All About Shakespeare
Shakespeare is well-known as the superstar of English literature, but sometimes students need a little help reading the plays. There's a perfectly good reason for this - the plays were never meant to be read like a book; they were meant to be acted on stage. This page is intended to help you get an idea of how the plays might work on stage (follow the links under "performance" COMING SOON), how they fitted into the context of Elizabethan England (look under "Shakespeare's context") and how different people have interpreted the plays (look under "interpretations" COMING SOON).
You can find Shakespeare's plays, graphic novel and manga versions of the plays, and study guides about the plays in the Non-fiction section of the library at NF 822.3. If you are looking for a play that we don't have in the liobrary, let Ms Carmyn know and we will get it for you.
If you want to read shakespeare for fun and aren't sure which play will suit your tastes, try using the infographic Which Shakespeare play should I see? [https://goodticklebrain.com/home/2016/4/18/which-shakespeare-play-should-i-see-an-illustrated-flowchart]. You might like to read the illustrated short story versions, manga versions or SMS versions. See Ms Carmyn if you can't see these on the shelves.
Online Study Guides
There are lots of useless websites out there filled with bad study guides, so if you need help with what you're doing in class try one of these ones:
You can find Shakespeare's plays, graphic novel and manga versions of the plays, and study guides about the plays in the Non-fiction section of the library at NF 822.3. If you are looking for a play that we don't have in the liobrary, let Ms Carmyn know and we will get it for you.
If you want to read shakespeare for fun and aren't sure which play will suit your tastes, try using the infographic Which Shakespeare play should I see? [https://goodticklebrain.com/home/2016/4/18/which-shakespeare-play-should-i-see-an-illustrated-flowchart]. You might like to read the illustrated short story versions, manga versions or SMS versions. See Ms Carmyn if you can't see these on the shelves.
Online Study Guides
There are lots of useless websites out there filled with bad study guides, so if you need help with what you're doing in class try one of these ones:
No Fear Shakespeare [http://nfs.sparknotes.com/] are publishers of shakespeare's plays who have created a special edition with Shakespearean English and Everyday English side by side. They have very kindly made this resource available online for free. It is a fantastic resource which makes shakespeare's C16th language accessible to modern students.
If you scroll all the way down the page, you will see a box called "More help". Click on the Spark Notes section to see quick character summaries and a guide to the themes of your play.
If you scroll all the way down the page, you will see a box called "More help". Click on the Spark Notes section to see quick character summaries and a guide to the themes of your play.
Schmoop [http://www.shmoop.com/shakespeare/] is a study guide website with excellent resources including lists of quotes, essay questions, a slide show of images inspired by the play, a list of film versions of the play, quizzes and a fantastic set of links. They have many plays with a side-by-side summary in modern English and there is also a link to their essay lab where you can plan and write an essay as long as you have signed up for a free account. Be careful what information you give when you sign up.
Understanding Shakespeare [https://labs.jstor.org/shakespeare/?utm_campaign=8615028_JSTOR%20ANZ%20Understanding%20Shakespeare&utm_medium=email&utm_source=JCS&dm_i=22FB,54NEC,N8I92X,JOGXO,1] links particular references from Shakespeare's plays to journal articles contained in the JSTOR database. You can access these journals through your local library.
Shakespeare's Context
The Globe Theatre [http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/about-us/virtual-tour] is a recreation of the theatrte that Shakespeare worked in. This site includes a virtual tour of the theatre so you can see how it would have looked in Shakespeare's time. If you click on "Theatre" and ignore all the advertising for the current season you can see material linked to each play. For intsnce The Tempest has a production blog about the context and design of the play and Taming of the Shrew has links to "Adopt an actor" with interviews with the actor playign Katherine. There's some useful reslources here if you search for them.
The Royal Shakespeare Company has a fact sheets about Shakespeare's life and context [http://www.rsc.org.uk/education/resources/social-historical-context/] as well as resource packs for English and Drama teachers [http://www.rsc.org.uk/education/online-resources/shakespeare-teachers-pack.aspx] and even short videos of rehearsals [http://www.rsc.org.uk/education/online-performances/shakespeare-unlocked/shakespeare-unlocked-videos.aspx] and flipcharts for use on interactive whiteboards [http://www.rsc.org.uk/education/online-resources/interactive-whiteboard.aspx].