I don't usually post here, though I read sometimes, but I hate when people do what TripeHound is doing, so I'm gonna. Shakespeare can be very difficult, but is also EXTREMELY rewarding once you get used to it. I mean, if it's not your thing it's not your thing, but keep him on hand (Shakespeare, not Tripe) and go back to him every so often. Never know if it'll click, and when it does, it'll have been worth the wait.
The meaning in Shakespeare that you think are hidden were fairly apparent, even to the illiterate groundlings. Shakespeare, and indeed other Elizabethan and Jacobean (not so much Caroline) playwrights, created some of the most reference dense works ever performed and the great thing is the audiences generally understood those references.
Just because you aren't up on mythology or theology or history and any of other categories of reference used in a play doesn't mean the fault in you not understanding them lies with the plays.
Claiming that the "illiterate groundlings" understood Shakespeare's language and allusions is pretty ridiculous. In any century you'd require a thorough Classical education, or at least an
extreme love for his work and massive research, to appreciate all of Shakespeare. Personally, I'm thankful for annotated versions. Part of his brilliance was that he had plenty of entertainment for all classes -- he didn't seem shy about adding plenty of "kaboom, badow, badow!" for your "groundlings." (I'd apologize for the tone if it wasn't for your own. In this thread, at least. Maybe yesterday was just a bad day, I don't know.)
Oh and Shakespeare was writing in, and indeed contributed to, early modern English, it's really not all that difficult at all except for spelling changes.
Spelling? With all the twists and turns and poetry that can be crammed so perfectly into a single paragraph of Shakespeare, I'd put spelling pretty low on the list.
Then again, you pretty much lost credibility when you claimed Faulkner was not difficult. It's like you're trying to make people feel stupid.
Anyone out there trying Faulkner: He is
extremely difficult--especially two of his most popular (and best),
The Sound and the Fury and
Absalom, Absalom!--so don't feel bad when you get lost. Keep going, it will be worth it. Even if you don't know who is narrating or exactly what they're talking about, keep reading. Impressionism is a huge part of Faulkner, and the end of a book you thought you didn't understand can hit you like a hammer.