Earlier this year, we explored the importance of remembering the essentials: taking stock of fundamental techniques in blocking and voice projection, revisiting the skills developed through theatre games. And just as significant is reflecting on our approach to Shakespeare’s words themselves – how can we continue to bring vitality and energy to material that, by this point in the school year, may feel very familiar to students?
One way is to reconsider the material not as lines to memorize but as spoken music with a rhythm all its own. In this resource, we outline strategies for close readings: interpretation of imagery, attention to punctuation and alliteration, and analysing which phrases require more emphasis or a specific emotional tone. This resource takes Shakespeare’s legendary “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?” sonnet as a key text to examine, but you can apply this method to any monologue or scene!
The most important point to share is that every word – like every student! – has its value in bringing Shakespeare’s rich and complex world to life.