How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare
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- USD 11.99
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- USD 11.99
Descripción editorial
A foolproof, enormously fun method of teaching your children the classic works of William Shakespeare, by a Tony Award–winning playwright—now featuring two new chapters
“You and your children will be transformed by the magic and mystery of Shakespeare and his stories in an instant.”—Sir Derek Jacobi, CBE
Winner of the Falstaff Award for Best Shakespeare Book
To know some Shakespeare provides a head start in life. His plays are among the great bedrocks of Western civilization and contain the finest writing of the past 450 years. Many of the best novels, plays, poems, and films in the English language produced since Shakespeare’s death in 1616—from Pride and Prejudice to The Godfather—are heavily influenced by Shakespeare’s stories, characters, language, and themes. In How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare, acclaimed playwright Ken Ludwig provides the tools you need to inspire an understanding, and a love, of Shakespeare’s works in your children, and to have fun together along the way.
Ken Ludwig devised his friendly, easy-to-master methods while teaching his own children. Beginning with memorizing short passages from the plays, his technique then instills children with cultural references they will utilize for years to come. Ludwig’s approach includes understanding of the time period and implications of Shakespeare’s diction as well as the invaluable lessons behind his words and stories. Colorfully incorporating the history of Shakespearean theater and society, How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare guides readers on an informed and adventurous journey through the world in which the Bard wrote.
This book’s simple process allows anyone to impart to children the wisdom of plays like A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Twelfth Night, Macbeth, and Romeo and Juliet. And there’s fun to be had throughout. Shakespeare novices and experts and readers of all ages will each find something delightfully irresistible in How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This specialized guide for parents hoping to instill a bit of literary genius into their youngsters is both a how-to book and a simple but serious analysis of many of Shakespeare's major works. Olivier Award winning playwright Ludwig's (Lend Me A Tenor) compelling argument is that although it's out of fashion, memorization and particularly memorization of great literary works is a gift you can give your children that will influence their academic and personal life. The book begins with an immediate lesson memorizing a nine-word line from A Midsummer Night's Dream written in a direct, personal tone to show how easy and enjoyable the process can be; once this is demonstrated, Ludwig explains his methodology and purpose in the second chapter. Within 20 pages, the book turns to analysis of the chosen works as well as general lessons about Shakespeare's life and important dates of the Renaissance, and discussions of the difference between poetry and prose. Ludwig breaks more famous speeches down, sentence by sentence, and highlights juicy bits and plot twists to hook children's interest. The book, in coordination with a Web site of printable resources, will best suit parents with a real interest in and knowledge of Shakespeare, but will inspire any who wish to give their children the "benefit of his considerable knowledge and artistry." Photos.
