A Taste of Shakespeare: Middle/High School

Shakespeare comes to life with passion, creativity, and excitement in this introduction to the playwright and his plays. Middle school and up is a great time to be able to start to appreciate some of the depth of Shakespeare--from the gorgeous language to the profound ideas.

I use a combination of beautifully illustrated excerpts from plays, lively discussion, graphic novels, and video clips from amazing performances to spark a love of Shakespeare.  I hand-pick passages that are accessible, thought provoking, and exciting. 

We will savor the language together, hearing his words flow like music. We will talk about the big themes and ideas. We'll discover how much he has influenced our language. 

I am passionate about teaching Shakespeare as his words are so timeless and relevant. My goal is to spark an interest in his work as well as help students to see his work as being within their reach. 

This is a jam-packed class. Here's a rundown of what we will talk about, in an exciting, age-appropriate way:

* Brief summary of Shakespeare's life and education
* Overview of what types of plays he wrote by genre, sonnets
* What are the secrets to Shakespeare's greatness?
* Crash course on meter: iambic pentameter & trochaic tetrameter 
* How the meter of the verse ties in with its meaning
* Shakespeare the alchemist: how he used his sources and transformed them into poetic gold. Case study on Cleopatra
* A taste of Shakespeare's insults
------
Special Needs: Please send me a note in advance if your child has special needs I should be aware of, or if he or she would not be comfortable speaking in class and would prefer to listen only. I would love to be able to accommodate your needs.