I know what you're thinking, "this is stupid, I don't understand a single word of this why am I reading this crap?" but it isn't as bad as you think. Othello was my third Shakespeare play, and the more I read the easier each one was to comprehend..
Step 1.
Skip over words you don't know
Shakespeare likes to throw in all these fancy words such as "sennight's" (II.i. 85) and "Beshrew" (IIII. ii.151) in his plays and to be honest with you, I believe it to be idiotic. Why bother throwing in words that nobody will understand nor read anyways? I believe that Skakespeare just wanted to sound smart, but frankly it's rather dumb. My best advice to give you while reading Shakespeare and what I've learned is to just skip over them, more times than not the word itself isn't going to be necessary, so JUST SKIP IT.
Step 2.
Slow WAY down
It will get easier, I promise, if you just slow down while you're reading. Since Shakespeare didn't use the language we use today in some instances, it may be in your best interest to slow down. I cannot stress enough how important slowing down is, you will obtain a lot more of the context if you slow down and re-read something if you don't understand it the first time. As I previously mentioned, re-reading over the text can be uber helpful as well. Sometimes Shakespeare didn't always write his Not only is this pertinent while reading Shakespeare, but a lot of the literature you'll read throughout AP Literature, it isn't called AP for nothin', that's for sure.
Step 3.
Use analysis!
If you read the word surrounding something you are perplexed about, it may help you under what is he trying to say? First off, Shakespeare uses the phrase “green-eyed monster”, which refers to somebody that is jealous. Knowing that definitely helps the understanding of this sentence. Next, Shakespeare says “which doth”. What does he mean by that? Well, logically, replacing that phrase with the modern day word of “that” makes more sense. After dissecting and thinking analytically, the sentence now reads: “it is the jealousy that mocks the meat it feeds on”.
By using these three easy steps on how to understand what they heck your reading, it will tremendously help anyone who is struggling with Shakespeare. After trial and error, if these 3 steps aren't working out like I hope they will and if the meaning is still vague, Sparknotes and Footnotes are usually available. The easiest thing to do when reading Shakespeare is to just take a step back and to not get overwhelmed (that's when things get dangerous). Just read it. Then read it over again. And again. And one last time, just to be safe.