henry the fifth

New Course: Shakespeare’s Histories

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Shakespeare’s History Class

Course trailer

Parent Description- A fully online, fully interactive course into Shakespeare’s histories taught by a professional text coach and actor. 

Students- Uncover the scandalous and gory history behind Shakespeare’s most action-packed plays! Shakespeare’s histories have inspired such works as “Empire,” “Game of Thrones,” “Hamilton” and even the “Star Wars” trilogy. This class will unlock for you why these stories of power and betrayal have been so popular for 400 years.

Format:

0. The class will have a Nearpod with slides, activities, and links to my other resources.  The class will be a combination of slides, activities, and videos. Each class will have 

  1. Weekly Discussion questions via Google Forms such as: “What do you know about Shakespeare the man?” or, “Are Shakespeare plays still relevant today?”
  2. Video Analysis- Every week I’ll discuss a different play with a short video.
    1. I’ll provide some context, explaining what is happening in the play durin the speech, and any relevant historical context.
    2. We’ll watch a recording and the students can write their impressions on what they like and don’t like.
  3. Immersive activities such as:
    1. – Shakespeare arts and crafts and recipes such as making costumes and props.
    2. – My online Shakespeare board game.
    3. Virtual tours of the Tower Of London,
  4. Weekly Web Quests like “find a Shakespeare quote that you use in normal speech,” “find a movie or character that’s based on Shakespeare,” or “Draw a picture of a Shakespearean character (stick figures are acceptable).

6 Week Course

Week 1 – Why Hamilton is Like A Shakespeare History Play Hamilton and Shakespearean History We’ll discuss what makes a history play a history play, why they were so popular in Shakespeare’s day, and draw parallels between Shakespeare and the Broadway Musical “Hamilton.”

  1. What is a history play?
  2. Song quest: Watch the Horrible histories king song
  3. Worksheet- which Shakespearean character reminds you most of Hamilton?
  4. Video- the 10 Duel commandments of Shakespeare

Week 2- Richard II

Ben Whitsaw as Richard II
  1. The history of Richard Shakespeare’s Richard II | Animated short
  2. Watch the presentation and fill in the blanks of the story: Richard the Second Intro Presentation
  3. Web quest- go online and write down three things about the Wilton Diptych
    1. Wilton Diptych https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/english-or-french-the-wilton-diptych
      1. Open ended question- if you were Richard, how would you feel about your role as king?
  4. John of Gaunt’s speech
    1. Watch Patrick Stewart reading this: Shakespeare: “This scepter’d isle”
    2. Now see John McInerny performing it in context
      1. What images were the most striking?
      2. Did you feel more sorry for Gaunt, or England?
      3. What would you call the tone of this speech? Patriotic? Mournful? Excited? Bitter? 
  5. The deposition Scene (video- 3 minutes)
    1. The danger of this scene:
      1. Though Queen Elizabeth I is now almost universally beloved, she wasn’t always in Shakespeare’s time. By 1601, she was 68 years old and had no male heir. Her government had also failed to put down a rebellion in Ireland. Some people in her government were getting restless.
      2. Robert Devereaux, Earl of Essex was one of those restless nobles. He’d been one of the Queen’s favorites, but after failing to crush the rebellion in Ireland, his relationship with her sourered. He then plotted to rebel against the Queen, and take the throne for himself.
      3. To do that though, Essex would need to get people on his side, so he recruited Shakespeare! One of Essex’s servants paid Shakespeare’s companies to perform a scene from Shakespeare’s Richard II; the scene where a handsome and charismatic nobleman convinces the king to willingly give up his power. 
      4. This scene was so dangerous that when the play was published, it was taken out by Elizabeth’s censors.
      5. Quotes from Richard II
        1. https://shakespearedocumented.folger.edu/resource/document/examination-augustine-phillips#:~:text=In%20his%20examination%20on%20February,fellows%20proposed%20an%20alternative%20play%2C  
        2. https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/Shakespeare-Richard-II-Rebellion/ 
        3. https://www.elizabethi.org/contents/rebellions/essex/ 
  6. Playing Richard video: Fiona Shaw
    Questions
    What does making Richard female emphasize for an audience? What point does Shaw’s performance say about women in power?

Week 3 Henry V week

Tom Hiddleston as Henry V
  1. Basic plot- Young king fights a war and conquers France proving himself to the world.
  2. Olivier vs. Branaugh

-Concept- what if the play was a Hockey movie?

  1. Henry is like the coach or team captain who gives inspirational speeches
  2. The underdogs win
  3. The snooty bad guys lose
  • How this translates to staging fights/ directing the characters (website/ youtube interviews)
  1. Activity= write a trailer or design a poster for Henry with a cool tag line.

