I'd settle for either one. In order to have have a context at all, one must have some critical mass of understanding. The density of parts I can understand is never enough to achieve that.
My experience is that any portion of Shakespeare that I attempt to read goes the same way.
If I dig farther into "mutiny", there's no way to know if I'm eventually going to produce a "context" or whether I'm on a fool's errand.
In order to develop a context, one must somehow achieve a sufficient foothold of comprehension from which to build it.
There are precious few sentences in Shakespeare for which I would be able to do that. The farther you get into the play, the more references there are to earlier, so you kind of have to start at the beginning. But I can't understand that part either.
You keep saying it's easy. I believe you when you say that's your experience. What I'm trying to tell you is that it's not easy for everyone. There is no amount of patience that I could apply to this pursuit that would yield success.
This is my good-faith best effort to comprehend it and it's not happening.
> What I'm trying to tell you is that it's not easy for everyone.
I think that's undeniably correct.
> There is no amount of patience that I could apply to this pursuit that would yield success.
I think that, however, is very likely incorrect. IMO, you need to develop patience with not understanding, and continuing anyway. Just read the play, see what you pick up, then read it again. Treat it like poetry and don't worry too much about understanding every word; see if you can get the feel. I found that Milton's Paradise Lost took me 3 or 4 false starts over a decade before I managed to get into the flow enough to read the whole thing. There's still probably a lot I missed, but it was thoroughly enjoyable.
Sometimes it's handy have a study guide, though, especially to understand some of the wordplay:
Hamlet[To Ophelia] > Lady, shall I lie in your lap?
Ophelia > No, my lord!
Hamlet > I mean, my head upon your lap.
Ophelia > Ay, my lord.
Hamlet > Do you think I meant country matters?
I read this in high school and was thinking... what the hell are "country matters"? The footnote in the study guide quite succinctly pointed out:
> The emphasis is on the first syllable
Needless to say this became an highly used in-joke amongst my friends.
This is a concept that gives me hope. Hope that I could conceivably read it if I needed to. In all practical likelihood, I probably just won't because that type of slog does not sound enjoyable to me. But thanks for the idea anyway. Reading most of the rest of these comments about how easy it is give me a very you're-holding-the-iphone-wrong sensation.
You keep saying it's easy. I believe you when you say that's your experience. What I'm trying to tell you is that it's not easy for everyone. There is no amount of patience that I could apply to this pursuit that would yield success. This is my good-faith best effort to comprehend it and it's not happening.