Shakespeare Is Meant to Be Seen: How to Make Shakespeare Accessible (and Actually Enjoyable!) for Students
I love Shakespeare. I really do. The drama, the complicated characters, the clever insults, the ridiculous misunderstandings, the way his plays explore ideas that are still relevant hundreds of years later. There is a reason we are still teaching his work!
But I also understand why so many students (and teachers!) absolutely dread it.
For many high school students, Shakespeare feels like reading a foreign language. They spend so much time trying to figure out what individual words mean that they completely miss the story unfolding in front of them.
And when students cannot follow the story, they certainly aren't going to appreciate the characterization, symbolism, themes, or literary devices that make Shakespeare worth studying in the first place.
So, how do we make Shakespeare accessible without watering it down?
For me, it starts with rethinking how we introduce students to his plays and remembering one very important thing: Shakespeare wrote plays, not novels. His work was meant to be performed!
Here are a few strategies I use to help my students move beyond simply decoding Shakespeare and start actually enjoying it.
1. Stop Making Students Read Shakespeare Aloud
Okay, this might be a controversial opinion among English teachers, but I don't have my students read Shakespeare aloud in class.
And there is a very specific reason for that.
When students are unfamiliar with Shakespearean language, asking them to read it aloud creates an additional obstacle to comprehension.
Think about everything a student has to do when reading an unfamiliar passage of Shakespeare aloud. They have to decode the words, figure out how to pronounce them, navigate the rhythm of the language, and try to understand what they are saying. At the same time, they are probably worrying about stumbling over a word or embarrassing themselves in front of their classmates.
That's a LOT of cognitive work.
And what about the students listening? They are trying to make sense of unfamiliar language delivered by classmates who might not understand the lines themselves.
Of course, this doesn't mean students should never speak Shakespeare's words. Reading a passage aloud after students understand its meaning can be a fantastic way to explore characterization, tone, and interpretation.
But when my primary goal is helping students understand the story, I would much rather have them listen to actors who know exactly what they are saying and how to deliver it.
Which brings me to my next point.
2. Watch the Play! It Was Written to Be Performed!
I cannot emphasize this enough.
Shakespeare's plays were never meant to be experienced exclusively as words on a page.
When we approach them like novels, students miss an enormous part of what makes them effective.
Think about how much meaning an actor communicates through facial expressions, body language, tone, pacing, and even the way they interact with another character.
A student might struggle to understand a sarcastic line when reading it on the page. But when they hear an actor deliver that same line with an exaggerated eye roll or an unmistakably sarcastic tone, the meaning suddenly becomes much clearer.
The same is true for emotional moments, dramatic irony, romantic tension, and even Shakespeare's humor.
And let's be honest, Shakespeare can be really funny! But a joke isn't particularly funny if you have to stop and translate it word by word.
My favorite Shakespeare adaptations for the classroom
Much Ado About Nothing (2011)- Starring David Tennant and Catherine Tate
If you've never seen this production, you are missing out. Tennant and Tate are absolutely hilarious together, and their chemistry makes the relationship between Benedick and Beatrice so much easier for students to understand.
The physical comedy, facial expressions, and delivery bring the play's humor to life in a way that reading it aloud in class simply cannot replicate.
Hamlet (2015) -Starring Benedict Cumberbatch
Yes, the guy from BBC's Sherlock!
I love this production because it helps students see Hamlet as an actual person rather than just a character delivering a series of famous soliloquies.
Cumberbatch's performance gives students opportunities to examine Hamlet's emotional state, his relationships, and the tension between what he says and what he actually does.
You don't necessarily have to watch an entire production in class, either. Sometimes, watching a particularly important scene and then returning to the text is all it takes to help students understand what is happening.
I also love giving students opportunities to compare different productions of the same scene. Two actors can deliver the exact same lines and create completely different interpretations of a character.
That is literary analysis happening right in front of them!
3. Give Students a Reason to Pay Attention While Watching
Of course, watching Shakespeare doesn't automatically mean students are actively engaging with it.
I want my students to enjoy the performance, but I also want them to recognize the literary elements that contribute to the meaning of the play.
One of my favorite ways to accomplish this is through a Shakespeare Bingo activity.
Shakespeare Bingo
Turn watching a Shakespeare production into an active learning experience with my Shakespeare Bingo activity!
Rather than simply pressing play and hoping students pay attention, give them a reason to watch closely and engage with the performance.