Week 4- The Wars of the Roses-

  1. Summary of the three Henry VI plays
    1. Wars of the Roses Horrible Histories
    2. Web quest- research one major character from the 3H6 ASC website:
      1. Richard of Gloucester
      2. Henry VI
      3. Margaret of Anjou
      4. Richard of York
  2. Medieval warfare
    1. Watch one of the Weapons that Made Brittain videos and answer 5 questions.
    2. The battles of the Wars of the roses
  3. Costumes

Week 5- Richard III- The rise of the corrupt king

  1. Close reading- “Now Is the Winter of Our Discontent”
  2. Slides on Richard’s plot.
  3. Richard and Machiavelli
  4. Richard and Emperor Palpatine
  5. Richard and Modern Leaders
  6. Richard vs. the Amir of Gloucester
  7. Propaganda activity- make a campaign slogan/ poster for Richard.

Week 6 History Board Game/ Final Project

Great Classes for the Month of June!

Scan the QR code to see my list of classes.
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Title Card- “The Violent Rhetoric Of Julius Caesar”
Title for my Outschool class on Codes and Ciphers, inspired by the Disney show “Gravity Falls.”
Scan the QR code to see my list of classes.
Digital business card for my online classes with a QR code if you want to know more
Title art for my Outschool course on Shakespeare’s comedies
Cover art for my Outschool class: “Shakespeare- the Lost Play”
Title of my Outschool murder mystery game
Title image for my online course on “Romeo and Juliet.”
Title card for my Outchool Intro To Shakespeare cs.
Title art for my Outschool course on Shakespeare’s comedies
Title for my Outschool class in swords and Stage Combat.

Great online classes in Shakespeare and science are available for students all this month at Outschool.com.

Special Promo: LIMITED TIME ONLY!

https://info.outschool.com/outreach-program?utm_campaign=20240529%20-%20OUTREACH%203%20Days%20Left%20of%20$50%20(May%20REMINDER)&utm_source=iterable&utm_medium=email

From now until June 1st, you can get a $20 discount with referral code PAULHT20. Share the joy with other curious minds in the family too! Spread the word and let’s ignite the passion for learning together!

Class Descriptions

Live Classes

For these classes you meet with me live over Zoom:

Introduction to Shakespeare- Tuesdays 9-9:30AM (EST)

This is my 30 minute short and sweet intro to Shakespeare’s life, his plays, and why his work still matters to us today!

Intro To STage Combat (With SwordS)- Tuesdays 9:30-10AM (EST)-

Like the Intro to Shakespeare class above, this is an intro to the basic footwork, attacks, and defensive parries of swordplays for someone just begeinning to learn about swords.

Title image for my online course on “Romeo and Juliet.”

An Immersive Guide To “Romeo and Juliet- Tuesdays from 10-11AM (EST)

This multi-week course delves into the plot, characters and themes of “Romeo and Juliet,” while also providing interactive activities, virtual tours, and webquests.

Stage Combat Course (Multi Week Course) Saturdays 3-4PM (EST)

Shakespeare’s History Plays- SaturdAYs 8:30 AM IST

This is a new course I’m working on to cover all of Shakespeare’s History plays including Henry V, Richard II, and Richard III. More info as it becomes available.

Asynchronous Classes

These classes are Flex Schedule, which means the teacher prepares the activities in advance and allows you to do them at your own pace without direct consultation.

  1. An Interactive Guide To: “Macbeth”
https://outschool.com/classes/an-interactive-guide-to-shakespeares-macbeth-jp7TIh9B?usid=MaRDyJ13&signup=true&utm_campaign=share_activity_link

2. An Immersive Guide to Shakespeare’s London: A virtual tour of Shakespeare’s London will get kids to interact with the culture of Elizabethan England. https://outschool.com/classes/an-interactive-guide-to-shakespeares-london-E6KqeBQQ?usid=MaRDyJ13&signup=true&utm_campaign=share_activity_link

3. The Violent Rhetoric of “Julius Caesar”

Delve into the passionate speeches of Brutus and Antony in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, which led a whole country to revolution.

4. Gravity Falls: Defeat the Cypher

New Outschool Class:  Gravity Falls Inspired Game- Crack the Codes and Beat the Cypher!  

https://outschool.com/classes/gravity-falls-inspired-game-crack-the-codes-and-beat-the-cypher-IvpT5sea

Title of my Outschool murder mystery game

5. Romeo and Juliet Murder Mystery

A flexible schedule class that teaches kids the plot and characters of “Romeo and Juliet,” in the context of a detective story where you solve the mystery of the young lovers’ deaths.

Romeo and Juliet Murder Mystery Course!

6. Shakespeare and Star Wars:

Did you know that Star Wars is based on the ideas and writings of William Shakespeare? This class will teach you about writing and characters though games, interactive activities and dramatic readings of both Star Wars and Shakespeare!

New Class: Shakespeare and Star Wars!

BUT WAIT! There’s MORE

Get $10 off my multi-week classes, including “An Interactive Guide to Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” ” with coupon code HTHES3HDTO10 until Aug 4, 2024. Get started at https://outschool.com/classes/an-interactive-guide-to-shakespeares-macbeth-jp7TIh9B and enter the coupon code at checkout.

