When was shakespeare first studied

It has been written "My earliest memory of Shakespeare is of a in the belief that the plays can be made group of eleven-year-olds, armed with intelligible and interesting only if the teaching wooden shields and swords and cloaks, remains stage-centred. He The book highly entertaining and yet sadly was thrilling and blood-soaked and full of still familiar in its account of how witches.

Notably, left with a more affectionate attitude towards Hudson believed that all students can benefit Shakespeare than their counterparts at other from studying Shakespeare in this way, schools, left staring out of the window, only including those, too often deemed unworthy, dreaming of swords and witches as a voice at Secondary Moderns.

In , a Government document, Despite the strong influence of the liberal The Newbolt Report entitled The Teaching of humanist tradition in teaching, in the English in England was published. Generally voices for drama-based teaching of the texts regarded as a forerunner of the age of child- were still calling. In this year A K Hudson centred learning, the report stressed the compiled a book, Shakespeare and the need for English to be enjoyable and Classroom for The Society for Teachers of promoted the use of drama to encourage English, which affirmed the importance of imagination and empathy.

However, introduction of Shakespeare as the only it also passionately asserts, compulsory author on the National Curriculum "Anything in our treatment that makes in the early s, the view that Shakespeare Shakespeare dull or distorted is a crime was not for everyone remained widely held.

Even those teachers who training or support to ensure that children's believed Shakespeare could be accessible for experience of Shakespeare was not dull or all students often took the path of least distorted - but at least the report's heart was resistance by leaving Shakespeare study to O- in the right place. There remained some brave souls and some who were lucky Forty-two years later in , the Ministry of enough to benefit from localised pockets of Education Newsom Report entitled Half Our support, training and encouragement to Future held firm to the belief that the arts approach Shakespeare with younger and less are good for everyone, but with a less academic students, but these were relatively exuberant emphasis: rare and fortunate students.

Two and revisiting the fact that the plays are books influential in the teaching of English in unstable texts, which actors, directors and the mid-sixties, The Disappearing Dais by writers have been playing around with from Frank Whitehead and Sense and their first inception. Neil King, an experienced teacher early s saw a clash of views over and author of drama in education books asserted Shakespeare's place in education at all between that Shakespeare should not be taught below Year the left wing cultural materialist academics and the 9 as, right wing guardians of cultural heritage.

Of be, these, the Feminist and Cultural Materialist "… full of a violence and hatred with which I do not movements were probably the most influential on particularly want to deal with thirteen-year-olds" 14 Shakespeare teaching. Cultural Materialism Although interestingly, he does advocate Macbeth strongly attacked the 'bardolatry' that had built up and Henry V.

Shakespeare increasingly gave the plays some context. In , the American Shakespeare Quarterly produced a special edition, Teaching These days, an awareness of "cultural, historical Shakespeare In the editorial to the edition, John and other contextual influences" is enshrined as F Andrews writes: part of the examination requirements along with an "A decade ago performance-oriented pedagogy was awareness of literary heritage.

However back in relatively unfamiliar among Shakespeareans and , in the waning years of Conservative rule, was anything but universally accepted as the wave Shakespeare's position of prominence in the of the future. Now it is difficult to find a dissenting educational agenda owed more to MPs' liberal voice: virtually everybody acknowledges the need to humanist sense of heritage.

The only real question seems In the summer of came what the Observer to be just how to put the new consensus into called 'The Battle of the Bard', when John Major at practice. In his essay in the edition, Teaching including the introduction of Shakespeare for Shakespeare: the wrong way and the right, Kenneth compulsory study at Key Stage 3.

The academics Muir states the case quite clearly: saw this as an ill-thought-through elitist imposition "The most effective way to study Shakespeare's of a dead white male; the party members saw it as plays in schools, the only legitimate way indeed, is an opportunity for the moral fibre of all right- to turn every lesson into a rehearsal.

Teachers, meanwhile, shrugged and tried to get on with their daily business of teaching. Dr Rex Gibson, our greatest editions of plays, which first appeared in , Shakespearean educationalist, was carrying published by Cambridge University Press.

Gibson is fondly Each edition provides a wealth of practical remembered for his passion and enthusiasm ideas facing each page of the text. The when working with students. In the midst of editions quickly became a familiar sight in the political and academic turmoil of the every English stock-cupboard and were decade, he was quietly achieving great timely for the compulsory study of success with his 'Shakespeare in Schools' Shakespeare in KS3. Gibson's book, Teaching project, which began in Shakespeare , became a handbook for many new and experienced teachers alike.

Working from the Cambridge Institute of Education, Gibson's team produced a termly In much the same spirit came the Royal newsletter as a focus and support for the Society of Arts RSA project of the early teaching of Shakespeare, Shakespeare and s. Between , the RSA worked with Schools, containing quotes, articles and Leicestershire Education Authority and a information related to Shakespeare teaching - group of schools on the outskirts of Leicester including articles by teachers on their direct four secondary schools and 13 primary experiences with Shakespeare in Secondary schools.

