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If All the World's a Stage, Then Why Not the Classroom?

© Kelley M. Rubben

Many students balk at the thought of studying Shakespeare, and some teachers fear to tred among the hallowed relics. Why? There are three main reasons why students encounter difficulty when studying Shakespeare. First, most students lack an understanding of the historical background necessary to understand the characters' comments, concerns, beliefs, and conflicts. Additionally, students often have difficulty with the somewhat artificial language of the Renaissance period. Finally, students grow tired of long detailed "line-by-line" analyses of the works.

So what can an educator do to combat these pitfalls and to captivate his/her students? Well, the same qualities that captivated both the peasantry and the nobility in Renaissance England will make the tales appealing to the wide range of abilities that exist in the classroom, the key is to tailor the learning to the learners.

For "first-timers," I select a comedy. To increase students' knowledge of the historical background, I drag out old encyclopedias, updated with neat facts and photos printed off the internet. I divide the class into four groups. The groups put the desks together like conference tables, one in each corner. For the rest of the class, each group works as a team to research their topic: The Globe Theatre, Elizabethan Apparel, Players: The Lord Chamberlain's Men/The King's Men, and Queen Elizabeth.

The next day, each group forms a "panel of experts" to present their mini-research to the class. For all interested students, I offer extra credit projects like: build a model of the Globe Theatre, or sew an article of Elizabethan clothing, etc.

To overcome the "language barrier," I use one of the compilations by Charles and Mary Lamb, Tales of Shakespeare. If the class has extreme difficulty, I copy the synopsis from the book and we read that and watch a PBS or A&E version of the play. Even if we only read the synopsis and watch the video, we hold discussions, write essays, do projects, and take a test. With average classes, before we read an act, I read the synopsis. Knowing what will happen ahead of time in no way hinders their appreciation of the play, if anything, it helps!

To make the reading more interesting, I move the desks into a semi-circle. I assign the main parts to the strongest readers, giving myself a crucial character's part for them to interact with. The weaker readers get bit parts, sound effects, etc. I try to seat characters that interact often near each other in groups.