Click the link below to get started:

https://outschool.com/teachers/The-Shakespearean-Student?usid=MaRDyJ13&signup=true&authTrigger=follow_teacher&utm_campaign=share_leader_link

New Class: Shakespeare and Star Wars!

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Course title image

Using self-paced online activities, your child(ren) will compare the plot and characters of Star Wars to Shakespeare’s plays. We will also discuss  Shakespeare writing by looking at “William Shakespeare’s Star Wars” by Ian Doescher.

Course Description

  1. Concept: To compare and contrast the plot, characters, themes, and language of Shakespeare’s plays with Star Wars
  2. Student Description:
    1. Epic battles, quests for revenge, pirates, funny characters, powerful warriors swinging swords. Star Wars has something for everyone. But did you know that in many ways, Star Wars is based on the ideas and writings of William Shakespeare? In this course we’ll peer beneath the veil of Shakespeare and Star Wars to find the universal stories of love, revenge, power, and growing up, using games, artwork, and dramatic readings by professional actors!
    2. Did you know that Star Wars is based on the ideas and writings of William Shakespeare? This class will teach you about writing and characters though games, interactive activities and dramatic readings of both Star Wars and Shakespeare!
  3. Course organization (the class is divided into 6 parts that students can complete at their own pace over a week-long period.
https://www.thecorestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/L/9-10/

Outline

Unit 1: How Is Shakespeare Like Star Wars?

Class I- Setting the Scene

  1. That is the Question:
    1. What is Star Wars about?
    2. What parts of the Star Wars story are like Shakespeare’s plays?
    3. Are Shakespeare and the Star Wars movies saying anything similar about war? Families? Growing up?
  2. Lesson Objectives
    1. To teach about the characters and plot of Star Wars by comparing them to Star Wars
    2. To introduce the concept of archetypes, tropes, 
  3. Set the Scene
    1. Star Wars is about an evil empire trying to take over the galaxy. They have more ships, more soldiers, and a fearsome weapon that can blow up planets. The rebels on the other hand, though fewer in number, are faster, smarter, and have the advantage of fighting for a good cause. 
    2. In addition, the story is about growing up- Luke becomes a Jedi Knight. He takes revenge on the man who destroyed his father.
  4. The Players (slides)
    1. Luke
    2. Obi Wan/ Yoda
    3. Vader
    4. Leia
    5. Han
    6. R2D2 and C3PO
    7. The Emperor
  5. Words Words Words
    1. Epic
    2. Parody
    3. Theme
    4. Plot
    5. Archetype
    6. Character 
    7. Trope
    8. Theme

Class 2: The Journey of Han and Leia

  • Han and Leia vs. Beatrice and Benedick
    1. Show videos of Han before Leia
    2. Plot summary of Much Ado
    3. Clips of the bickering of Benedick and Beatrice
    4. Read blog and look at the writing.
    5. Activity- how would you write a love letter to Han or Leia?
    6. Play the scene from Jedi

Unit 2- The Prequels and Shakespeare’s Histories

  1. A Crash Course in Shakespeare’s Histories
  2. The Rise of Palpatine/ Richard III
    1. Emperor Palpatine in Star Wars rises to power through a combination of manipulation, intimidation, and by killing his opponents. 
    2. Bio of Richard III
    3. Slide- Richard’s rise to power
    4. Slide- Palpatine’s rise to power
  3. Quizlet

Unit 3- The Verse of William Shakespeare’s Star Wars by Ian Doescher

  1. What is William Shakespeare’s Star Wars
    1. Introduce the plays
    2. Explain how Shakespeare’s verse works
    3. Look at the common verse elements
      1. Sonnets
        1. Show the chorus of “Verily a New Hope”
          1.  It is a period of civil war. The spaceships of the rebels, striking swift From base unseen, have gain’d a vict’ry o’er The cruel Galactic Empire, now adrift. Amidst the battle, rebel spies prevail’d And stole the plans to a space station vast,Whose pow’rful beams will later be unveil’d And crush a planet: ’tis the DEATH STAR blast. Pursu’d by agents sinister and cold,Now Princess Leia to her home doth flee, Deliv’ring plans and a new hope they hold:Of bringing freedom to the galaxy .In time so long ago begins our play,In star-crossed galaxy far, far away
          2. Stychomichia
          3. Half lines
          4. Enjambment
          5. Title Crawl (make a gif via Canva)
  2. Side By Side Comparisons
    1. Read/ watch segments of the play
      1. To Be Or Not To Be
      2. All the World’s a Stage
      3. St. Crispin’s Day Speech
    2. Try to turn a Star Wars line into verse, and then look at the reveal.

