Well, of course it is.

That's nothing to be ashamed of.

 

My advice?

Firstly, don't approach Shakespeare as you would a modern English text.

You will only be disappointed that you don't understand more of it. 

​

Approach a Shakespeare text as if it is written in a different language:

this way, you will focus more on the 90% you recognise  rather than the 10% that you don't.

​

Secondly, look at how many of the words you know.

It will be most of them. 

Or at least, there may be similarities or root words that can help you have a good guess. 

What often gets confusing is the order that Shakespeare uses them in.

Yes, sometimes you will have to refer to the glossary: but this is often true when reading any new author. 

​

If you pull a tricky phrase apart,

there is a good chance that you can rearrange the words to make sense to you. 

Another good trick is to 'translate' a sentence into modern English

and use this in your rehearsals as a 'gateway'.

Speak the sentence in your translation to understand the emotion:

then, once you have engaged with emphases and cadence, speak the original with that feeling. 

Repeat until you feel 'at one' with the feel of the words in your mouth.