The volumes in the photograph above have nothing to do with the First Folio but they are Shakespeare, and just one of the many editions of his work that have been published in the four centuries since the First Folio came to be. The Folio, the first collection of Shakespeare’s plays, was produced seven years after he died.
I haven’t read much Shakespeare, in fact I haven’t read any voluntarily. School required us to read A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream, and Macbeth but they made little sense to me in sub-Saharan Africa.
Since then I’ve travelled a bit, learned a bit, and even attended a talk by Germaine Greer on Shakespeare’s wife, Ann Hathaway. Germaine Greer’s viewpoint was fascinating, disrupting previous opinions with some awkwardly possible ones of her own about the role and influence of Shakespeare’s wife. She also suggests that Ann Hathaway might have been involved in the production of the First Folio.
As for the plays in the First Folio, I remain way too ignorant of them but a few days ago I came across this clip of Dame Judi Dench reciting a Shakespeare sonnet. Her delivery was like a candle lighting in my Shakespeare dark.
Here it is. It’s very short, and ends with a brief Arnold Schwarzenegger appearance.
Copyright Georgie Knaggs & The Phraser 2023
The Phraser 
Like you I have not read Shakespeare outside of school (Romeo and Juliet) but have seen quite a few of his plays in the past. I caught that performance by Dame Judi on Graham Norton – Fantastic.
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I suppose that’s what plays are. Things to be watched not read. I need to watch some more. Wish I’d see that episode of Graham Norton. It looked such a wonderful collection of stars on his couch.
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Shakespeare can be dreadful at school. I was lucky when teaching it, because we always approached it as drama first text second. The plays were never meant to be read by school children. But they are great to watch and to listen to. And the stories of you break them down are very simple universal tales. And yes the language is sublime at times. But plot comes first. One of the best things I discovered when on a visit to the new Globe in London- I would take kids there to watch it being built out of green oak, was when one of the actors there explained that Shakespeare always wrote things in threes. Slightly different words. Same meaning, so the actors could address the audience in three directions and everyone would get the gist.
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That is so interesting about the writing in threes, and about teaching it as drama first and text second. I must try to see more. Just that short clip from Judi Dench had so much power and rhythm and meaning. Thanks for your comment. Wonderful to hear from someone with so much knowledge.
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I saw that clip too. I have to say that before I go to see a Shakespeare play new to me- or any opera for that matter, I try to read it first, to get the gist. Then I can enjoy the language and drama much more when I’m not concentrating on the plot.
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Yes, I can see that is the best way to prepare. I have arrived blind at performances in the pasr, and always have a lot of catching up to do. I look forward to being better prepared.
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