pqr Posted May 21, 2011 Share Posted May 21, 2011 (edited) Not only IS there a point to reading Shakespeare, there is great value in memorizing lines. Which lines to you expect your children to memorize? Henry V - We few... Henry V - Once more unto the breach.... Julius Caesar - Friends Romans .... Hamlet - To be or not to be .... Hamlet - Neither a borrower .... Macbeth - She should have died.... Richard III - Now is the winter... Romeo and Juliet - Oh Romeo.... Twelft Night - If music be the food of love.... Twelfth Night - Some are born great.... Merchant of Venice- The quality of mercy.... and just for fun... Macbeth- Double, double, toil and trouble... Henry VI - The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers.... I know that I am missing many.....suggestions. Edited May 21, 2011 by pqr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violet Crown Posted May 21, 2011 Share Posted May 21, 2011 We like to read the Kingfisher Treasury of Shakespeare's Verse, and let the child pick something they'd like to learn by heart. Some they just pick up from their surroundings, though. Some good Shakespeare for family use: "How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is to have a thankless child." "Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown." "Hark hark, bow-wow, the watchdogs bark!" (when our neighbor's dog won't let up). Etc. A local theater does homeschool classes, which include a lot of Shakespeare. Oldest dd learned most of her memorized Shakespeare just from acting; by the time the play comes around, everyone knows everyone's lines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2_girls_mommy Posted May 21, 2011 Share Posted May 21, 2011 hmm, I would go with those. I might add the "A rose by any other name..." My girls are still little though, so they have only read children's versions so far. So far my 3rd grader has memorized sonnets #18 and #23. They are a good place to start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted May 21, 2011 Share Posted May 21, 2011 My kids are 6 and had no problem memorizing some Shakespeare. They were in a production of The Tempest (all K-2nd graders). And they keep doing the lines for grown ups like a parlor trick. They clearly think it's awesome. One of my sons did some of his lines on stage at the Folger for their "Spontaneous Shakespeare" - the majority of the people (adults and kids) had papers to guide them and the audience was clearly thrilled that a 6 year old could do any Shakespeare lines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted May 21, 2011 Share Posted May 21, 2011 Kids tend to love Puck from A Midsummer Night's Dream, in particular, "if we shadows have offended . . . " Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gratia271 Posted May 21, 2011 Share Posted May 21, 2011 Not only IS there a point to reading Shakespeare, there is great value in memorizing lines. Which lines to you expect your children to memorize? Henry V - We few... Henry V - Once more unto the breach.... Julius Caesar - Friends Romans .... Hamlet - To be or not to be .... Hamlet - Neither a borrower .... Macbeth - She should have died.... Richard III - Now is the winter... Romeo and Juliet - Oh Romeo.... Twelft Night - If music be the food of love.... Twelfth Night - Some are born great.... Merchant of Venice- The quality of mercy.... and just for fun... Macbeth- Double, double, toil and trouble... Henry VI - The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers.... I know that I am missing many.....suggestions. Love your list; we have done many of these. One from As You Like It we did was "All the world's a stage..." I have them listen to a great rendition (such as Kenneth Branagh in Henry V) so they get a real sense for it in committing it to memory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted May 21, 2011 Share Posted May 21, 2011 Seven ages of Man (As You Like It) is a good one. We also did The Isle is Full of Noises from The Tempest. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrganicAnn Posted May 21, 2011 Share Posted May 21, 2011 Some character in a novel (I can not remember which), said that he knew the first line from every Shakespeare play. So in conversation when someone would talk about a play, he was spout off the first line and everyone thought he was brilliant. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrissiK Posted May 21, 2011 Share Posted May 21, 2011 I found a book of classic poetry for children and copied a bunch for the kids to memorize this year. The two Shakespeare passages they will memorize are: "Tomorrow, and tomorrow and tomorrow" from MacBeth and "All the world's a stage," from As You Like It. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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