Let’s stop acting like it is SO EASY to understand whatever Shakespeare is trying to say in any of his plays. I admit, some of it makes sense, even if it takes a few seconds (or minutes, or hours, or days) for the meaning to finally sink in. But without translations and other helpers, I would probably believe that one of his most famous plays was about a small pig. Speaking of Hamlet, I am reviewing the Youtube channel Nerdstudy’s summaries and explanations of the story.

There are two videos for each scene: the first being a summary, and the second is an analysis. The synopses are animated and voiced to help the viewers develop a better visualization of the play. The voice acting isn’t too bad, but to be honest, the art style makes all of the characters look like soggy spaghetti noodles. Though I am acting as if I don’t draw my birds like floating M’s (I do), the art is pretty funny to look at. In any case, despite the wonky art that I can’t help but laugh at, these summaries definitely help clear up any gaps in the plot while still maintaining its entertainment.

The analysis videos, on the other hand, are done in a conversational way. There are usually one or two people, depending on the particular video, who discuss each scene and the importance of certain events, motifs, soliloquies, and so on. Although it is very obvious that these are scripted, I can’t hold anything against the people in the videos because their main job isn’t to act. After watching the summary of whatever scene you are studying, these are great follow-ups jam-packed with information that you may not have known if you had not watched the video.

The unfortunate thing about Nerdstudy’s Hamlet is that they only have videos for the first act on Youtube. But, before you give up on me, I do believe you can get the full series on their website https://www.nerdstudy.com if you sign up. As far as I know, making an account is free. However, anything concerning the actual site is beyond me because I am too lazy to fill out my name, last name, email… You get the gist.

All in all, I found this video series to be extremely helpful, despite its quirks. It is definitely something you should check out if you are currently reading Hamlet, King Lear, Macbeth, or other Shakespearean plays. They have math help videos on their Youtube channel as well, so that’s definitely a bonus. I give Nerdstudy a thumbs up, and I’d share my little bag of chips with them if they asked, but that’s just me.