Shakespeare often conjures up images of elaborate costumes, English that doesn’t sound much like English and unengaged students falling asleep in their chairs after ten minutes time. Try as they might, many homeschool mamas are not quite sure how to sell their students on Shakespeare. Heck, they’re not even sure if they are sold themselves! As Charlotte Mason educators, we know we should expose our youngsters, so we do a “little” preliminary research and dutifully purchase our first Folger’s First Folio. With a mixture somewhere between anxiety and anticipation we await the delivery truck from Amazon…and if your house is anything like ours, diligent dogs alert you to the presence of the Bard himself on your front porch. Go on, admit it—don’t you feel just the tiniest bit smarter already?
After the last sleepy straggler is tucked in tight, the electric tea kettle is fired up, comfy robe donned, and we find ourselves nestled in a favorite quiet spot to capture the rare silent moments seldom afforded a homeschooling mother. With cautious optimism we crack open the brand-new pages (Don’t you love the smell of a new book!) only to find it to be exactly what was expected: antiquated dialogue, an overwhelming number of characters to keep track of, and a plot with which we are barely familiar. Cue the doubts and second-guessing: What have I gotten myself into? Did Will ever meet Cliff (as in notes?) Maybe we should skip the book and watch the movie… Yikes!
I freely confess that I approached “The Bard of Avon” with all the fear and trepidation of any first timer. The language didn’t scare me quite as much since I have read the King James bible for decades, but it was still a challenge as I was unfamiliar with many of the colloquialisms peculiar to Shakespeare’s time. l found, though, with some simple steps, the plays were, in fact, doable and perhaps even enjoyable! Below are some recommendations for a gentle introduction to Shakespeare for all ages beginning with the youngest ranging all the way to the reluctant adult. Please note that it is always best to preview the material as Shakespeare is known to pen some rather, ahem, bawdry dialogue which you may wish to edit based on your student’s maturity level. Of course with an “teachable moment” attitude some of it could serve as a springboard for some interesting (if not admittedly awkward) discussions!
Use Retellings as early as Form 1: It is my understanding that children in Charlotte Mason’s Victorian England grew up with tales from Shakespeare in the nursery, so by the time they were called upon to read the actual plays in Form 2, it was like a welcome meeting of familiar friends. With that context in mind, Bruce Coville and a number of very talented artists have produced some lovely storybook retellings of many of Shakespeare’s plays which my youngest son and I have thoroughly enjoyed. You can find some of them here. Prose storybook retellings such as Mary and Charles Lamb’s Tales from Shakespeare or Edith Nesbitt’s Beautiful Tales from Shakespeare are another way to instill plot lines in eager young learners. Furthermore, older children who started learning with Mason after Form 1 may benefit from such readings before engaging the actual plays themselves. For those who do well with audiobooks, both Lamb’s and Nesbitt’s books are available (unabridged) on Audible. It may also be helpful to know that both works are in the public domain and available on Project Gutenberg (Lamb Nesbit) for no charge.
Use Arkangel Audiobook Dramatizations: Arkangel productions are available on Amazon and though it is getting a bit harder to find hardcopy CD versions the digital copies are easily accessible through Audible and are a very worthwhile investment. (Incidentally, there do seem to be a surprising number of cassette tape versions available if you still happen to have access to a tape player.) If your budget simply does not allow for this extra expense, you may check to see if your local library circulates them or can obtain them through ILL (interlibrary loan).
Our family faithfully uses these quality recordings alongside every play we read. We simply listen to the portion we will be reading on any given Sunday while following along in our books. It is wonderful to hear unfamiliar words and names pronounced and hearing the tone and pace of experienced Elizabethan actors has really been a great support in helping us along in our own fledgling Thespian efforts. The acting is superb and it is truly a wonderful addition to any family’s Shakespeare library.
For older students, you may want to watch a movie of the play as a special treat when you have completed it. Kenneth Branagh is a popular director of some of the best screen adaptations of Shakespeare’s works. Clicking the link above will take you to an article with recommendations of some of his best films. Of if you have a local Shakespearean theater group within driving distance you could perhaps line up your play for the term with their schedule…keeping in mind some plays are more family friendly than others!
Use Folger’s Shakespeare Library for the actual plays: When your are ready to begin the plays, I recommend Folger’s Editions. You can find them on Amazon by typing in the name of the play and ‘Folgers’. One thing I have discovered recently is that you can get these books in two different sizes; one is significantly bigger than the other and my middle-aged husband and I really appreciate the larger print. We get a copy for everyone but if your budget won’t allow for this use different highlighter colors unique to each student and try to only have two students per book. If you are so inclined you can find the Folger’s editions online and you can copy the play for yourselves. Why Folgers? Honestly, I can’t answer this objectively as this is the only version I have ever used and I tend to live by the “if it ain’t broke” adage. Folger’s offers many worthwhile notes and arranges them on the facing page across from the dialogue with line numbers corresponding to where the word or phrase appears.
Make it a family affair: While it can be challenging with littles underfoot, I encourage your to try to make Shakespeare an enjoyable family affair. Get Dad involved! Perhaps you can wait for the under 8 crowd to go to bed and then take the Form 2 and older children into a room far from the bedrooms. Get Dad involved! Oops did I say that already? Make it a rite of passage in your house to get a part in a Shakespeare play. But most of all make.it.fun. We have done something for years in our house called, “Sundaes with Shakespeare” Not coincidently, we do this on Sunday evenings and our routine is to listen to the portion of the play that we will be acting that evening. We assign parts (which we keep track of on a large white board) and we act out what we’ve listened to, narrate each scene and then we indulge in some ice cream sundaes! (If all else fails, that ought to secure Dad’s cooperation! Lol)
And voila–there you have it! A glorious opportunity to create a beautiful family memory that your children may someday pass on to their own children, whether they choose to homeschool or not! Yes, there will be squabbles and pouty days (‘But I wanted to be MacBeth!!”) and times when you scratch your head and say, “Huh? I’m totally lost!” But you may be surprised when your son or daughter waxes eloquent and tells you exactly what’s just happened, and they’re right. These are the golden moments…when your children surprise you with their keen insight and profound thoughts. My youngest struggled mightily to narrate but could narrate Shakespeare with ease. Nothing less than amazing.
Today, Shakespeare is often thought of as being a lofty course of study for those bound for ivy league schools. But nothing could be further from the truth. Shakespeare, my homeschooling mama friends, was written for the common man (ok and a few wealthy patrons who may or may not have been royal). Give your family plenty of time and lots of grace but do give it a go and don’t ever be afraid to tweak recommendations to suit your students’ particular needs. Studying Shakespeare’s works really is doable and speaking from experience… it’s worth the doing.
Other resources:
https://outhere-music.com/en/albums/my-heart-hearts-music-shakespeares-plays
Decidedly Different 