2864. On Shakespeare. Bringing Him to the Classroom


 
We are celebrating the 400th anniversary of the death of grand William Shakespeare, as you all know.
I’ve just read an article about his obscure life but brilliant work. I say “obscure” referring to the fact that we have close to no knowledge about his life – I don’t intend to say he was obscure (or dark).
It seems he wished to slip through the history of his time…
I’ve made the resolution of reading his dramas one more time – I’ve read some, and we had a whole academic year dedicated to him and his theatre (or “theater”, as you like) at our college degree of philology of the English language and literature, and now I would read one drama at least.
He’s awesome, and worth to read, or what’s more: he’s a must-read, for some of his dramas.
And adaptations can be brought to the classroom, for our kids, and with so many human values and interests to be worked out! – I count on your discernment as a teacher, for a very few plays require some moral education.
Moral education, however, is necessary for a thorough education and for any person, and this moral education is what we want for our dear students...
There are so many versions of his dramas in the market, even though we would have to use an abridged version: at least it’s a way to reach Shakespeare up to some extent, and prepare them for future readings!
Or we teachers can watch and enjoy a film of one of his drama-plays. Something must be done.
And now I just close this post by reminding you all of the death of Cervantes, the author of Don Quixote. Someone has said that that is the best novel ever – maybe concerning Spanish literature, or all the world wide he meant?
Anyway they both died on the same date, but on different natural days – for there were two calendars at least, one in England and a different one in Spain: April 23, 1616 anyway. / Photo from: youtube

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