. You should still act while doing a read-through. Pay attention to the commas, breaks, and exclamation points.
“Anon,” meaning right away. “Dost” or “Doth,” meaning does or do. “Ere,” meaning before. “Hark,” meaning listen. “Hither,” meaning here. “Wherefore,” meaning why. “Fain,” meaning gladly.
“‘Tis,” instead of “it is. " “‘Twas” instead of “it was. " “Wi’” instead of “with. ” “O”” instead of “of. " “‘T” instead of “to. "
Men were sometimes referred to as “sirrah. ” Women were referred to as “mistress. ” Friends were often affectionately called “cousin. ”
For instance, instead of saying, “He is running to the store”, say, “He runneth to the store. ”
Adding an adverb to a superlative (e. g. , “most bravest” instead of just “bravest. ”) Replacing the adverb “most” with the suffix “est” or “’st” (e. g. , “daring’st” instead of “most daring. ”)
For instance, say a phrase like, “at once, we must set forth to seize the day” by emphasizing every second syllable (in this case, every second word. )
A perfect example of trochaic rhythm is the line “Double, double, toil and trouble; fire burn and cauldron bubble” from Macbeth.
There are many exemplary rhyming couplets in Romeo and Juliet, such as: “Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight. For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night. "
