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Now Is the Winter of Our Discontent: Shakespeare's Richard III

In this 12-week class, we will do a full reading and discussion of one of Shakespeare's greatest dark histories, Richard III.
Maureen Tobin (BS, MFA)
Average rating:
5.0
Number of reviews:
(184)
Class

What's included

12 live meetings
15 in-class hours
Homework
1 hour per week. Students will not be required to read the play outside of class, but are encouraged to share their journal responses to class discussions and to the scenes they have read in class. Students will create a final project from a supplied list of possible projects or, alternatively, they can propose projects of their own.
Assessment
A class grade can be provided on request. There are no formal assessments.
Grading
included

Class Experience

US Grade 8 - 11
Scheduling Note:
This class can be requested as a once OR twice a week class--twice a week cuts the number of weeks in half. 

William Shakespeare's Richard III stands in stark contrast to the other Shakespeare plays I teach. A Midsummer Night’s Dream and As You Like It are filled with comedy and romance, while Romeo and Juliet has it all: comedy, romance, and tragedy. However, Richard III is one of his history plays, and that means tragedy--dark, bloody, and packed with intrigue.

In Shakespeare's hands, Richard Plantagenet is a treacherous beast, malformed and malicious--and frankly, as villains go, delicious. The last Plantagenet to rule England--and the last English king to die in battle--Richard held the throne for only two years, but he still looms large in history and literature.

Shakespeare based his Richard on the work of an arguably slanderous pro-Tudor historian, but the truth is probably more complicated. For example, the debate about the Princes in the Tower rages on (did he or didn’t he?) and won’t be settled here, but looking at these grim murders should lead to some lively debates.

While I feel it's important to create an academic experience for my students, I believe it's equally important to have fun while doing it. Students will gain confidence in their knowledge of Shakespeare as we read the play together, and it is my hope that they enjoy this highly interactive class as much as I do.

Important scheduling note for Autumn of 2023: There will be no class on October 17th because I will be in London celebrating the 400th anniversary of the publication of Shakespeare's First Folio--and seeing a couple of plays, of course.

This 12-week course will examine both Richards: the literary monster and the historical monarch. Among other topics, we will explore these questions:

What does Shakespeare's Richard III have to teach us about the uses, abuses, and pursuit of power?
How about history vs. propaganda? 
What do we really know about the historical Richard III?
Why did Shakespeare perpetuate the probable myths about Richard’s deformities? 
And did he intend for them to be taken literally, or were they metaphors for Richard’s twisted soul?
Why has Shakespeare been translated into over 100 languages?
How did Shakespeare contribute to the English language?
What is O.P. and why have I never heard of it?
And what's the big deal about Shakespeare, anyway?

Class time will be spent reading and discussing the play, as well as reading and viewing supplementary materials. This is the sort of class where everyone will be expected to read aloud, but fear not! My classroom is a safe and easy-going place.  

Homework will include watching clips online and writing responses to (not summaries of) the work we've done in class. A final project will be chosen by each student (in consultation with the teacher) and might include writing, performance, artwork, parody, music, etc.

No background in Shakespeare is required, though one of my other three Shakespeare offerings would be a shorter and easier introduction. The entire play will be read aloud in class, but students are encouraged to read ahead if they wish to be better prepared for the live reading. 

Folger Shakespeare Library summary:

Richard III

As Richard III opens, Richard is Duke of Gloucester and his brother, Edward IV, is king. Richard is eager to clear his way to the crown. He manipulates Edward into imprisoning their brother, Clarence, and then has Clarence murdered in the Tower. Meanwhile, Richard succeeds in marrying Lady Anne, even though he killed her father-in-law, Henry VI, and her husband.

When the ailing King Edward dies, Prince Edward, the older of his two young sons, is next in line for the throne. Richard houses the Prince and his younger brother in the Tower. Richard then stages events that yield him the crown.

After Richard’s coronation, he has the boys secretly killed. He also disposes of Anne, his wife, in order to court his niece, Elizabeth of York. Rebellious nobles rally to Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond. When their armies meet, Richard is defeated and killed. Richmond becomes Henry VII. His marriage to Elizabeth of York ends the Wars of the Roses and starts the Tudor dynasty. 


Photo credit: Thestage.co.uk
Learning Goals
Students will grow their knowledge and understanding of Shakespeare's Richard III, gaining skills that will carry over to all of Shakespeare's plays.
Students will discuss the differences between a history play and history.
Students will also gain confidence in reading aloud. While this is not an acting class, students will be encouraged to convey character as they become more comfortable with the language.
Students will demonstrate learning through classroom participation (reading and discussion) and in the completion of a final project.
learning goal

