Select one of Shakespeare's plays. Choose a popular one; they're usually his
best. Many people like Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, or
Macbeth. Others enjoy the naughty humor in plays such as The Taming of
the Shrew.
Next, look for a simple summary of your play. Many books explain these plays,
such as Shakespeare without the Boring Bits, and Cliff Notes. Or,
you can read short reviews of movies based on Shakespeare's plays, since they
usually describe the plot. There is even a theater group, The Reduced
Shakespeare Company, which specializes in very short and funny versions of
Shakespeare's plays.
For example, you might choose Hamlet. The story is fairly simple:
Prince Hamlet's mother has remarried without realizing that her new husband
murdered the late king. Hamlet tries to prove his new stepfather's guilt, but
people think Hamlet is insane. After Hamlet accidentally kills his girlfriend's
father, almost everyone close to Hamlet dies tragically, and--at the end of the
play--Hamlet kills himself. It's not a happy tale, but you'll recognize the many
often-quoted lines from it.
You may prefer Romeo and Juliet, in which children of two feuding
families meet at a costume party, fall in love, and then realize that their
families are enemies. During a street fight, Romeo makes matters worse by
accidentally killing Juliet's cousin. Before fleeing from authorities, Romeo
secretly marries Juliet. The ending is no happier than Hamlet's, but it's a
beautifully told story anyway.
Or, try a funny Shakespeare play, The Taming of the Shrew. In that
story, the cute younger sister can't date anyone until her older sister is
married. The problem is, the older sister is a shrew and no one wants to ask her
out. The younger sister's suitor finds someone to woo the shrew, for a price.
It's a rocky courtship, but almost everyone is smiling by the end of the play.
If you already know what the play is about, you've taken a big step towards
enjoying Shakespeare's plays when you see them in movies or on the stage.