I. LOVE. SHAKESEPARE. I love reading about him, his plays, but most of all I love seeing students turn into Shakespeare fans. At the beginning of every class when I announce we will look at a play I hear the "kill me now" groans. But as we go through the play, I see their eyes spark with excitement as they understand and make predictions and connections. More often than not, if they thought they didn't like him at the beginning, they admit they enjoyed by the end (or at least had a more educated reason for why they didn't enjoy - it is okay if you are not a fan)
Chew on this - why Shakeapeare is more relevant than ever The video below shows actors first consuming a pepper then reciting a monologue from Shakespeare. The peppers range from jalapeno to the komodo dragon pepper, the hottest pepper in Britain. Personally, I think it improves their acting. You will quickly find I am a Shakespeare fan. I would like for you to find an English teacher/major who does not, at least, like The Bard. It cannot be ignored his contribution to the English Language, his ingenuity to the human condition, and a genius story teller. Find here: These are all the words Shakespeare is credited with inventing That is, if he really invented them. Words such as addicted, assassin, lackluster, and ever swagger first recorded use can be traced to Shakespeare's plays. However, does that necessarily mean he can be credited with them? After all, if he is inventing a new word every week, how can his audience understand what he is saying? These words seem common place to us now, thanks to the fluidity and adoptive nature of language, but this article points out that it was likely Shakespeare was recording the phrases and words people were using (similar to how we invent our own words and phrases to suit our needs). Before you push the Bard aside forever, what is revolutionary is the use of the word (it is always about context and use).
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AuthorMs. Oleksewich is a graduate of the University of British Columbia with a Bachelor of Arts in English and Medieval and Renaissance Studies. AboutA collection of education-related findings on the internet (English and Social Studies)
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