Reading Shakespeare part I

Last week I outlined my goal to read through The Western Canon, focusing on the twenty-six writers Bloom considers key to understanding Western Literature. Shakespeare is the first, considered by many to be the greatest writer of all time, and propped up by Bloom as the pinnacle of The Western Canon.

I decided to read through several of his plays and to supplement my reading with audio and video versions. I chose three of the major tragedies, one history, and two lighter magical themed plays. Out of the six, only Hamlet will be a re-read. I read it in a British Literature class I took over a decade ago and remember really enjoying it, so I figured it's ripe for revisiting.

Breaking my digital only reading habit I decided to go with paper this time around. The Folger editions are filled with footnotes and supplemental material which is arranged on the left side of the page while the lines of the play are on the right. This format does not work on my Kindle. I also plan to read along while watching or listening to the play being performed so cheap paperbacks I can fold real quick will be easier to handle.