Angel Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 This year I have been doing a Jane Austen Lit Study with my dd and her three friends. It has been a tremendous success (we just saw a production of "Pride and Prejudice" on stage by the local Shakespeare Theater- AMAZING! ). I want to plan a Shakespeare Lit Study next year to be done in the same format. What do you consider on the "Don't Miss" list for Shakespeare? We will probably have time to do between 6 and 8 plays. Please list the ones we shouldn't miss out on! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 This year I have been doing a Jane Austen Lit Study with my dd and her three friends. It has been a tremendous success (we just saw a production of "Pride and Prejudice" on stage by the local Shakespeare Theater- AMAZING! ). I want to plan a Shakespeare Lit Study next year to be done in the same format. What do you consider on the "Don't Miss" list for Shakespeare? We will probably have time to do between 6 and 8 plays. Please list the ones we shouldn't miss out on! Thanks! Henry V Macbeth Twelfth Night Romeo and Juliet The Tempest Richard III Hamlet (though I think it is really too long as usually staged) King Lear Othello Other than The Tempest, I know of some very good versions available on Netflix or other taped versions. There might be a Tempest, I just haven't seen one. Great Performances on Shakespeare This website has tons of info, full performances, interviews and behind the scenes stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shifra Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 The standard high school Shakespeare plays are Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth and Hamlet. In the high school that I went to, the principal objected to Romeo and Juliet (I guess because of all the sexuallity involved), so we substituted Julius Cesear, which is still my all time favorite Shakespeare play (got to love all that blood and gore :lol:!). We also read The Merchant of Venice in that school because I went to a Jewish school, and The Merchant of Venice shows some classic stereotypical anti-semitism of the Renaissance. We also read some assorted sonnets that were printed in our anthologies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farmgirl70 Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 My kids love Shakespeare--they particularly like the Comedies, which high schools don't tend to focus on. Comedy of Errors is a favorite! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 You might also wish to add in Bill Bryson's biography Shakespeare: The World as Stage. It's an informative and entertaining read. Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in MN Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 Macbeth and Hamlet. In the high school that I went to, the principal objected to Romeo and Juliet (I guess because of all the sexuallity involved), so we substituted Julius Cesear, Personally, I'd probably pick those three. I think Caesar adds the historical connection to Shakespeare, and Macbeth and Hamlet are just referenced so much in our society. (Ooo, we just discussed the Patrick Stewart movie version of Macbeth here: http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=249195 ) But for the kids, I'd add a comedy. Midsummer seems like a classic. Taming of the Shrew is too funny on film with Elizabeth Taylor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 The reason I like Henry V and Richard III is that the movie versions with Kenneth Branaugh and Ian McKellen are so well done. I have an English undergrad degree, so I've had to suffer through reading many a play. It is so much harder than just watching one. (Think of reading a script for CSI or Saturday Night Live.) I think that these movie versions, especially Henry V are so well done, that it removes a lot of the intimidation factor from Shakespeare. I don't think you should stop there, but I do think that it can be a great jumping off point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
choirfarm Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 First of all it is funny. My senior AP literature teacher had us do Othello and King Lear. ( I LOVE both of those plays!!) and when I got to college they said we won't do Macbeth and Hamlet since you've all done it high school. ( Nope.. I hadn't.) So the first time I read them is when I taught them in my classes!!! Anyway here is my vote: History Henry the V Kenneth B's version Tragedy Julius Caesar- Marlon Brando version Hamlet- Kenneth B and possibly another version. Kenneth keeps the original language but makes costumes and setting modern day if I remember correctly. Romeo and Juliet Comedy- Much Ado About Nothing- Kenneth b version This is the way I found to be most effective for teaching Shakespeare: 1. Read an easier version of the play. For example TOG used Picture This! Shakespeare for Hamlet. It is a graphic depiction of the play, BUT it uses the real language. It summarizes portions but then has pages of dialogue or dialogue using the cartoons. It points out literary devices in the lines. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this resource. We study the individual lines and famous speeches in this version. 