It has been about one and a half year since Elisha started memorizing passages from Shakespeare's plays. As of now, she memorizes 12 passages. A few months ago, Elisha had a chance to see Twelfth Night at a theater and she was quietly reciting lines along with the actors!
I majored in English during college, but my knowledge and appreciation of Shakespeare is non-existent. (I don't know how I got my degree!) So, when I decided to introduce Elisha to Shakespeare's works, I was clueless where and how to start. Analyzing and discussing literature was not an option, because, if not done in proper time and manner, that method is going to destroy joy of studying literature.
We started by getting her easy-to-read, fun books of Shakespeare's plays. Tales from Shakespeare and More Tales from Shakespeare were the first ones we introduced to Elisha. Also, we added a few audio books of Shakespeare's plays on a tablet which she listened to.
Once I noticed Elisha was enjoying the books, after much reading and research, I purchased How To Teach Your Children Shakespeare by Ken Ludwig. I read first few chapters and decided to have Elisha memorize the passages presented in the book. Ken has a website where you can find recordings of all the passages read by professional actors and actresses. I let Elisha listen to them while eating or during free play times, and it takes her a few dozen times of listening to a passage to memorize it. Every weekend, along with bible verses, CJ tests her on all the Shakespeare passages she has been memorizing.
Ken's book offers details on each passage, but for now, I am not going over them with Elisha. She loves to memorize the passages with dramatization and, with that, I think we succeeded in planting 'love of Shakespeare' in her heart.
Someone once said 'What would be a better way to learn English than to study Shakespeare?', and despite the paucity of my knowledge of the great works, I do agree.
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