[DanHulton]

I used to sit in my grade 12 English class working out polygon fill-and-shade routines on graph paper instead of whatever nonsense Shakespeare we were going through at the time.

Worked out really well for me - I'm employed well as a programmer, and I got to come to Shakespeare basically fresh when I was old enough to actually appreciate the work.

[ams6110]

How old is that? I'm over 50 and I still can't get into Shakespeare. Watching a performance is OK, though not something I'd choose to do on my own, but reading the plays? Can't get into it at all.

[munificent]

Have you tried an annotated one? Shakespeare is full of, essentially, in-jokes and memes from the 1500s. There is a ton of depth in his writing that you'll totally miss if you don't know all of that context.

[crooked-v]

Also, lots of bawdy humor that gets glossed over by staid and respectable modern productions. For example: the "bite your thumb" gesture that gets used in a few plays is pretty much the equivalent of somebody from today giving a double middle finger while sticking their tongue out.

[nimithryn]

Try watching a movie version - I really like Branagh's Hamlet and I never expected to (long though)

[zmix]

Try the "Sonetts" instead of the plays!

[johndubchak]

Just program.