] English is not my native language, and I must say I envy all of you when it comes to understanding Shakespeare. I have read Hamlet, and managed to struggle through the language just enough to get the plot and the most general thoughts; but I still have a long way to go till I can actually comprehend and enjoy its full flavour. However, reading comments such as yours is a great help!

That's exactly what I feel.
English is not my native language, too, but I usually I haven't any problems in understanding English books. I read nearly as much in English as in my mother tongue, not only modern fiction but many classics, too.
However, with Shakespeare it's much different. I understand the plot on the whole and I can feel the beauty of the language but I do not really understand it like when I read Austen, for example. Therefore I can only read a scene at once and then I must have a rest :) because it's very exhausting for me.
Has anybody a tip how I can improve my Shakespeare English?
How do you cope with such difficult texts?
Any help is greatly appreciated!