Existing comment:
In School
When you were in school, did you have to memorize "Friends, Romans, countrymen," or "To be, or not to be"? Most Americans from the 19th century to the present first met Shakespeare in school.
Earlier students studied oratory and elocution in books such as McGuffey's Reader and Cook's Sequel to the American Orator. They were thus introduced to Shakespeare through individual speeches rather than complete plays. (1 & 2)
Even today when high schools read Julius Caesar, or Hamlet, or Macbeth, students often memorize lines and act out scenes in the classroom. (3-5) Many schools have used filmstrips or slides to teach about Shakespeare's life and times. (6) They have also used films to help students visualize the action and hear the language of the plays, whether Laurence Olivier's Henry V from the 1940s or Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet from the 1990s. (7)
Today, students produce their own versions of Shakespeare scenes and post them on YouTube.
Explore the new Folger digital Shakespeare editions and other Shakespeare media at Touchscreen 2 to your left. |