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The problem with Shakespeare is that he's (really well done) junk food that was so good and foundational that it has aged into literary prominence.
This causes problems - he has a lot of just funny shit, low brow humor, and satisfying basic chicken soup plotting (think Star Wars original trilogy). The facet of "you" that can enjoy Billy without engaging in classiness masturbation is the low brow blockbuster side of things.
But because most modern people require a reference guide or really turning their brains on they'll try and engage in a more "literary" way.
Those two things end up hitting at cross purposes.
The end result is that the most rewarding way is experience - know it well enough that you don't need to think really hard to realize that something someone just said was an upscale dick joke.
This is not helpful because a good response to "ehh I'm doubting" is not "watch it 50 times."
I guess I would recommend trying to see a stage version after recently having struggled through the written, and then just trying to vibe with the play.
Yeah, Shakespeare is hilarious but some of the jokes definitely don't land without footnotes. Like in Hamlet:
"May I lie in your lap?" "No, my lord." "I mean my head in your lap." "Ay, my lord." "What, did you think I meant country matters [sex]?" "I think nothing, my lord." "That's a fair thought, to lie between maids' legs." "What?" "Nothing."
That scene is funny as hell if you know that "nothing" was used as slang for the vagina, and that Shakespeare was doing the equivalent of making "pussy" double entendres. But that's something most people aren't going to know without having it pointed out, which just makes the scene confusing to a modern audience.
An actor can probably get "country matters" across, perhaps by breaking accent and rhythm a bit so it's clearly "cunt-ry matters" (whether that's the derivation or not). As for "nothing" meaning "vagina" (or "pussy"), that's likely a recent fabrication.
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