Unit 4- Literary Devices of William Shakespeare’s Star Wars

  1. Using the educational guide, we’ll learn about the following literary devices:
    • Extended Metaphors (Luke’s green lightsaber)
    • Anaphora (Luke’s call to action in Jedi)
    • Premonatory Dreams (Calpurnia)
    • Stichomythia Richard III vs. Han and Leia

Unit5- The Hero’s Journey of Luke Skywalker

Class 1: What is a Hero’s Journey (Slides)

  1. Learn a little about Joseph Campbell’s monomyth. using the Percy Jackson post, Crash course video about monomyth
  2. Chart Luke’s monomyth journey
  3. Activity- Mad libs- write a star wars movie!
  4.  Quiz on plot elements from the monomyth (Quizzes or Quizlet)

Class 2 :  Hamlet and Luke Skywalker

  1. Plot comparison
    • (use infographic)
    • Quote from Doescher:
      • Hamlet The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is Shakespeare’s most famous play. It’s also the play I make the most references to in William Shakespeare’s Star Wars.
  2. To Be Or Not to Be
  • Use my video about the speech to explain the structure
  • Note how Doescher repurpuses every line in the Star Wars Trilogy:
    • Sometimes it expresses fear: 
    • Sometimes concern: 
    • Frustration: “The whips and scorns of time”
    • Hope: “The undiscovered galaxy” “Tis a consummation devoutly to be wished.”
    • Activity: write your own paraphrase of Hamlet’s speech, using the 6 beats I provided.

Unit 6- Become a Bard Warrior (Slides and Sites)

Notes

Resources:

Web: https://americanshakespearecenter.com/2011/05/in-the-force-of-his-will-shakespeare-and-star-wars/

Close Reading: Shakespeare’s Star Wars (Empire Scene) https://shakespeareanstudent.com/2024/04/17/close-reading-william-shakespeares-star-wars/ 

The Journey of Han and Leia: https://shakespeareanstudent.com/2023/06/16/new-podcast-william-shakespeares-star-wars-part-ii-the-journey-of-han-and-leia/ 

Darth Vader Does Shakespeare

Review of Jedi:

Review: “Star Wars-  the Jedi Doth Return .” by Ian Doescher

Video

  1. William Shakespeare’s Star Wars and the Power of Iambic Pentameter – Summer of Shakespeare the First
  2. The Wampa From “William Shakespeare’s Star Wars”
  3. Han Solo Does Shakespeare
  4. Emperor Shakespeare
  5. Darth Vader does Shakespeare
  6. Dagobah Cave Vision: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0otvBA0iAA0 
  7. Duel between Luke and Vader: William Shakespeare’s Star Wars excerpt: the Duel from “The Empire Striketh Back.”
  8. Comparison:
    1. 1st 10 minutes of Jedi: Star Wars Episode VI Return Of The Jedi Opening Scene HD720p
    2. Doescher’s version: Darth Vader Reads Star Wars Shakespear The Jedi Doth Return Vader Reviews

Podcast:

  1. https://open.spotify.com/episode/5BJ6TuhFO699OxWRLZNL2U?si=_cRGo7FzQjakUuZuPT0KwA 
  2. https://open.spotify.com/episode/1E3Eh9OpcR7lpMHI8edU4o?si=p-PrlRzQStqwGnoz4Y88pA 
  3. https://open.spotify.com/episode/5SFDcMAfF14ANVIki6xxr8?si=0YWtFyWoQE2CtG8fAEK22A 

https://roomescapemaker.com/u/kuhz1234/egregree#google_vignette

Review: “Star Wars-  the Jedi Doth Return .” by Ian Doescher

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Introduction

What Is William Shakespeare’s Star Wars?

William Shakespeare’s Star Wars is a series of parody plays written by Ian Doescher that takes the prose screenplays of the Star Wars story and transforms them into Elizabethan verse. Last time I mentioned how much I loved the cheeky references to Shakespeare and Star Wars, and how Doescher adapts the cinematic quality into Elizabethan drama very well. In my podcast, I also emphasized the way Doescher gives each character verbose Shakespearean language that works very well for radio and theater:

https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/8e9Q3GmMjzb

I must confess, Return of the Jedi is my favorite Star Wars movie. I’ve seen all 9 films and it’s still my favorite. I adore the effects, the tight storytelling, the emotional farewells, and the dramatic victories. What I want to do with this post, (and the accompanying podcast), is to see whether this edition captures what I love about Jedi. The short answer is- no. It doesn’t capture it, IT EXPANDS IT! In many ways this play is Doescher’s triumph- he manages to capture the tone and characters of Star Wars perfectly, and makes the Shakespearean style his own!

Notes about the play

  1. The first play in the series, “Verily, A New Hope,” took plot and structure inspiration from Henry V; it tells the story as an epic heroic story of Luke’s heroic deeds, much like how Henry V is about a king who grows from boy to man.
  2. The second play “The Empire Striketh Back,” takes inspiration from Hamlet and Macbeth to explore Luke’s temptation by the Dark Side of the Force. It also uses Much Ado About Nothing as an inspiration for the burgeoning relationship between Han and Leia
  3. I would argue that “Jedi Doth Return” is a mixture of all the other plays Doescher took inspiration from. Unlike the previous plays, this feels less like a parody, and more like an adaptation. I feel that Doescher has finally become so comfortable writing in the Shakespearean style, that he rarely needs to flat out parody lines and speeches, and simply uses Shakespearean dialogue to tell the story.

