What we’re about
* * We will not be returning to in-person reading groups because our readers in the Zoom meetings are now in four countries and many states across America! So all upcoming meetings are online. * *
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Not what we give, but what we share.
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If you think you know a lot about Shakespeare, try a close read and see what unexpected treasures appear! If you are new to Shakespeare, this is a great way to be introduced to why the plays are considered so great.
This is a non-academic discussion and non-performance-based reading! We read aloud and talk about it, and everyone finds they have insights to share. Silent readers are also most welcome! Feel free to drop in and check it out.
There is a $4.75 fee (plus Meetup small fee) per person per session, payable via the link on the session page (cheaper than yoga or a dog-training session!). This helps pay our Meetup fees, Zoom fees, and the iReadShakespeare.org site. We have event fee sponsorships available; contact [DearRobin@mac.com](maillot:DearRobin@mac.com).
Exactly what we do is explained below, “What we do at a Shakespeare Close Read.”
Please provide a first and last name (even if it is not your real last name) so we can tell apart people with the same first names! It is also extremely thoughtful if you provide an actual photo of yourself so other members in the community can recognize you. Thank you!
An article about us in Local Flavor! (page 36)
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What we do at a Shakespeare Close Read
Our group is very non-intimidating. No one HAS to read—we have many people who have never read a line but thoroughly enjoy listening and participating in the discussion. Some people have been coming for years and never said a word and that’s just fine too!
- From [SlantBooks.org](https://slantbooks.org/close-reading/): Close Reading is the art of paying attention to the ways that literary form and meaning interact. In our politicized era, when craft and vision have often been replaced by propaganda, the art of close reading reminds us that great literature deepens our respect for mystery and the divided nature of the human heart — and in so doing offers us hope for healing and reconciliation.
Each week we carefully go through about 50–200 lines. We stop after every couple of lines and make sure we know what it means, how it relates to the play, what we learned, what we see, etc. With all these bright minds, we all discover amazing riches that we hadn't noticed before.
The following week we first read straight through the section we closely read the week before. Then we start the close read. Parts are chosen in a lottery at the beginning of the sessions if you want to read aloud.
Robin, who usually facilitates, makes a BEEP sound to interrupt and open clarification and/or discussion. Anyone can also beep at any time if they need clarification or want to comment.
We have Readers of all levels, and no one is discouraged or corrected.
You'll find this Is a very welcoming group with no pressure whatsoever. No one will ever put you on the spot! Come join us, from anywhere in the world!
One thing we cannot talk about is the Authorship Question; that is, who wrote Shakespeare? There are believers of various persuasions in the group and everyone is allowed their own opinion! This includes no discussion of the man named William Shakespeare as he is one of the candidates for authorship.
Upcoming events (4+)
See all- Edward 2 • Marlowe • ONLINELink visible for attendees$1.50
We will read aloud together Christopher Marlowe’s play, Edward 2, to see how it compares with Shakespeare's ten history plays. This historical king reigned between Shakespeare’s King John and Richard 2. This will not be a close-read, but what we call close-enough with plenty of discussion along the way.
A copy of the play is easy to find in online bookstores.
Click here to open a PDF from the Folger Library if you want to read it online or print it up yourself.If you would like a role to read, please answer the question when you RSVP. No one *has to* read—feel free to listen and discuss!
There is a small fee of $1.50: When you click the RSVP button, it takes you to PayPal where you can pay with your account OR your own credit card.
AFTER you pay the fee, the LINK is visible on the right side of the page.
See you there!
Robin & Jenny & Jean & Edie - Chaucer's Canterbury Tales: A Selection • ONLINE • Mountain TimeLink visible for attendees$1.50
Poet Laureate John Dryden (1631–1700) said of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, “Here is God’s plenty.” We will explore just a small corner of that plenty as we read the General Prologue, the Wife of Bath’s Prologue, and the Wife of Bath’s Tale. We will read aloud together in a close-enough read, with plenty of discussion along the way. Most people will probably choose to read aloud in modern English, but if you know how to read Middle English, feel free!
The General Prologue, right from its famously brilliant first 18 lines, is a masterful introduction and frame for the tales that follow it. Like many of Chaucer's works, it is full of humor and irony. The Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale are startlingly subversive, challenging ideas prominent through the centuries about authority, the role of women, and true worth. Some other themes explored are appearance vs. reality, character, and how choice and agency function within the constraints of relationships and chance.
Shakespeare drew inspiration from Chaucer for plot elements of the Midsummer Night’s Dream, Troilus and Cressida, and the Two Noble Kinsmen; linguistic echoes and background/thematic influences can be found scattered throughout the works.
NOTE: Chaucer was very intentional in his word choices and meter. If you are reading from a book that contains only a modern English translation, having a Middle English text handy as well will make your experience of Chaucer much richer.
Resources for reading the Canterbury Tales:
ONLINE
Line-by-line translation at Harvard’s Geoffrey Chaucer website:
General Prologue
The Wife of Bath’s Prologue and TaleSide-by-side translation or Middle English only with glosses:
The Canterbury Tales (good content, but unfortunately the site is a bit of a mess)BOOKS
Middle English: The Canterbury Tales. Edited and With Introduction and Notes by Jill Mann. Glosses at the bottom of the page. Also available as e-book.Modern English: The Canterbury Tales. Translated by Burton Raffel. Also available as e-book and audiobook.
Middle English/Modern English:
The Canterbury Tales With Side-By-Side Modern English Translation. Translated by BookCaps. e-book.The Canterbury Tales (Penguin Clothbound Classics). Contains the General Prologue and selected tales, including the Wife of Bath’s. Edited and Translated by Nevill Coghill.
Reference: A Chaucer Glossary by Norman Davis, Douglas Gray, Patricia Ingham, and Anne Wallace-Hadrill. Not at all necessary, since any ME edition will have a glossary, but available if you want it.
Sessions led by Ellen McFarland!