2. We watched a film version of the play. We generally only watched an act a day, sometimes two because once again we would stop to discuss what was going on, look at those famous speeches. ( Watching Marlon Brando use the funeral speech to turn the crowd.. Amazing!! ) 3. Take a test or write an essay My boys love Shakespeare. We did Julius Caesar, Much Ado About Nothing, Hamlet and Henry V this way when we were in the Shakespeare time period. Next year for my AP class we will do Richard III, Othello and King Lear. I may find a comedy, but I'm not sure which one yet. Then again, we have a Shakepeare festival in our town every year, so we may go see some of them in the summer and do a little mini- fest. Christine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted March 17, 2011 Author Share Posted March 17, 2011 Awesome information! Thanks! Our Jane Austen group meets twice a month, so we will probably keep that format for Shakespeare. I love the PBS site. I am using their educational resource on Jane Austen this year and it's been my most "go to" resource. I will look into a Shakespeare Festival. We don't mind driving a little way. We are planning to attend a Regency Ball out of state for our Jane Austen study. I want to have the kids (we will probably add a brother to the mix for Shakespeare) acting out (parts of) the plays as much as possible. That's what they were written for. I found "Shakespeare in a Box" that I hope to use. Our local Shakespeare Theater will be performing Macbeth, Love's Labour's Lost, Henry VIII, and The Merchant of Venice. We just saw them perform Pride and Prejudice and it was amazing! I will probably have them continue to blog. They have been keeping a blog of their studies through Jane Austen and all projects/quotes go onto the blog. I'm off to check out the Picture This! resource right now. If there are any more ideas/suggestions, please keep them coming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephanier.1765 Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 I saw a trailer for this modern version of Hamlet that looked great. I wonder if it really is. Anybody seen it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter's Moon Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 I second (third? fourth?) the Caesar, Macbeth and Hamlet suggestions. While I didn't like Romeo and Juliet, it is so widely known and referenced it would be a shame to miss it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in MN Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 I saw a trailer for this modern version of Hamlet that looked great. I wonder if it really is. Anybody seen it? Ooh, another Patrick Stewart Shakespeare? I'm going to have to look on Netflix... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WistfulRidge Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 Ahhh... only 6-8? Hmmm. Macbeth (I am a bit biased... this is my favorite. I can quote most of the play by heart,lol) King Lear Romeo and Juliet (my least favorite, actually, but the one that society as a whole is most familiar with) The Taming of the Shrew Twelfth Night Much Ado About Nothing Julius Caesar and/or Henry V Hamlet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 I saw a trailer for this modern version of Hamlet that looked great. I wonder if it really is. Anybody seen it? I've watched most of it. It is available streamed from PBS' Great Performances website. It is pretty good. It has about the only portrayal of Queen Gertrude that I've found sympathetic. Stewart makes a creepy Claudius. In fact, I liked the acting in most cases. Tennant does a very good job of behaving just on the tottering edge between rage, grief, cunning and madness. But it underscored for me how much this isn't my favorite play. If very good acting by some of my favorite actors can't make it feel tedious, then maybe it really is too long. (I fell asleep at the end of the Brannagh version and never bothered to watch the rest.) According to the Bill Bryson book on Shakespeare, there is some belief that the text we have of Hamlet is not the way that it was performed by his company. That we do in fact have more text than was originally staged. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momofkhm Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 Since so many mentioned Kenneth B's Hamlet, let give this caution, I got it from Netflix and there were flashes of nakedness on screen. I think they were trying to portray that Hamlet had slept with (I forget her name) but it was done in such a way that you can't skip over the flashes. They came without warning. We were watching with a 10 yo, 13 yo, and 16 yo. These flashes were not ok with us! It was very shortly into the movie/play that we turned it off. I had seen someone's version in college with none of this and we read the play as well so I know this was artistic interpretation. The version we saw in college was good but I don't remember who starred. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted March 18, 2011 Author Share Posted March 18, 2011 We love David Tennet!! It is going to be hard to choose which plays to study! I appreciate all the input, thanks. This gives me a starting point at least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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