After the last three weeks with Dante, we jump to another three-week series with Shakespeare and NINE plays!

Shakespeare can be daunting, so I offer a few thoughts on how to approach him:

• Watch a movie FIRST
• Get a good edition (hello, Folger Shakespeare Library)
• Keep a one-line-per-scene summary as you read
• Enjoy!! It will get easier and the plays are so very worthwhile.

Macbeth feels darker and almost Greek. The witches act as oracles, but Macbeth isn’t their puppet—he chooses evil. Lady Macbeth is more accelerant than mastermind, and the play pulses with ominous energy.

King Lear hit me hardest. Lear is not villainous, just weary and reckless, longing to lay down his burdens—yet no one gets that choice. Dividing his kingdom invites betrayal from his elder daughters and the scheming Edmund, while steadfast Cordelia stands tragically apart. The repeated “nothing” captures the emptiness of abdicated duty.

Together they reveal Shakespeare’s trademarks: sudden madness, clever disguises, and language that still crackles, showing three kinds of downfall—the victim (Hamlet), the villain (Macbeth), and the feckless ruler (Lear).

LINK

Ted Gioia/The Honest Broker’s 12-Month Immersive Humanities Course (paywalled!)

My Amazon Book List (NOT an affiliate link)

My Hamlet Movie Choice

My MacBeth Movie Choice

My King Lear Movie Choice (Not actually that good but I still think about it)

CONNECT

The complete list of Crack the Book Episodes: https://cheryldrury.substack.com/p/crack-the-book-start-here?r=u3t2r

To read more of my writing, visit my Substack - https://www.cheryldrury.substack.com.

Follow me on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/cldrury/

LISTEN

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5GpySInw1e8IqNQvXow7Lv?si=9ebd5508daa245bd

Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/crack-the-book/id1749793321

Captivate - https://crackthebook.captivate.fm