Moments to Watch for:

The Language

I’ll discuss the language of Jedi in greater detail in my podcast, but I’d like to highlight one or two here.

Extended metaphors:


Vader: It is the role I play, my destiny—
The grand performance for which I am made. 
Come, author of the dark side of the Force,
Make me the servant of thy quill and write 
The tale wherein my son and I are seal’d As one. 
Come, take mine ev’ry doubt from me,
 And fashion from my heart of flesh and wires 
A perfect actor: callous, cold, and harsh.
Let this, the second Death Star, be the stage,
And all the galaxy be setting to 
The greatest moment of my narrative:

The scene in which the Empire’s fight is won 
Whilst I decide the Fate of mine own son - The Jedi Doth Return Act I, Scene i

3. Parody Lines

The biggest appeal of William Shakespeare’s Star Wars is the fact that it is a parody, and I’ve said for many years that parody and gentle riffing on Shakespeare is a great way to get students to overcome their fear of Shakespeare and engage with him. Students who know Star Wars but don’t know Shakespeare will recognize the familiar characters and plots of the movies and then see how Shakespeare’s language tells the story anew. Similarly, people who know Shakespeare will recognize the way Doescher re-tools famous Shakespeare quotes to give to characters in the Star Wars Universe, like here, where he spoofs the famous “All the World’s A Stage” speech:

In the Educator’s guide, which I’ve attached below, Doescher tells you exactly which lines he has parodied and the plots of the original plays so the students can learn about Shakespeare through these famous speeches. Orson Wells once said: “We sit through Shakespeare to recognize the quotations,” and this edition gives us thrilling space battle, wonderful characters, and witty dialogue to keep us entertained while we wait.

Characterizations

What I love the most about the movie and the play is that it’s a very character-driven story. Instead of long trench runs with pilots we’ve never met, we get duels to the death between characters we’ve known for years. At its heart, Jedi is the story of the Skywalker family reuniting after Darth Vader ripped it apart. It’s also the culmination of Luke growing from a boy to a man. Doescher does an incredible job voicing these characters through the verse, and his use of the language helps highlight each character’s struggle and journey.

Luke/ Vader

Left- production photo of Mark Hamil holding a skull Yorrick-style. Right- AI art I created of Luke as Hamlet.

Luke has more of a duality in this story- sometimes his speeches are hopeful, positive, and full of decisive language, while other times he is bitter, angry, and mournful. This is a perfect characterization for a young man whom the Emperor hopes to turn to the Dark Side, and these speeches excellently bring out his character. Sometimes Luke even repeats lines spoken by Vader and the Emperor just to drive this point home.

Emperor

A speech from “Jedi Doth Return.” Notice how the ideas run on past the ends of lines and how long each sentence is

As for Emperor Palpatine, his speech is similar to Claudius in Hamlet in the sense that he has many run-on lines that only get to the point at the very end. This man knows he has the ear of the entire galaxy, so he can afford to make people wait for him to finish talking. As Luke himself says: “Your overconfidence is your weakness,” and Doescher does a great job conveying that weakness through the language.

Leia/ Han

My favorite part of The Empire Striketh Back was how Doescher conveys the love between Han and Leia. In that play/ movie, it was done through irritating each other in public, and soliloquizing in private. In Jedi, Han and Leia are more of a couple, supporting each other in their fights and the language has more of a romantic tone.

Han (Hal Jourdan) and Leia (Janine Ashley) finally confess their love in this scene.

My Criticism

To sum up, Jedi is a milestone in the William Shakespeare’s Star Wars Series where Ian Doescher learned how to make the language his own, rather than borrowing lines and phrases from Shakespeare. It’s a pity there aren’t more books in this series…. right?

William Shakespeare’s Star Wars Prequel Series
Doescher’s official website.

The Education Guide

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Happy International Women’s Day

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Happy International Women’s Day! I would like to dedicate my posts today to my daughter, a wonderful strong girl, a Shakespeare fan, and a lifelong lover of the musical “Six”.

Some of Shakespeare’s Best Female Characters

I’ve discussed Shakespeare’s best Mother characters before, and his Roman characters as well, but I thought I should include some of the ones who are not mothers and/or unmarried (at least for most of the play). I don’t want to rank these characters since I detest ranking women in general, so here are some of Shakespeare’s best characters, and some of their immortal speeches:

CleoPatra

Katherine Of Aragon

Even though “Henry the Eighth” is my least favorite Shakespeare play, I love how strong Katherine is and how well she fights against the machinations of Cardinal Woosey and her husband. She is a courageous, virtuous, and strong-minded woman, who when Henry demands that she consent to a divorce, Katherine simply says: “No Way!”

The Awesome world of “Six”

Lady Macbeth

Close Reading: Lady Macbeth “Come You Spirits.”

A fascinating and electrifying character. She seduces her husband and makes him fully commit to murdering the king. If you look at the post above, you can see the multiple potential readings for why she courts evil spirits to convince her husband to murder the king. Her strength and energy is highly attractive and it was easy for me to see how a man might do anything to make her happy.