Add your product link here: Shop Shakespeare Bingo
I love activities like this because they make Shakespeare feel a little less intimidating. Students have something concrete to focus on while they watch, and the activity gives us a starting point for discussing the play afterward.
It also creates a natural opportunity to talk about the choices actors and directors make and how those choices influence our understanding of the text.
My goal isn't just for students to be able to tell me what happened in a scene. I want them to explain how Shakespeare develops characters, creates conflict, and communicates larger ideas.
Watching a performance with a specific purpose helps us get there.
4. Use Act Recaps to Keep Students From Getting Lost
One of the biggest challenges with teaching Shakespeare is that once students lose track of the plot, it becomes increasingly difficult for them to catch back up.
This is especially true with plays like Hamlet, where characters have complicated relationships, multiple conflicts unfold simultaneously, and seemingly small details become important later.
If students don't understand what happened in Act II, how can we expect them to analyze the significance of what happens in Act III?
That's why I love using act recaps.
After we finish an act, I want students to have an opportunity to review the important events, clarify any misunderstandings, and make sure they understand where the story is heading.
This doesn't have to be an elaborate activity. Sometimes, a straightforward recap is exactly what students need.
CLASSROOM RESOURCE
Shakespeare Act Recaps
My Shakespeare Act Recaps are designed to help students keep track of the plot and important developments as they work through a play.
Use them to review after completing an act, refresh students' memories before moving forward, or help students who need a little extra support understanding the story.
Add your product link here: Shop My Shakespeare Act Recaps
Here's the thing: I don't want my students spending the entire unit confused about what is happening.
I want them thinking about WHY things are happening.
Once students understand the basic plot, they can spend more time examining character motivations, tracing thematic development, recognizing symbolism, and analyzing Shakespeare's choices as a writer.
An act recap isn't a replacement for reading or watching the play. It's a tool that helps students build the understanding they need to engage with it more deeply.
5. Don't Confuse Difficulty With Rigor
I think this is one of the most important things to remember when teaching Shakespeare.
Sometimes, we become so focused on making students work through the original language that we forget what we actually want them to learn.
Yes, Shakespeare's language is important. Absolutely.
But is the goal of my Hamlet unit for students to prove they can independently decode every line of Elizabethan English?
Or is my goal for them to analyze Hamlet's internal conflict, examine the relationship between appearance and reality, and explore what the play suggests about revenge, mortality, and human nature?
For me, it's the latter.
And those are complex, rigorous analytical tasks!
Making Shakespeare more accessible doesn't mean lowering our expectations. It means removing unnecessary barriers so students can engage with the material on a deeper level.
A student who watches a well-performed scene, refers back to the original text, and develops a thoughtful interpretation supported by textual evidence is doing meaningful literary analysis.
A student who struggles through an entire act without understanding what happened isn't necessarily learning more just because the experience was difficult.
Accessibility and rigor are not opposites.
In fact, making the text more accessible can create opportunities for much more sophisticated thinking.
6. Let Students Experience the Story Before Asking Them to Analyze It
Finally, I think we need to give students permission to simply enjoy Shakespeare.
Not every moment of a play needs to turn into an analytical writing assignment.
Sometimes, I want my students to laugh at Benedick and Beatrice's ridiculous arguments. I want them to be frustrated with Hamlet's indecision. I want them to be shocked by a plot twist or genuinely interested in what happens next.
Because when students actually care about the story, analyzing it becomes so much more meaningful.
That doesn't mean we abandon close reading, annotation, or evidence-based writing. Those are still essential parts of my classroom.
It means we build a foundation of understanding and engagement before asking students to tackle the more challenging analytical work.
Watch the scene. Discuss what happened. Review the act. Revisit the important lines. Then start asking the bigger questions.
Students don't have to understand every single word of Shakespeare to appreciate what he's doing.
And sometimes, all it takes is seeing a character come to life onstage for the language to finally click.
Make Your Next Shakespeare Unit a Little Easier
Teaching Shakespeare doesn't have to mean spending weeks translating lines while your students stare at you in confusion.
By incorporating engaging performances, purposeful viewing activities, and opportunities to review the plot, we can help students approach Shakespeare with confidence and focus on the literary analysis that really matters.
If you're planning a Shakespeare unit, check out my Shakespeare Bingo activity and Act Recaps in my Teachers Pay Teachers store. They're designed to make Shakespeare more approachable for students and a little easier to teach, too!
Explore Shakespeare Resources from Novel Matters
Classroom activities, act recaps, and literary analysis resources designed for high school English teachers.