![]() Especially for those students who are not linguistically-gifted, watching someone else’s facial expressions, for example, helps them understand the meanings of the words much better. Second of all, emphasize "creative dramatics." Meszaros’s preference for “creative dramatics” illustrates the important of performance-based teaching. Meszaros says that the “heavily annotated school text meant to enhance understanding and appreciation of the text, frequently only succeeds in increasing their frustration.” Therefore, use the annotated text as a tool rather than a vehicle for teaching Shakespeare. Using her article as a guide, I will explore a workshop-style plan for teaching Shakespeare, using Midsummer Night’s Dream as an example.įirst of all, do not marry the annotated textbook. In her article, “Notes on a Workshop Approach to Shakespeare,” Meszaros says that often the plight of students results from a “silent reading” of Shakespeare, in which students suffer through the difficulty and glaze over important plot points and characterizations. Meszaros, who encourages the teaching of Shakespeare workshop-style with emphasis on what she calls “creative dramatics.” There are other methods, if we believe Patricia K. However, casting Shakespeare off as unreadable or trudging through his antiquated words and rhymes is not necessary either. Reading Shakespeare is difficult, no doubt about it. "Teaching Shakespeare Through Parallel Scenes." Shakespeare Quarterly. The next time your family gets stuck on a scene, try creating contemporary parallel scenes!įlachmann, Michael. It provides students with the free reign to creatively interpret a scene and make it their own. Ordinarily, lessons rely on left-brain approaches-reading, writing, logic, etc., but parallel scene creations "encourages right-brain conceptual involvement." These types of interpretations also work for those students who get tripped up on Shakespeare's language. Creating these contemporary parallel scenes allows learners to play with Shakespeare, to interpret the scenes first and the language second. Doing so, Flachmann says, "helps students identify closely with the characters," as they become contemporaries of Shakespeare. Notice that I do not sound a bit like Shakespeare, but rather I created a contemporary parallel to that scene. "Miranda": "He shouldn't have done that!" He updated the computer system and claims that 'I don't know what I'm doing anymore,' but he shut me out!" It felt great to be a student again! And your uncle, never owning a thing in his life, started thinking that he could run the store. "Prospero": "I got all wrapped up in my school work. But all that time, he was plotting to take over the store, and he did! Are you listening?" I thought your uncle knew that, so I trusted him. "Prospero": "I know I started neglecting the store and my family, but it was for a good reason! I was only trying to be better educated, so I could get an even better job and take care of you. To which "Miranda" could pretend she's falling asleep from boredom: "Yeah, I know, Dad." ![]() You remember, I was at my desk typing out papers late in the night, highlighting books and articles and essays, and running off nothing but coffee. Allow your students to make up their own dialogue while sticking to the overall plot of the scene.įor example, "Prospero" could say to Miranda: "Your uncle is a terrible person! I was studying at night school, working on my Ph.D., and so I let your uncle run the family business for a while. Assemble contemporary props for the scene and ask your students to "play" the scene without looking at the actual text. Perhaps your learners could substitute that scene for a typical child's bedroom in a modern home. Prospero and Miranda are in a cave on an isolated island. As an example, we'll look at The Tempest, Act 1, Scene 2 in which Prospero is describing his history to his daughter Miranda, who falls asleep listening to his stories.įlachmann says that first he asks his students to read the scene while deciding on a more contemporary setting. First of all, decide upon a scene within the play you are reading. There are myriad ways to practice parallel scenes. In his article, "Teaching Shakespeare through Parallel Scenes," Michael Flachmann explores the practice of "parallel scenes" and describes them as "one of the easiest and most effective devices for involving students in the action of a Shakespearean play." The short answer is yes! But how do we accomplish this? What happens, you wonder, when students only skim the lines and read them monotonously? Isn't there a better way to have learners play the scenes? Sometimes it's not enough for students to perform the scenes. This article will examine a fresh way of reading and understanding Shakespeare through, what is called, "parallel scenes."
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