Isabella From “Measure For Measure”

I think Elizabethans would have seen the connection between the Virgin Queen who fought off assassination from the Pope, and Isabella, a virgin who fights off the advances of Angello, who seems pious, but who secretly is degenerate and cruel. Isabella even becomes a princess at the end of the play, (assuming she marries the Duke), which means she could literally become a Queen Elizabeth to English eyes.

https://www.rsc.org.uk/shakespeare-learning-zone/measure-for-measure/character/analysis

Stick figure version of Isabella from “Peace Good Tickle Brain.”

Portia Catonis (Wife of Brutus)

One of the best female characters in the Roman plays, Portia demands to be taken seriously as a wife and as a Roman citizen. In her one great scene we see her demand that Brutus tell her why he has been so distant and cold:

Elisabetta Sirani, Portia Wounding her Thigh, 1664, oil on canvas, 101 x 138 cm (Collezioni d’Arte e di Storia della Fondazione della Cassa di Risparmio, Bologna)
Some have speculated that in real life Portia helped Brutus with the conspiracy to assassinate Caesar, after all, she was the daughter of Caesar's great rival senator Cato, who was willing to die when he realized the Roman republic was finished.
Not only was the real Portia a great woman, she also inspired some great art. Below is the great masterpiece:  Portia Wounding her Thigh, by Elisabetta Sirani (1664). According to Dr. DR. MAURA GLEESON, the painting was commissioned by a fabric merchant, which explains Portia's sumptuous outfit. Portia remains totally calm, yet focused and determined as the other women in the background idly spin clothes in the background. For more information on this masterpiece, click the link below:
Elisabetta Sirani, Portia Wounding her Thigh

If you’d like to learn more about Portia and Julius Caesar, sign up for my online class on the play via Outschool.com. Get a $5 discout with coupon code HTHES6Q5XA5 until Apr 2, 2024. Get started at https://outschool.com/classes/the-violent-rhetoric-of-julius-caesar-flex-schedule-edition-fwB3cwQM and enter the coupon code at checkout.


So happy International Women’s Day ladies! Hope you get some of the love and appreciation you deserve today! More posts coming soon!

Book Review: William Shakespeare and the Globe

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Video Book Review:

Content: 

This is a story of two boys, centuries apart, but united by their love of theater in general, and the Globe Theater in particular. The first is William Shakespeare, whose story Aliki tells from his birth, to his boyhood days, to his rise to prominence in the theater. The second is Sam Wannamaker, the man who spearheaded the project of re-building the Globe Theater from 1949 to the first performance of the Globe in June of 1997. 

Aliki tells this story in the format of an Elizabethan play, dividing it into five acts. Acts I-4 tell the story of Shakespeare’s life while Act V focuses on Sam Wannamaker pursuing his dream. The book concludes with a chronology of Shakespeare’s plays, and a table of his most famous words and expressions, illustrated with adorable characters.

Illustrations: Medium and Style of Illustration

Like many of her books, Aliki’s illustrations are layered and detailed. She uses ink pen outlines to draw her characters, but then fills them in with bright, vibrant colors. She then painstakingly shades them using the crosshatching technique, to create textures that are complex but have a hand-drawn almost impressionistic feel. The characters aren’t ultra-realistic, and the color palette is limited mainly to bright primaries and warm browns, making it look like a child’s box of crayons or colored pencils. This book is designed to appeal to children with its hand-drawn quality. 

Format:

Cover- The cover makes the subject of the book clear to the audience. We see Shakespeare and Globe Theater, but also illustrated moments from his plays. This helps establish that this is not only a biography, it is an introduction to Shakespeare’s plays and poems as well.

Front Matter: The book opens with four pages of quotes from Shakespeare’s plays illustrated with fairies, pipers, and Elizabethan men and women. There is no half-title, no frontispiece and no Half title verso.

Title page verso (copyright page) In the center of the copyright page is an Illustration of Shakespeare standing atop a globe, over the famous lines: “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.”  Below the quote in very small letters is the copyright date, a short summary, the ISBN data, card catalog information, and the typography information.

Title Page The title is laid out on a white background with a thin black border. Below the title is an image of a boy (presumably Sam Wanamaker), assembling a paper model of Shakespeare’s globe, with a portrait of Shakespeare in the background. This helps establish that this biography focuses on both Shakespeare and Wanamaker, and makes the reader excited to see the real Globe brought to life in full illustration.

Table of Contents As stated before, the book is organized like an Elizabethan play, so rather than Chapter 1, etc. the book has five Acts with 1-4 scenes in them. Each chapter in the table of contents is labeled with a description that sets the scene; either a location (like London, Stratford, The Globe), or what will happen in the scene (such as “Building” or “Uncovering”). The table then details four appendices that are part of the back matter. 

