Product reviews for Bringing Forth the Bard

There have been many attempts to bring Shakespeare into the English language classroom – graded readers based on Shakespeare’s plays (one at a time), graphic novels telling stories from Shakespeare, or whole CLIL packages with background historic information, analysis of the plot and presentation of the dramatis personae and their relationships, analysis of selected fragments and ideas for enacting fragments of the plays, just to name a few. This book follows a yet another approach. In the first place the author wants to instil in the learners the joy of studying Shakespeare. She offers explanations and ideas for practical applications. It makes the experienced teachers rethink the ways they approach Shakespeare’s work in the language class, the novice teachers will be given tools to use when introducing Shakespeare to their learners. One of the strengths is the interlinking of various characters, but more is to be found in the detailed introduction. The book brings forth various areas in seven chapters: Shakespeare’s world, his characters, his allusions, the themes, the language, his theatre, and finally his influence. Each chapter follows the same structure addressing these points: Why teach it?, What is it?, How to teach it?, and Applying it to the classroom. In the words of Professor Emma Smith who wrote the foreword: “This book combines openness to interpretation with clarity about how to work effectively with these texts”. I couldn’t agree more.