Discussion time. When, in your opinion, should Shakespeare be introduced? I’m looking for a specific age/grade level. Along with that, what are your *expectations* of understanding Shakespeare at that age?
Last week the topic came up over that whole darned Cliff Notes thing (yet again) and whether you’re assisting students in their introduction to the material (and thus a good thing), or dumbing it down because you acknowledge that they’ll never understand the real thing (which I don’t think anybody is for 🙂 ).
Long time readers know my answer. My kids have heard *about* Shakespeare and his stories since they were born. And I mean that almost literally. My youngest saw his first production of The Tempest while still in his stroller – we were telling that story long before that. The archives for this blog are loaded with stories of me coming home from work and overhearing my daughter playing games with her Barbies which that day were named Ariel, Miranda and Sycorax. Over the years my older kids have taken to reading the “for kids” versions of the plays on their own, and I’m not shy about showing them quotes and explaining their meaning.
As for my expectation, well, that’s sort of my motivation for the question. I’m ok with my 5yr old knowing plot and character. He asked for King Lear, for pete’s sake. *Asked* for it. So when you show me a 17yr old that has to read Romeo and Juliet and goes running for whatever crutches he can find because he’s already convinced it’s too hard and he’s never going to understand it, I get frustrated. Had we just brought them up on these stories from a very young age, this wouldn’t happen as often as it does.
There are other problems with expectation when it comes to Shakespeare. Last night a Twitter follower asked me for help with her Hamlet homework. Her essay question?
“One critic said, ‘Hamlet himself seems stranded between two worlds, unable to emulate the heroic values of his father, unable to engage with the modern world of diplomacy.’ To what extent does this statement explain why Hamlet is a tragic character?”
Are you kidding me?? What high school student, forced to stay awake long enough to even *read* that question let alone *answer* it, will go through life thinking “Wow, I really got into Hamlet, that was an awesome play.” These are students who have just been introduced to it, and are at the same time trying to get their heads around that same story and character that, had they lived in my house, they would have learned 10+ years ago. And you’re asking questions like that?! Are you crazy?!
I suppose it has value, but there are times when I simply *loathe* literary analysis of the plays. I try to go back to what Shakespeare was trying to say, versus what 400 years of critical analysis has read into it, and wonder what we should test kids on. Tell me what you thought of the play. Tell me how you sympathized with the characters, or did not. Where did you rage? Where did you laugh out loud? Why? Which passages do you remember because they resonated with you in just the right way? How do AC Bradley and TS Eliot change what Hamlet means to you?
Ok, rant over. Been busy at the day job so I haven’t been posting as often as I should, and wanted to see if I could get some conversation going.
Agreed, JM. The role of Prospero goes to a boy, and we push the envelope further by casting one of the girls as Calibana.
Nick Miliokas wrote: "CGriff, I would love to be in that elementary-school classroom when the teacher walks the students through the play-within-the-play in "Midsummer Night's Dream" and the Rude Mechanicals get to the part about the wall. Sorry, it's not for kids."
–Not a problem Nick. One, most adults have to have the " bawdy jokes" explained to them. Two, when your teacher has adapted the play to suit the context, such problems have no chance of occurring. It's all good clean raucous fun. The richness of Shakespeare assures that there's plenty there without the off color stuff.
I wish you *could have* been there. 🙂
http://shakespeareplace.blogspot.com/2009/10/how-old-is-too-young-for-shakespeare.html
Nick, LOL
Absolutely. In my book, it goes without saying that "The Un-Adaptables" are much better left Un-touched for the time being. 🙂
"What say we give the kids a crack at "The Tempest" and do something outlandish like cast a boy in the role of Prospero?"
–And cut against the grain of the current 'popular notion'? I'm aghast, Nick! 😉
What say we do it anyway?
PS. It's very sad that Shakespeare is getting the ax. It has already happened in some high schools in Australia. Speaking of trending popularity, they've supplanted Macbeth with The Matrix movie. I feel that this is a main reason why it's so important to try and keep the *relevance* alive by introducing it earlier and establishing familiarity and a lack of fear of the material before it's too late.
CGriff,
You do indeed make a great case. I echo your thoughts. Well done, to say the least.
I am totally unable to say when I first encountered Shakespeare. It was fairly early though. By about age 9 I had seen The Tempest, Midsummer, Romeo and Juliet, and Hamlet, although I'd only SORT OF gotten them. (I loved Midsummer!) And I had heard of many of the plays.
As for in schools, I think middle school is a good time to start. My school puts on a student production of a Shakespeare play every year and I love it. We use a cut-down, hour-long version of the play. The years alternate between tragedies and comedies. Anybody in 4th-8th grade can participate, and we audition for roles. It becomes a social event and a fun game for everybody involved, which is really great. Fourth graders who are new to the plays have to earn their rep through small parts and eventually turn into "big" 8th-graders who get the lead roles. We get really in-character: in R and J two years ago, I hated anybody who played a Montague. And it you ever need proof that kids can read Shakespeare– by performance day we know every plot twist, character and quote; we really understand and also enjoy the play. It also means that the more serious actors have chances to improve their drama skills. These school plays have been really great for me and I'm now really into theater and Shakespeare. But I'm in 8th grade now, so this (Hamlet) is my last one!