Ever have to do close reading for a literature class and did you find it kind of fun or incredibly painful? Maybe you just spun some masterful BS to hit the word count.

Today we’re going to be approaching Shakespeare much in the same way, thinking about why we do close reading and then giving it a try. It’s probably not surprising that as an English major, I usually ended up finding close reading to be a useful or interesting exercise and it’s not a muscle I often have to flex now that I’ve been out of a school for…awhile.

With the use of some randomizer tools to help me land on a play and an act, I landed on a passage spoken by Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing, which is perfect for being a play I enjoy and also because she is a delightful character who you might want to hear more about! I try to dig all I can out of about 20 lines of dialogue to determine what it can tell us about Beatrice, the structure of the play, and some cool new things to say to people who ask you when you’re getting married.

If you’d like to follow along, you can find full text of the play the Folger Shakespeare Library website or come find me on Instagram @somethingshakespearepod.

Credit where credit is due

Podcast art by ⁠Halie Branson⁠

Music recording by ⁠josdvg⁠