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March 29, 2024, 07:02:10 pm

Author Topic: VCE English and Literature Shakespeare Workshops - Hamlet and Richard III  (Read 4244 times)  Share 

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EvangelionZeta

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What is this?

Within the Western canon, there is but one author who is truly recognised as being unparalleled: whether it is for his wit, his extraordinary productivity or even his magnificent mastery of the English language, William Shakespeare is indubitably the one writer all most admire, the one poet whose reputation cannot be touched. 

In saying this, however, there is also an obvious difficulty in teaching Shakespeare in schools.  Shakespeare is subtle; Shakespeare is mysterious.  Even the beauty of Shakespeare's language is something which can prove a hurdle for all but the most dedicated students.

For this reason, from these Winter holidays, I will be administering a series of workshops for the purposes of exploring and analysing two Shakespearean works currently taught in the VCE curriculum, Hamlet and Richard III.  These workshops will be conducted akin to a reading group of sorts: over the course of the day, we will encounter an entire play, briefly summarising each act before discussing (under the guidance of me) the meaning of Shakespeare's language, the deeper ideas being explored, and finally, the relevance of these ideas to the VCE exam responses.

As an experimental feature, key soliloquys and speeches by Hamlet and Richard III in both texts will be read out and staged.  Obviously, time is of the essence, so entire texts will NOT be acted out (Hamlet and Richard III are both four hours long!).  However, Hamlet and Richard III both occupy roughly one third of their respective play's lines in their speaking: in seeing their key moments, the student is better equipped to understand the whole play.  Furthermore, real performances bring Shakespeare's language alive, and thus it is in the student's interest to see it acted live, and not simply in a film.

To further benefit students, I will also be giving out within the workshops sample notes and A+ scoring essays, mostly from students who scored 45-50 in 2009/2010.  This will help students retain their knowledge from the day, and will furthermore assist them, going into the final exam.

Sounds Cool: What else is there to it?

Nothing really.  Students will get the most out of this school if they are prepared to read the texts beforehand.  Session times are as follows:

Hamlet:
Dates: July 7th and 8th
Time: 10am-2:30pm

Richard III:
Dates: July 9th and July 10th
Time: 10am-2:30pm

These times are tentative, and are subject to change.  Both days must be attended.  Times in both cases include a break.  Each workshop will only go ahead if there is sufficient interest (so advertise!). 

Pricing will be at a rate of $100 across the two days - a bargain rate, amounting to about $12.50 per hour.  It is perhaps best to think of these sessions as specialised, group tuition sessions with EZ - I have conducted similar sorts of workshops with my tuition students one-on-one, and they have generally been rather successful.
« Last Edit: February 01, 2017, 09:19:45 pm by EvangelionZeta »
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Finished VCE in 2010 and now teaching professionally. For any inquiries, email me at [email protected].

charmanderp

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I respect your obviously quality teaching standards, but prices are a bit lofty for group lessons. Would definitely consider it if I were doing Lit 3/4 next year and the prices were a little bit lower...
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Interficere

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I'm considering the merits of attending this year - I'm only doing the 1/2 this year, and while we are studying Hamlet, it's just a film comparison. Would you be organising similar sessions during the 2011/2012 summer holidays?
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EvangelionZeta

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Re: 2011/2012 Summer Holidays, possibly.  Re: pricing, what's affordable for you people?  This is in-community, so it's negotiable at this stage (it's an experimental business venture...).

EDIT: After some consideration (and some words from others...), demongleekgazza, you're probably right.  Prices are officially halved - $100 for two days (or eight hours).  Sound better?
« Last Edit: June 22, 2011, 03:40:51 pm by EvangelionZeta »
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Finished VCE in 2010 and now teaching professionally. For any inquiries, email me at [email protected].

lexitu

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I've had the pleasure of reading one of EZ's university papers on Hamlet and I can confidently say that he is an authority on anything Shakespeare and would provide a very insightful workshop.

taiga

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I've had the pleasure of seeing this guy actually tutor other students, I've seen him in a debating context, and know him as a friend. Within minutes of meeting this guy you can straight away tell how friendly, knowledgable, and confident he is. Definitely endorsed, but more importantly I think this text/author focus idea is particularly innovative and is definitely something which may benefit you more than a generic across the board session would.

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appianway

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There's not much for me to say which can't be summed up by the fact that Vincent was walking across campus today reading a script. I also read the paper that lexitu referred to, and it was pretty epic ^_^ Vincent's really enthusiastic, and Shakespeare's one of his true passions. He also loves teaching, and like taiga, I've seen him tutor and he's very very very good :)

Oh, and I thought I should also add that when I recommended my Canberra students to a new tutor (since I'm leaving ANU to attend Yale), I gave forward Vincent's name.
« Last Edit: June 22, 2011, 09:36:27 pm by appianway »