Quote:
Originally Posted by DixieGal
I think the article was full of scat. It is absolutely not necessary to understand every nuance of each word for the casual non-scholar.
I lead newbies to the plays in a specific way. First, forget iambic pentameter, rhyme, poetry, and all, and just read it through as paragraphs, instead of lines of a poem. You can see the lightbulb go on in their faces when it becomes a regular play for them and is suddenly accessible to anyone.
I miss teaching. Sigh.
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This is how I preferred reading it. And reading aloud is really the best way to understand Shakespeare (for me). The language is so archaic, especially to high school students, as to make the effort worthless otherwise.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hamlet53
That's what I was trying to say, only I did not do it near as well. Reading say Romeo and Juliet is not about learning what it was about; who the characters are and what happens to them. Sure one could learn that just as well from a film, or as someone suggested, Cliff Notes. It is about becoming a better reader, expanding vocabulary, and learning to understand all the nuances.
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A high school student can expand his or her vocabulary reading the latest Rothfuss. If that's the only reason, they should pick more engaging books.