A week ago our reading club presented a thumbnail sketch of The Tempest by Shakespeare. The participating students ranged in age from 7 to 18 years old. It was an enjoyable experience for all who participated. And although some in the audience did not understand much of what was happening, they enjoyed watching the performance. But why would seven year old students enjoy participating in a Shakespeare play? Why would we even consider such an activity for our reading club students? Is there any value in reading, studying, and performing Shakespeare?
Many of us have the idea that Shakespeare is too difficult to even bother reading him. Homeschoolers, even those with high school students, say that Shakespeare is not worth their effort. They did not understand him when they were in school and they don’t expect their children to understand him now. But as Michael Mack, Director of the University Honours Program and Associate Professor of English at Catholic University of America said in the Freshmen Convocation of 2008, “(Shakespeare) gives you a serious headache the first time you try to understand him – the second. But if you stick with him, you can expect a breakthrough, and the excitement and satisfaction of being able to say, ‘I get it.’”
“I get it!” As Michael Mack says, there is a satisfaction that comes with understanding Shakespeare. It is satisfying to chuckle with the humour, to grasp the meaning behind the words, and to feel the poignancy of the characters. When Petruchio and Kate discuss whether it be the moon, the sun, or a rush-candle shining so brightly, we can enjoy the humour and significance of the scene. We are burdened by the consequences of sin when Lady Macbeth washes her hands and mourns that “all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand.” Whether comedy, tragedy, or history, we can delight in reading Shakespeare.
But beyond being able to say, ‘I get it,’ there is value in reading and studying Shakespeare. Shakespeare gives his readers relevant insights into living in the real world. Because Shakespeare was a keen observer of men, he wrote with insight about human nature. He saw and wrote about the deeds of men and how those deeds affected events and characters. His writing becomes more than a difficult story; it becomes a lens into the world in which we live. Through his writing we can discover more about ourselves and more about how real people think and act. We can experience the consequences of our actions, whether sinful or godly. As Peter Leithart writes in Brightest Heaven of Invention, Shakespeare is a “stimulating source for reflections on pastoral practice, history, politics, love, and life in general.”
Reading and studying Shakespeare is attainable for most students. I have studied Shakespeare plays with my children since some of them were in the first grade. My method is easy and it works. First my children read a prose version of the play from Tales from Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb and from Shakespeare Stories by Leon Garfield. This gives them an understanding of what is happening in the play. Then we listen to the unabridged play on CD while we follow along with the text. We may do this once or twice depending on time and understanding. After we have listened to the play on CD, we watch the play, usually on a DVD. When I first began studying Shakespeare, we did not watch the play, but a friend reminded me that Shakespeare is to be seen. After watching the play, we discuss it with a group of friends.
In our reading club one of the older students edits the play into a thumbnail sketch. This is an excellent assignment for the editing student as they must understand the play fully to be able to edit it appropriately. All the students participate in the thumbnail sketch, some with more lines, others with less. We often have more than one student portraying one character throughout the play. This year we had five different students play the part of Ariel. Each one played Ariel for a scene. Other students played the same part throughout the play. Our goal is to allow everyone the chance to participate at their own level of ability. When these students finish the Shakespeare play for the year, they have the satisfaction of understanding it fully and of sharing their understanding with their friends.
No comments:
Post a Comment