If you’ve ever watched Jeopardy, you know that Shakespeare is a popular and recurring category. Unfortunately for me, I don’t like Shakespeare. Never have. Yet, if I wanted to increase my chances of winning on Jeopardy, I knew I needed to buckle down and learn it.
I tried — and failed — several times before I finally found an approach that worked. Here’s a recap of my journey and what ultimately led me to success.
Attempt #1: Read Every Play Summary + Flashcards
My first approach was pretty straightforward. I would read the plot summary for every single Shakespeare play, then drill myself with flashcards made from hundreds of past Jeopardy questions about Shakespeare. My logic was simple: if I could memorize enough content, I could brute-force my way to Shakespeare mastery.
It didn’t work.
The information didn’t stick. I couldn’t keep the plays straight, and the flashcards became a blur of names, plots, and unfamiliar words. I realized quickly that I needed a different approach.
Attempt #2: Summary + Video + Quiz + Flashcards
Next, I tried a more multi-sensory approach. For each play, I would:
- Read a plot summary of the play.
- Watch a video summary to get a feel for the language and pronunciation.
- Take a quiz to test my understanding.
- Drill flashcards based on past Jeopardy questions.
I thought adding the video component would help with pronunciation and provide more context for each play. And the quizzes were helpful in seeing if I actually retained anything.
But ultimately, I still fell back into the trap of cramming with flashcards. It was too much. Too overwhelming. I still couldn’t differentiate the plays in my head. Once again, I knew this method wasn’t working.
What Finally Worked: Break It Into Chunks
The key to finally making progress was breaking it down by play type. I realized I was trying to consume too much at once. So instead of approaching all 37 plays at once, I broke them down into categories:
- Tragedies
- Comedies
- Histories
- Other
I started with tragedies. I re-read the plot summaries, watched videos, and carefully reviewed a smaller subset of flashcards — only tragedy-related questions. This smaller scope made the information more manageable, and I slowly built my confidence.
Once I felt solid on tragedies, I moved on to comedies and repeated the process. Then I tackled histories. Finally, I studied the other plays.
The big difference was that by focusing on one type of play at a time, I was able to keep the characters and plots from blurring together. I finally started to feel confident answering Shakespeare-related questions.
Why This Approach Worked
- Chunking the information kept it from becoming overwhelming.
- Watching the videos was crucial for learning how to pronounce character names and key plot points.
- Targeted flashcards (only tragedies, only comedies, etc.) allowed me to build mastery in stages.
This approach didn’t make me like Shakespeare any more than I did before. But it did make me better at Jeopardy — and that was the goal.
So if you’re like me and dread Shakespeare but still want to crush those Jeopardy questions, my advice is simple: break it down into manageable chunks, focus on one play type at a time, and don’t underestimate the power of watching video summaries. It might not turn you into a Shakespeare fan, but it will make you a better trivia player.