Hey, Bard-o-philes…
THAT Discussion, Part Two
Yesterday, we started discussing scansion and meter (using a re-purposed presentation I gave a couple of years back), with a brief metrical overview. We also started a close reading of beginning of the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet. Today, let’s finish up the scene, and then we’ll hit the Melancholy Dane, Prince Hamlet…
Continue reading “THAT Discussion, Part Two”
THAT Discussion (or, The King of Repurposing Strikes Again!)
OK, this is a distillation of the presentation I gave to Kyle’s seventh grade English class a couple of years back, entitled “Shakespearean Verse…Scansion: The Audience’s Meaning and the Actor’s Guide”
For Shakespearean study, language is the key. WHY?
- No (or very limited) stage sets
- No (or very few) stage directions in the text
- No (or very limited) special effects
- No (or very limited) stage sets
- No (or very few) stage directions in the text
- No (or very limited) special effects
All of this information must be conveyed through LANGUAGE
Continue reading “THAT Discussion (or, The King of Repurposing Strikes Again!)”
Need a tee-shirt to adorn your body?
As you may have noticed (or not, it IS at the bottom of the side navigation bar), we’ve opened a Bill / Shakespeare Project store at CafePress.com.
Currently, we have three styles:
- “Shakespeare sucketh not” on the front/schedule and URL on the back
- URL on the front
- project name on front/schedule and URL on back
We also have hoodies, bags, journals and clocks.
ALL items are at cost (we make no money… we just want to spread the word!)
Don’t Forget to Vote
… for your favorite play… there’s a survey in the side navigation bar just below the jump-link to our Facebook page…
As of right now, Macbeth is in the lead with a whopping two of seven votes, followed closely (duh) by Hamlet, Henry V, King Lear, Romeo and Juliet, and The Taming of the Shrew.
I’ll keep the survey up at least for the month of July… if you’ve got ideas for the next survey, post a comment!
Tomrrow
... and tomorrow, and tomorrow
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
To the last syllable of recorded time...
— Macbeth V.v.19-21
Or at least:
The clock is slow... I don't feel tardy
–Van Halen, “Hot for Teacher”
Either way, I can’t wait for tomorrow. The Comedy of Errors text sits on my desk, almost mocking me… I’m waiting for tomorrow even to open it up… haven’t even cracked it open to read the intro… haven’t even read the section on it in Asimov’s Guide to Shakespeare… don’t want to cheat and start early… but I’m giddy, like tomorrow is Christmas… there are times I actually rub my hands together in giddy anticipation!
See you all tomorrow, and we’ll begin to read and start this experiment!
Enough with the Background Already: HHS
The name of the book is You Can’t Go Home Again. And for me that may be right.
Continue reading “Enough with the Background Already: HHS”
Podcast the First: Introduction
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Welcome to our first podcast. It’s a little re-purposed from some of our first week’s entries, but it gives a pretty solid overview of what we’re doing and why… and a hint of where we’re going with all this.
Continue reading “Podcast the First: Introduction”
A Little Different Background: OK, So Not Everyone’s a Fan…
Ran into a former student from OHS last night in Aaron Bros… didn’t know her at first, but she recognized me (part of that whole ce-leper-ty status Lisa says all teachers have: part celebrity, part leper). When I introduced Lisa to her, she told my wife (unprompted) that she had taken an English class from me, but she lost interest when we hit Shakespeare… “It was too complicated,” she said. “Still is.”
Kinda ironic given the launch of this venture.
So all that stuff I wrote earlier in the week? Guess that was shot through the prism of golden idealized nostalgia…
Just a guess, but I don’t think she’ll be joining us for this endeavor.
Can I Have a Little More Background, Please: OSF
The thing about being a new young teacher is that they load you down with extra-curricular activities because you can’t say no.
Continue reading “Can I Have a Little More Background, Please: OSF”