Culture hour

[Meli]

My boy, year 9 (14yo) has to reas
"the taming of the shrew" for english.

[Phillip Allen]

reas?

[Meli]

Why have they chosen this particular play.?
One of the funniest but most outragiously sexist of Bills works.

My favourite production with John Cleese as Petruchio.. at his best
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdfxR1jWLJ0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2NnhBNq6h8

[Phillip Allen]

tell me what reas means

oh, wait... read? (got it)

[Phillip Allen]

it is sexist... but it also is easy to understand... maybe it is thought to be easier than some others?

[Phillip Allen]

everyone has power... everyone... just not necessarily positive power. Kate discovers that her brand of negative power can be flung back at her. Her discovery of positive power grants her more positive power than all the negative power she ever had

How’s that for simple?

[Meli]

Personally, after some reflection, I reckon it's to stir the little horrors into some enthusiasm.
Kate's abound in year 9

And as for petruchio's

Teaching Shakespeare to year 9's must be the pits. There's more smutty inuendo in the Shrew

Reas. My keyboard's or the forum softwear plays up in a new thread post for some reason. I can't edit or use the return key sometimes. It's fine on a reply post.

[Phillip Allen]

well, brag on me. I got Shakespeare down to one sentence (make that two)

[Meli]

everyone has power... everyone... just not necessarily positive power. Kate discovers that her brand of negative power can be flung back at her. Her discovery of positive power grants her more positive power than all the negative power she ever had

How’s that for simple?

Ah! Kate's Final speach.
Anyone who thinks she capitulated is NUTS.
Why was she the only wife do do her husbands bidding?
To give her a swift opportunity to be sarcastic in front of "the blokes" of course

[Stiletto]

I was a similar age when we studied it for our literature class.

What made it easier for us was that the Zeferelli movie starring Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor was playing in town and the whole class went during a school day.

It may be of some help to your son if you get the video for him to watch. (After he has read the play.)

If I remember correctly the credits included William Shakespeare, "Without whom we would have been at a loss for words."

[Meli]

I've got the 1980 BBC John Cleese version on video, all I have to do now is get the player to work

[Ian McColgin]

The Renaissance was really the flowering of adolescence, that time when people are consumed by astonishingly polymorphous ability and promise. It's exactly the perfect age to read and most fully enjoy Shakespeare.

[Meli]

probably true.
But you need to select the right plays?

Our kids do "romio and juliette" In year 8 (13-14 YO)
Always have done since before I was a sea of raging hormones
Puts the boys right off

How stupid is this? It may be simple, but it's soppy

Better if they did something with smut wit and mischief like "the Dream" or something with blood and guts like MacBeth