As we post on the threshold of a New Year, it’s time to think about all the possibilities that 2018 will bring – chief among these, of course, being an even stronger engagement with the Bard! It seems appropriate, then, to consider some of his most famous words from Hamlet: “To thine own self be true.” (Listen here.)
Part declaration, part promise, this phrase captures the importance of each individual maintaining the essential elements that define them. One’s dreams, hopes, values – all of which are so easy to lose sight of, but so integral in making up a person’s identity.
As Polonius gives his fatherly blessing to his son, Laertes, he offers much sage advice relating to friendships and social graces; how to be oneself with others, that is. But Polonius ultimately closes his monologue with an exaltation of the importance of holding to one’s spirit – and as we ring in the New Year, Shakespeare For Our Children can think of no better resolution to make.