James Zhan, Most native speakers do not understand the language of Shakespeare's time. There are many obsolete words and grammatical structures in the Hollow Crown that would only make sense to someone who lived at that time. Personally, I have read all of Shakespeare's plays and I still find that there are nuances that escape me. When I listen to the language of Shakespeare's time I feel more like an advanced student of English than a native-speaker.

Hi, I agree that the language in this program can be daunting. If people are not familiar with Shakespeare's language, then The Hollow Crown will be difficult to understand. Richard II is the first in the screening of the 4 history plays that make up The Hollow Crown. The story stretches on through Henry IV parts 1 and 2 to Henry V, taking in civil revolt, murder, war and final triumph for the monarchy. Richard II is written entirely in verse, and contains a lot of long speeches about the divine right of kings and absolutely no jokes. This italki Knowledge page will help you understand Shakespeare's language: http://www.italki.com/knowledge/page/SHAKESPEARES%20LANGUAGE.htm