LEARNING MATTERS

EXPLORING SHAKESPEARE IN YEAR 11 LITERATURE

The adventure continues a-pace in Year 11 Literature where we have been grappling with Shakespeare’s Richard III. It’s a huge text and introduces the idea of literature as propaganda. Shakespeare was never going to not dis poor old Richard when his vanquisher was Elizabeth I’s grandfather. This week I have been challenging the students to construct Shakespearean dialogue. It’s been kind of fun to see them freak out. The value in the exercise, though, is not to see the cohort squirm but to break down the mystique of Shakespeare. 

The students soon see that the characters inhabiting Shakespeare’s Plantagenet England are people just like us. They have their hopes and dreams, sadly too often corrupted by the siren call of ambition and greed. By attempting to construct their own bit of Shakespeare, students are also able to get into the mind of the playwright to see how he thinks. Which, of course, is what we are on about in Literature: to discover how language works its magic. Meanwhile, my students are throwing around ‘marry’ and ‘forsooth’ and ‘zounds’ like a lexical pie fight. They’re learning stuff and having fun. Literature is an adventure glorious, meet it is I set it down. (That last bit is Hamlet. Go to the top of the class if you picked it.)

Mr Simon Hughes

Year 11 Literature