Syllabus

12 Lessons
over 12 Weeks
Lesson 1:
Lesson 1
 Discuss: Strategies for reading, sentence structure, Elizabethan contractions, naming conventions for nobility, the royal "we," soliloquy, monologue, and aside
Read: Act 1, scene 1 
Henceforth written as
1.1
Watch: Time permitting, we will watch scenes from one of several movie versions of the play.
Watch: 
75 mins online live lesson
Lesson 2:
Lesson 2
 Discuss: Royal succession, the Wars of the Roses, Tudor propaganda
Read: 1.2
Watch: Time permitting, select scenes 
75 mins online live lesson
Lesson 3:
Lesson 3
 Discuss: Margaret of Anjou
Read: 1.3
Watch: Time permitting, select scenes 
75 mins online live lesson
Lesson 4:
Lesson 4
 Discuss: The Tower of London
Read: 1.4
Watch: Time permitting, select scenes 
75 mins online live lesson

Other Details

Parental Guidance
This is pretty mature content, mainly due to violence and disturbing interfamily betrayals. This is what Common Sense Media has to say about the 1955 film version: Parents need to know that Richard III is a . . . Shakespearian tragedy, directed by and starring Laurence Olivier, that appears much like a filmed play. It's one of Shakespeare's more violent stories, with the violence relatively strong for its time. One character is bludgeoned and drowned in a cask of wine. Another character is beheaded by an axe, with the camera pulling away as the axe falls -- afterwards blood is shown running down the axe blade. Two young boys are smothered to death in their bed. During the climactic battle there is much sword fighting but only one death that's relatively graphic, with the character having his throat cut before being set upon by dozens of swordsmen. The dialogue is largely taken verbatim from Shakespeare's original play. Audiences unfamiliar with the playwright's work may need patience to adapt to the rhythm and language used. The script includes "bastard" -- used in its literal sense -- and "damn." https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/richard-iii Teacher's note: CSM rates this film as appropriate for children as young as 10, but I think the play itself is too much for all but the most mature and above-average 12-year-old. Of course, you know your child a lot better than I do.
Supply List
We will be using the Folger Shakespeare Library text.  There are many formats available for free download, but please be sure to select a version, like the PDF, that has line numbers. 

Download here: 
https://shakespeare.folger.edu/shakespeares-works/richard-iii/download/

If you would like a solid book with great footnotes, you can buy the Folger paperback edition here:
https://bookshop.org/books/richard-iii-9781476786926/9781476786926
or here:
https://www.powells.com/book/richard-iii-folger-shakespeare-9780743482844
or, if your town still has an independent brick and mortar store, do give them your business.

Students should also have a notebook dedicated to this class. Done well, this notebook can be a resource for future Shakespeare courses.
External Resources
Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.
Joined August, 2017
5.0
184reviews
Profile
Teacher expertise and credentials
Nebraska Teaching Certificate in English/Language Arts
Master's Degree in Music or Theatre or Arts from University of Nebraska
A retired English teacher, I hold an MFA in Creative Writing and a bachelor's degree in Language Arts Education from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.  I currently work as a reading and writing coach for students of all ages. (Continued below the class list.)

Teaching allows me to share my passion for the written word. For example, inspiring a love of Shakespeare in formerly fearful young readers is one of my proudest accomplishments. I also believe writing is an essential tool for communication with the world and with the self.  Art is for everyone! 

For what it's worth, whenever I get a chance to travel to see a Shakespeare play, I do it. I've been fortunate to go to England a few times recently and have seen wonderful plays at both the Globe Theatre (The Tempest, As You Like It) and the Royal Shakespeare Theatre (Macbeth, Richard III). Sometimes when I think about that "then I scorn to change my state with kings." (Sonnet 29.)

SCHEDULING NOTE: I understand sometimes it is necessary to miss a class. Just let me know and I can send a link to the video of the class missed.

A little bit about my teaching methods:

For all classes, students are encouraged to interrupt with questions, comments, etc. whenever they arise.

--My one-hour concept courses ("Irony" and "Connotation/Denotation") are more lecture-heavy, though questions and discussion are encouraged. I do pretty frequent checks for understanding because we are covering a lot of information in a short amount of time. These are the only courses where students are not expected to produce a final project.

--For the literature courses, I try to keep the lecturing to a minimum. I begin class by presenting background information and use guiding questions for discussion. The amount of reading done in class varies depending on the material and the students.

For the Shakespeare courses, there is no outside reading beyond what the student chooses for their final project. We use the Reader's Theatre method, with all willing students reading a part and fairly frequent checks for understanding. The reading is usually followed by video clips from different film versions of the scenes we have read.

For novels such as The Great Gatsby, The Haunting of Hill House, and The Hobbit, most of the reading is done outside of class, though I do like to read together occasionally when there's something particularly challenging in the material.

High-interest short stories like "The Cask of Amontillado", the 19th-century horror survey, and the novel Ready Player One are especially good for students who might be a little fearful or uninterested in reading, although in any given class only a third or a half of the students fit that description. Every now and then I'll have a group where every student is passionate about reading. 

For these high-interest courses, we read a higher percentage of the work in class. I spend a good amount of that time modeling good reading skills; for example,  "interrogating the text" by asking questions, replicating aloud what goes on in the mind of a good reader. This is especially good for students who need to work on reading comprehension.

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Live Group Course
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$25

weekly or $300 for 12 classes
1x per week, 12 weeks
75 min

Completed by 14 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 13-18
2-9 learners per class

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