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Shakespeare and the Classroom

Rebekah B. Barakos

When studying Shakespeare, it is often difficult to comprehend the text due to the differences in English between our present time and that of Shakespeare's. I find that in the process of teaching Shakespeare to high school students a great deal of the essential meaning is lost. It is a struggle, in some cases, to enable the student to understand the plot of a particular play. Oftentimes I find myself feeling as if Shakespeare's wonderful ability to produce clever puns, unforeseen metaphors and similes, and insightful characterizations is lost in the struggle these students have to understand Shakespearean language.

One advantage to studying Shakespeare's original texts is the historical richness which can be found just by reading a play and studying the time period in which the particular play takes place. We can find history in the formation of words in the text, in the use of various props, in the action which occurs between characters, the types of characters which are included, and the settings. The list can go on and on. The use of literature taken from a particular time in history is effective in that it directly relates the modern reader, through the text, back to a specific point in history. Shakespeare's history plays, such as the Henry series, are examples of this. Historical moments are immortalized through literature. The amazing and wonderful concept here is that these moments are captured at a point in time in a particular manner and are then transferred through the ages into the present, through literature. To be reading about what had happened in the past from the point of view of a person who lived in the past is an exhilarating feeling.

History, in its relationship to Shakespeare's works, is extremely important in facilitating the "pure" understanding of Shakespeare. By "pure" I'm referring to a knowledge and understanding of the text which is closely identified with what was meant to be the original meaning. One important resource in encouraging such a close study of Shakespeare is Isaac Asimov's Guide to Shakespeare. By reading through his analysis of the analogies included in Shakespeare's plays, I found that I am much more able to understand and consequently impart my clearer comprehension of the plays to my students. The knowledge of these analogies increases what is understood about Shakespeare's works. Isaac Asimov's guide explains the historical, legendary, and mythological background of Shakespeare's plays. Consequently, more dimensions can be opened up and utilized to further develop one's knowledge concerning these plays.

Oftentimes students will state that Shakespeare is dull and not applicable to their present situations. When this occurs, I find that the student has become too caught up in the difficulty of the text; principally this is due to the language. Difficult language, being the medium of communication in this case, can easily estrange a student from the essence of Shakespeare's works. What I find best to do at this point, in order that the student can be made to feel competent at reading and understanding the text, is to have the student focus on the general theme of the text. For instance, if we are reading Macbeth I will ask the student to focus on Macbeth and his vaulting ambition to maintain an overall understanding instead of getting sidetracked with the various characters. After they have focussed on the theme, I push them on to defining, in their own words, what the roles are of each of the principle characters in fulfilling the theme. They are also asked to look at the interactions between characters which support the theme.

A fun project, which has worked well in my senior English classes, is one which forces the students to define the roles of the various characters in the play, Macbeth. After they have explicitly stated what is going on in Shakespeare's play, I have them write their own version of a play like Macbeth. They can change the setting, characters, language, and anything else they wish. But they need to keep the same number of acts and the same theme as is contained in Macbeth. Eventually, what occurs is that by this transfer and synthesis of knowledge, the students are more than able to identify the theme and the character's relation to the theme in the play. They are then asked to present their play to the class. Students have made videos, have stood up in class reading the play, and have even performed certain scenes. I have found the final result of this assignment to be one of satisfaction. Many students complain throughout the entire process about the difficulty and the time consumption of this assignment. Regardless of the complaining, they find, at the end, that they enjoyed completing and performing their own play. An exciting result of this assignment is that the students have read Macbeth, they understand the theme, plot, setting and interaction between characters and they have used that knowledge to create their own play. Their play is in a different setting, uses different characters, yet it is irrevocably connected to Macbeth through theme. Through this connection I can get my students to understand one of the reasons as to why Shakespeare is still read today: the universality of his themes.

On the other hand, another manner in which a play can be studied is to actually perform it. As Sir Andrew Aguecheek of Twelfth Night, I found that I was able to get more of the humor out of the intricacies of the play by the constant repetition of the scenes. I also became more and more amazed at how Shakespeare uses the English language. All in all I was able to obtain a depth of insight through participating in a performance of the play.

I enjoy the variety of methods which we as students and teachers of Shakespeare can use to present the "laden" works of Shakespeare. The numerous facets of Shakespeare have opened their doors. I look forward to enabling others to appreciate the variety of intricacies hidden in Shakespeare's works.