One reason so many teens find the great books hard to connect with is that they lack the prior knowledge that so many of these works require for the fullest understanding. Even a reading of a modern work like The Great Gatsby is made richer by recognizing, for instance, that Fitzgerald’s seemingly random list naming Gatsby’s guests (in chapter four) is an echo of Homer’s catalogue of ships and men in the Iliad. Great works of literature are great because they stand alone–but they are richer when we are able to understand the allusions and references.
We love introducing Shakespeare to our young kids, which is one reason we wanted to create a copybook collection of some of the best-known lines from Shakespeare’s comedies. These lines stand alone, but also give our kids a taste of each play’s characters and language. But to really enjoy Shakespeare, it helps for young kids to know the stories of the plays before they read them.
These Marcia Williams books have been another wonderful resource. Williams combines actual quotes from the plays into comic-book style tellings of the plays so that kids can understand the characters and plot while still getting a taste of the Bard’s actual words. There’s no reason kids need to grow up thinking Shakespeare is dull or hard to understand!
A Midsummer Night’s Dream has been especially fun for us. Our kids have staged it with our homeschool co-op, using a script adapted from the play’s lines. We try to keep it simple and doable (and kids generally read their lines).
Another way to prepare kids for loving Shakespeare is to bring them up with a strong understanding of Greek mythology, classical history, and English history. This is the secret decoder ring for getting Shakespeare’s plays! Some resources we have used for that:
When you do read Shakespeare’s plays, dramatized audiobooks are an excellent choice, and I also like putting a Folger Shakespeare Library paperback in each of my kids’ hands. It’s fun to follow along and listen!
Note: Blue Sky Daisies publishes The CopyWork Book: Comedies of Shakepeare, but these books from other publishers are some of our favorites!