A number of agencies including the and Primary schools. In addition, Gibson set RSC provided professional support In his introduction to the collection of papers resulting from this research17, Gibson is passionate that active and flexible approaches to the plays allow every student of any age to appreciate Shakespeare: "In total, our research reveals an encouraging picture.

Teachers increasingly report success as they employ a variety of methods, at the heart of which is social collaborative, imaginative, re-creative activities. Such methods deepen and enhance students' informed personal responses. Echoing Rex Gibson's words, they wanted to show that a more practical, fun approach was needed rather than a scholarly one, and that it was the standard approaches to teaching Shakespeare that were too difficult, boring, irrelevant or inaccessible rather than the plays themselves.

The RSA project was hugely successful in allowing teachers and students to develop skills and knowledge and share ideas, but its own evaluation acknowledged the problems with the dissemination and sustainability of all this wonderful work when the time and funding accorded by this special project was taken away. Projects and training like the RSA project, the Shakespeare and Schools project, the work of the RSC, National Theatre and Globe education departments and various TIE projects have enormously enhanced the enthusiasm, confidence and abilities of all involved.

However, time and funding have prevented this influence being greater. However expected to read and understand. This range ideas remained fairly theoretical and generalised; should be wide and draw upon the great literary for example the Department of Education and inheritance of our country. He was very drama of high quality, not limited to the twentieth clear that Shakespeare should be a compulsory century, including Shakespeare…" 23 author for study.

His reasons were grounded in his Not only was it not specific about which belief that Shakespeare is good for us and Shakespeare, how much and where it should come, represents the 'Best of British. His way which meant one really had to know the play predecessor, Keith Joseph, had initiated plans for a backwards. Greater understanding led to greater National Curriculum, which Baker moved forward enjoyment and I still think this is the best way to very quickly.

Baker's intention was to tie up all the teach Shakespeare. This gave less than a year to plan the biggest intellectual cachet, regardless of whether the overhaul in education since However, Baker student has understood or enjoyed it.

But achieved his goal, announcing in familiar interestingly Baker too was inspired by an early Thatcherite tone in April theatrical encounter afforded by his privileged "We can no longer leave individual teachers, upbringing when he saw Donald Wolfit's King Lear schools or local education authorities to devise the on stage.

He wanted British culture and values was famously summed to open "doors of opportunity" for students of all up by Nigel Lawson in an interview with the abilities and used Shakespeare to explain his idea: Guardian in September "One of my favourite quotations comes from Timon "Shakespeare was a Tory, without any doubt. The second chapter evaluates the evolution of nineteenth-century school readers, the primary texts used in schools for teaching reading, and their incorporation of Shakespeare.

Early in the nineteenth century, readers included brief Shakespearean excerpts to be read aloud in class as students studied elocution and learned the skills of proper public speaking. American theater had a dubious and lowbrow reputation in the nineteenth century, and to distance themselves from theatrical association, reader editors only rarely attributed these passages to Shakespeare. The third chapter compares the school Shakespeare editions edited by Henry Norman Hudson and William James Rolfe in the late nineteenth century, and finds despite superficial differences and editorial conflict, both series demonstrate a focus on literary and textual scholarship absent in the readers that had preceded them.

The fourth chapter is an analysis of early contributions from through to English Journal , the first professional periodical to record the collective voice of American teachers. Shakespeare Folio 'astonishing' find. Celebrating Shakespeare - why bother? Shakespeare 'a writer entrepreneur'. The young Shakespeare would have had his school lessons and seen his first plays in this room.

A medieval painting of John the Baptist on the Guildhall wall was discovered during renovations. Pupils were taught in the upper room of the medieval guildhall building. The old schoolroom and guildhall are still part of the school campus. Image source, PA. A heavily initialled 18th Century desk: The room has been used for lessons for centuries.

Prof Ronnie Mulryne says this is where Shakespeare's world view was first formed. Image source, Sarah Beaumont. The restoration found a private altar in the guildhall, covered over in the Restoration.

Shakespeare: England's greatest storyteller. Image source, Reuters. Born in , and the earliest record of his writing dates from Wrote around 38 full plays including Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Hamlet, King Lear and Macbeth Words including "assassination", "addiction", "generous" and "bedroom" had their first recorded uses in his plays Introduced phrases like "elbow room", "heart of gold" and "tower of strength" to the English language Acted as well as wrote, and owned a share in the original Globe theatre Died on 23 April , aged 52 In depth: Shakespeare's life and legacy.

Discover more about Shakespeare. Did Shakespeare write Star Wars? Related Topics. Schools Stratford-upon-Avon William Shakespeare.