Preface:  The Preface is referred in the book as an aside, (an Elizabethan theater term meaning something spoken between a character and the audience). This preface acknowledges that, because of the lack of surviving historical information on William Shakespeare, Aliki, like many Shakespearean biographers, has to use some guesswork to fill out the narrative of his life. A second preface (referred to as a Prologue), introduces the story of the book, (namely the lives of Will Shakespeare and Sam Wanamaker). This preface mimics how in Shakespeare’s plays, a prologue would tell the audience what would happen before the narrative started.

Back Matter/ Appendices: There are four appendices in the back matter- A table of Shakespeare’s collected works, a timeline of the book’s events from 1564-1999,  an illustrated list of Shakespearean words and expressions, and finally a list of Shakespearean sites to visit in London and Shakespeare’s home town of Stratford Upon Avon. These appendices show the reader that Shakespeare has an important role in history and in the English language, and encourage the reader to learn more about him. 

Value As an Educational Tool

This story not only tells Shakespeare’s life, it also introduces the reader to his plays and his influence on the English language through the illustrations and frequent Shakespearean quotations. The reader also gains an insight into Elizabethan life and culture by following Will’s journey from Stratford to London. Finally, by juxtaposing Shakespeare’s life with Sam Wannamaker’s, the reader sees Shakespeare through Sam’s eyes as he works his whole life to restore Shakespeare’s Globe to its former glory. The reader develops a love of Shakespeare, (or at least an empathetic respect), and may feel empowered to read more about Shakespeare, see his plays or maybe even become a Shakespearean artist in the future. In short, Aliki’s book brings the world of Shakespeare to young readers in a way that is beautiful to look at, full of insight, and with enough supplemental materials to encourage them to learn more.

Overall Impression:

Like Prospero’s magic in The Tempest, this story is magically told- it is not intended to create a totally realistic representation of Elizabethan life, but to give an exciting, colorful impression of Will’s life and work to the reader. Due to the scant historical details of Will’s life, Aliki chose not to do a standard biography, but, like Shakespeare’s own history plays, to tell a historically authentic story, rooted in truth that brings a time and a place to life, while portraying it an exciting and visually appealing way.

Citation:

Aliki. (2000). William Shakespeare & the Globe. HarperCollins Publishers. 

Spirit Halloween and Shakespeare

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I’ve written before that Shakespeare helped influence Halloween as we know it- the images of holding skulls, witches chanting over a cauldron, and even ghosts coming back to plague their murderers all have Shakespearean roots. Exhibit A is how these images and tropes can even be found in beloved Halloween costume stores like Spirit Halloween!

If you like creepy Halloween activities and Shakespeare, please sign up for my fully online, fully asynchronous class: “An Immersive Guide To Shakespeare’s Macbeth!” The class features a digital escape room, an interactive quiz, and a special, undead guest!

Get $10 off my class “An Interactive Guide to Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” ” with coupon code HTHES4NHCN10 until Nov 3, 2023. Get started at https://outschool.com/classes/an-interactive-guide-to-shakespeares-macbeth-jp7TIh9B and enter the coupon code at checkout.

My Top 10 Favorite Shakespeare/ Harry Potter Actors

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This list is not about skill or the talent of the actor. This is to honor the contributions of Shakespearean actors who also appeared in one of my favorite film and book franchises of all time: Harry Potter. Accordingly, some of the actors who weren’t essential to either Harry Potter or Shakespeare or both are placed lower on the list even if I personally love the actor or the character they portrayed.

#10: Richard Harris- Albus Dumbledore

The Irish-born actor has been a veteran of stage and screen for decades before his death in 2002, after the second Harry Potter film. Here is him on Johnny Carson, telling a funny story about a production of Macbeth he did early in his career:

#9: Kenneth Branaugh- Gilderoy Lockheart

If you visit this website regularly, you know I’m a fan of Kenneth Branaugh– I’ve reviewed three of his Shakespeare movies and he’s my all-time favorite Hamlet. I’m also aware that he has a reputation of being a bit of an egotist and a womanizer, (since he had affairs with two women on this list), so even though he was a bit too old to play the part, it was nice to see him have a laugh at his own expense as the attention-hogging Gilderoy Lockheart. The humbug professor’s name actually Gilderoy (as in a man painted with false gold), gives away the twist that he takes credit for other witches and wizards’ work and Branaugh shamelessly mugs to the camera whenever he’s on screen. My favorite scene of his though, is the one serious scene where he teaches dueling with the help of the much more competent Professor Snape:

Kenneth Branaugh and Alan Rickman in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, (2002).

If you saw my post on the duel at the end of Hamlet, you can see that the way wizards duel is directly inspired by the way fencers fought in Hamlet, right down to the flashy salute and bow beforehand, and it’s neat to see two legendary Hamlets fight in it.

#8: Jim Broadbent (Horace Slughorn) / Timothy Spall (Peter Pettigrew [aka ‘Wormtail’]

I couldn’t decide between these fabulous actors, so I grouped them together. After seeing Timothy Spall as the cowardly, foolish incompetent spy and traitor Rosencrantz in Hamlet, I knew that the only Harry Potter role for him would be as Lord Voldemort’s toady and pathetic rat, Peter Pettigrew, aka Wormtail.

