Grades 9-12, College, Adult
Produced by Ada and Doug Craniford
DVD Purchase $350 Rent $175
US Release Date: 9507
Copyright Date: 9406
Subjects
English Literature
Humanities
Language Arts
Performing Arts
Theater
Values
A Taste of Shakespeare
A unique video guide to the most commonly taught Shakespeare plays.
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"The answer to a teacher's prayer." Dr. John MacDonald, Professor of English Education, University of Toronto |
This is an ongoing series of video guides to the Shakespeare plays most frequently taught in high school and college. In each video actors tell the story of a specific play, act key scenes and, in asides to the camera, explain and comment on the attitudes and relationships of the main characters. It's a unique approach that enables students to connect to the people in Shakespeare's plays, and dissolves difficulties with the language. It lays the groundwork for a discussion of the many issues that still play an important part in students' lives today.
The videos are intended as an introduction to the high school or college Shakespeare unit, but will serve anyone interested in studying these Shakespeare plays equally well.
A Teacher's Guide for each play includes thought-provoking questions for group discussion, independent study, or for use as essay topics or test questions.
Titles in this ongoing series are:
Hamlet - A video guide to Shakespeare's most famous play.
The Merchant of Venice - A video guide to the play from Shylock's point of view.
A Midsummer Night's Dream - A video guide to the loveliest of Shakespeare's romantic comedies.
Romeo and Juliet - A video guide to this cautionary tale of teenage love.
King Lear - A video guide to one of Shakespeare's greatest tragedies.
Macbeth - A video guide to Shakespeare's "tragedy of blood".
Othello - A video guide to one of Shakespeare's greatest tragedies, dealing with revenge and pride.
Reviews
"A Taste of Shakespeare is the answer to a teacher's prayer. It serves a pressing need by introducing students to the plays of William Shakespeare in a way that makes each play accessible and compelling viewing. [Each program] maintains the language and key scenes of the play which are tied together by an intelligently crafted connecting summary. The result in each case is a thoroughly informative and entertaining overview of the key themes and motifs of each of the drama...the students' appetites for the whole play will be well wetted. Equally important, they will be able to undertake their study of the text with a clear understanding of its over-arching architecture and a real feel for its drama and language. This is unquestionably the most satisfying, authoritative and pedagogically useful video introduction to the...plays of William Shakespeare I have seen. This series is a superb achievement - a wonderful marriage of modern scholarship and media production."