Keywords

Shakespeare, rhetoric, teaching, secondary schools, English

Abstract

The great bard, William Shakespeare, who penned over 35 plays and more than 150 sonnets, has as one critic notes, over the centuries become "an institutionalized rite of civility. The person who does not love Shakespeare has made, the rite implies, an incomplete adjustment... to culture as a whole" (Greenblatt 1). His genius is indisputable and for this reason, he is still taught in English classrooms at all academic levels. However, generally when the works of Shakespeare are taught in a school setting, they are taught with an emphasis on his poetic and thematic qualities. While these are both undoubtedly magnificent avenues to explore in Shakespeare's works, if these are the only things that students and teachers feel the need to learn from the great playwright, then they are missing out on another, equally compelling opportunity for interaction with the mastermind: a rhetorical approach.

Description

Intensive reading, discussion, and (in some sections) viewing of plays from the comedy, tragedy, romance, and history genres.