Broadbent on the other hand, is completely different and unrecognizable during his excellent portrayal of Lord Buckingham in Ian McKellen’s 1995 film version of Shakespeare’s Richard III. Unlike the meek and easily broken Horace Slughorn, Broadbent as Buckingham is an oily politician who very nearly sells his soul to McKellen’s diabolical Richard:

What unites these two portrayals is that both characters are corrupted by a figure of pure evil, but both have a breaking point- Buckingham, (as you see in the clip above), refuses to be a party to child murder, while Slughorn eventually helps Harry Potter destroy Voldemort. In a way, they’re two sides of a very flawed coin.

#7 Michael Gambon (Albus Dumbledore 2)

Like Richard Harris, Michael Gambon, (who passed away in September of 2023) was an accomplished stage and screen actor, famous for playing King Lear multiple times, including a famous performance with Antony Sher at the Royal Shakespeare Company. Here are some highlights of his stage work:

https://www.theguardian.com/stage/gallery/2015/feb/09/michael-gambon-on-stage-from-king-lear-to-krapp-in-pictures

#6: Fiona Shaw (Petunia Dursley)

I feel I have to give Fiona Shaw a good spot on this list, though I think her talent was wasted in the role of Petunia Dursley. She is an icon of British theater and her work in Shakespeare is superb. She famously played Richard II back in 1995, and in the short film below, she talks about her amazing interpretation of Measure For Measure, with fellow Harry Potter alumn, David Tennant.

I’d also like to include the best-deleted scene from Deathly Hallows with Shaw in it, where she admits to Harry for the first time that she misses her sister Lilly.

#5: Ralph Fiennes (Lord Voldemort)

In a way, Lord Voldemort was a role that Fiennes had trained for all his life. He has played smarmy, serpentine characters before in films like Red Dragon and Schindler’s List. But Fiennes’ Shakespeare training allowed him to tap into the evil megalomaniac at the heart of Voldemort when he played roles like Richard III, (another deformed autocrat), and Coriolanus, the Roman general who is himself compared to a dragon. In the video above, YouTube critic Kyle Kalgren analyzes how Fiennes’ past roles and experience with Shakespeare translated well in his performance and his direction of the 2011 film Coriolanus.

#4 Imelda Stanton (Delores Umbridge)

By contrast, I give more credit to Imelda Stanton, who mainly plays sweet mom-like characters (or nurse-like in the case of Shakespeare In Love), for embodying the utterly loathsome Delores Umbridge. Reportedly, the role made Stanton feel physically ill and unlike Richard III, people hate her character with a passion. By contrast, look at her sweet and charming portrayal of Maria in the 1996 film Twelfth Night, (which also starred Helena Bonham Carter):

#3 Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix Lestrange)/ Emma Thompson (Sybyl Trelawney)

Again, I had to give credit to both of these women for the startling transformations they did for their Harry Potter characters, as well as their stellar work in Shakespeare. Helena Bonham Carter mainly plays apealing aristocratic characters such as Olivia in Twelfth Night, and Ophelia in Hamlet:

Seeing Ms. Carter as the demented Bellatrix Lestrange was quite a shock for me, yet the performance was no less impressive. I especially love this scene in Deathly Hallows where she has to act like a 17 year old girl, TRYING TO BE BELLATRIX LESTRANGE

#2: Alan Rickman (Severus Snape)

I already wrote a tribute to Alan Rickman after his death in 2016, so I don’t wish to repeat myself. Suffice it to say that Mr. Rickman was always a consummate professional, and his iconic portrayal of Severus Snape was the performance of a lifetime.

    Alan Rickman as Achilles in Troilus and Cressida, Royal Shakespeare Company.

    Honorable Mention: David Tennent (Barty Crouch)

    To be honest, I thought Tennant was miscast in Harry Potter- he can play villains, (as Good Omens fans know well), but he just isn’t great at being maniacal and evil. That said, Tennant is a rising Shakespearean star and has created many memorable performances from Richard II, to Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing, to Hamlet.

    #1: Dame  Maggie Smith (Professor McGonigal)

    Say it with me… you probably saw this coming. No one can deny that Dame Maggie’s contributions to Shakespeare, as well as her ubiquitous portrayal of Hogwarts’ current Headmistress Minerva McGonigal, stand the test of time as strongly as the animated chess pieces she placed in the school basement. Let’s look at some of her greatest Shakespearean moments.

    Plug for my Acting Class

    If you enjoyed this list, you might want to sign up for my Intro to Acting class or my extended acting course, where I delve into Shakespearean acting techniques, and answer the big question, “WHY DO SHAKESPEAREAN ACTORS KEEP GETTING CAST AS WITCHES AND WIZARDS?” To sign up, click the link below: https://outschool.com/classes/609658d1-3f9f-4371-8af2-4fe81ad13d8c

    Cover art for my Outschool Beginning Acting Class.

    Thanks for reading!