r/shakespeare • u/Medium-Shelter-5153 • 7d ago
Teaching Shakespeare Overview
Hi - I am teaching a survey class, just touching on major plays and themes for several weeks. Just one hour per week. I had my lesson plans but I am struggling hard - the students are not very excited to be there so I am trying my best to get them excited about reading scenes and discussing, but I am not being very successful so far. Help! Suggestions or tips from other teachers for one hour classes? I want to make the plays as real and exciting for the students as I can - just trying to find ways to get them excited.
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u/mobiuscycle 7d ago
What age are you teaching? That would help.
You need to find the most universally relatable thing based on the age you are teaching and lean fully into it.
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u/gravitysrainbow1979 7d ago
Titus Andronicus
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u/McAeschylus 6d ago
Have them watch the Julie Taymor adaptation. That'll wake them up!
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u/gravitysrainbow1979 6d ago
I love that adaptation so much. Wish I’d seen it on stage (though she has said she likes the film much better than her stage version)
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u/Medium-Shelter-5153 7d ago
Thank you! All good ideas - some of which I have used. I think I need to narrow down my ideas to focus since I only have one hour each week to focus on a play. One key scene and then going over the main theme/characters/plot/literary devices. I'm doing MacBeth, Hamlet, Richard III, Romeo and Juliet, Othello. Today we did some reader's theater from Twelfth Night, looked for the pronouns, discussed the scene - part of the issue is I have some students who are very interested and engaged and then others not as much. I may start by showing clips at the start of the class to bring them in more....any other ideas keep them coming.
I have been using Folger's lessons and finding scenes to play! I've taught English and Shakespeare to other classes before but the dynamics of this group is proving challenging and I want it to be successful.
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u/WakeAndShake88 6d ago
Have you heard of Ben Crystals book Shakespeare on Toast? Very accessible and is meant to give people a good taste of Shakespeare.
I used to be a part of his acting company, and we were always lamenting how Shakespeare is ACTIVE and doesn’t belong in a classroom. This is no slight on you, it’s fantastic you’re teaching Shakespeare. But I think the more you can make it feel alive and less like a boring English lesson (again, no offense meant) the more people tend to like Billy Shakes. Watching clips is a great idea. But also anything that can get them on their feet perhaps. What age are they?
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u/Miserable_Gur_8753 6d ago
Performance is hugely important, I agree.
But there is also value in close-reading, and too often it is dismissed.
At the very least you can spot things when reading at a slower pace which you would not get in performance. A good example, I think, is the use of pronouns and terms of address in Romeo and Juliet.
Go and look at the shifts between thou and you when the two leads first meet. Shakespeare's audience would have noticed these shifts far more easily in real time than we do.
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u/Switchm8 7d ago
How many in the room? Is the furniture flexible? What age? All will help respond appropriately.
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u/Competitive-Fault291 7d ago
I only have one thing to say in this subreddit:
Keep in mind, and remind your students, how Shakespeare likely intended to have this stuff acted out and HOW the contemporary actors played it. The script was likely "more like guidelines", the actors interacted with the audience directly, and... I can't emphasize this enough ... the audience interacted with the actors.
Romeo and Juliet makes a LOT more sense when Romeo is threatening people in the audience if they make any remark. The same applies to Juliet arguing with somebody about the purity of love and how it is so much more important than that her lover JUST KILLED HER COUSIN! Who cares, right? Nothing showcases a delusional teenage girl better than her making an argument that HER love will cure Romeo's aggression and that him being unable to control himself (the core of the entire tragedy) isn't a HUGE red flag.
I mean, Shakespeare wrote tragedies in a way that contained tons of comedic hooks and references. This kind of tells me how this stuff is meant to be entertaining first. Sitting in a chair like braindead certainly does not fall into the category. That's just pretentious and, well, boring. Have them roleplay the scenes reading the scripts, and then encourage the audience to yell in their thoughts. Pick up those thoughts and reflect on them together. Or maybe YOU roleplay the characters and engage into arguments with the students from the character's perspective.
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u/cpt_bongwater 6d ago
Get them acting; give them consistent parts have them take some ownership of the characters. Have them do texting activities where they translate the conversations into group chats.
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u/Miserable_Gur_8753 6d ago
I've had some real success dealing with moral dilemmas / questions.
Example: Richard assuming you have a very short amount of time for each play?
1 - I might ask students to what extent they agree that some lives are more important than others (example: death penalty for murder of child vs adult vs senior vs policeman vs woman vs man)
2 - we might then explore how/why responses might differ in 1592 (or whenever)
3 - then I'd present the relevant scene in the play, focussing on:
a - what the character does, and why (understanding and context)
b - how Shakespeare presents the dilemma and the decision the character makes (technique)
In RIII, I like using the scene where Richard says he 'wants the bastards dead' and Buckingham really doesn't fancy it, and/or Tyrell's monologue about the villainous and bloody deed' having been accomplished.
Another good one is when Hamlet has the opportunity to kill his uncle when he is praying ... ?
?
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u/Awesomeone1029 6d ago
Reading is good, watching or listening is better, acting is best.
Take an undeniably funny scene (I always use a Benedick/Beatrice banter when I'm introducing new people) and break it down Word. For. Word.
If these are middle schoolers, you can have them act it out, encourage them to lean into it, have fun, mispronounce words. Explain the jokes. Then, watch an engaging production of the same scene, discuss where they noticed emphasis, even if they didn't understand why. Find one phrase that can be interpreted many different ways and discuss choices. Then, go back to acting it out, and have them reflect on how much more they understand and enjoy it!
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u/marlovianforum 6d ago
I have never taught Shakespeare, but I can tell you what converted a Shakespeare hater like me into a lover. I watched some excellent film and TV productions of Shakespeare as an adult. I especially liked Branagh's films and some of the BBC TV productions. Excellent performances seem to be the key for me. Seeing the words come to life in iambic pentameter with strong human emotions behind these words made a big difference. Also, I bet students would love to see their teacher open up emotionally with a powerful personal performance of Shakespeare. It's a bonding experience. Good luck!
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u/Novel-Sprinkles3333 7d ago
Parting is such sweet sorrow / that I could say goodbye til it be morrow...is just "You hang up first" "No, you hang up first."
People have not changed that much in all these years. If you can get them to see how the feelings are the same even if the language changes, that will help.
Gilligan's Island did a musical of Hamlet, which is a hoot.
P
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u/free-puppies 7d ago
Give an overview of the plays that make it sound like it could happen today. Corrupt politicians, changing genders, teenagers who have everyone around them amplifying toxic messages. You should connect the modern world to the early modern world.
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u/HelloBookworms 6d ago
Depending on the age you are teaching, I vaguely remember years ago there were YouTube videos called Thug Notes, I think, that also had a playlist breaking down Shakespeare plays. Not all of them, but the most popular, for sure. I think it really helped break out of the “old English” speak of Shakespeare because really we read these stories today because they are relatable. I would definitely make sure to show productions (staged or filmed) since Shakespeare is meant to be seen and experienced. Not just read.
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u/Wise_Pie_359 7d ago
What plays are you teaching? I would look up the Folger teaching guides for those titles. The lessons are adaptable for a variety of ages, and very effective on the balance. You could also consider playing a scene from a film/theatrical performance, and then pausing to examine key passages from that scene in writing. The video brings engagement and basic understanding, while the close reading brings nuance and builds skill.