Bringing Forth the Bard: A Guide to Teaching Shakespeare in the English Classroom

Foreword by Professor Emma Smith.

The more you explore the plays of Shakespeare, the more you realise how they are an interrelated network of ideas and themes linked to his context, his audience and his understanding of the world. This book aims to equip busy teachers with the core knowledge of Shakespeare's body of work, enabling them to make links between themes, characters, language and allusions.

Each section includes tips on how to bring this to life in the classroom, and features case studies from practising teachers in a range of contexts to illustrate how they can ensure that their students develop an appreciation of his work moving beyond the requirements of exams and empowering them to engage in the discussion around his influence and enduring appeal.

The link between subject knowledge and pedagogical approaches runs throughout the book, focusing on the Shakespeare plays most popularly taught in the classroom and how we can enrich students' understanding of these by looking both at the links across the domain and the bigger picture his work presents.