Two hundred and forty-four years ago, Abigail Adams wrote to her husband, John Adams after the Battle of Bunker Hill. Evidently, to praise the militiamen, she borrowed these eloquent words from Shakespeare: “Extremity is the trier of spirits. Common chances, common men will bear.”
The actual words stated by Coriolanus at the beginning of the play bearing his name are:
Nay, mother,
Where is your ancient courage? you were used
To say extremity was the trier of spirits;
That common chances common men could bear.
That when the sea was calm all boats alike
Show’d mastership in floating; fortune’s blows,
When most struck home, being gentle wounded, craves
A noble cunning: you were used to load me
With precepts that would make invincible
The heart that conn’d them.
TRIER OF SPIRITS
How fitting that when seeking the right words to convey our fight for independence, our Founding Fathers and Founding Mothers turned to the Bard. Indeed, Shakespeare immortalized many battles and conflicts, articulating emotions and shared experiences for everyone. In fact, Thomas Jefferson suggested reading Shakespeare for “one who wishes to learn the full powers of the English language.”
Four hundred plus years later, Shakespeare’s words still hold power.
On this, the day we celebrate the founding of our country, we honor the people who went through ‘trier of spirits’ to make us what we are. As well as the people who will go through extremes to make our country what we become.
Happy Independence Day. Go forth and be invincible.
FALSE ATTRIBUTES
On the other hand, don’t be fooled by similar patriotic musings. Occasionally, the quote below is attributed to Shakespeare. For one thing, it doesn’t appear anywhere in Julius Caesar. For another, “patriotism” wasn’t a term used in Renaissance England.
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SHAKESPEARE FOR ALL
Working with Shakespeare in education frightens many. Because Shakespeare experts, including professionals, surround us. Escaping them is difficult. This can be intimidating. Thus, feelings of dread usually accompany the act of presenting, but moreover be introduced to, The Bard.
For this reason, ImprovEd Shakespeare is here to help. Founder and Director, Andee Kinzy, offers the layman’s approach to Shakespeare.
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SHAKESPEARE FOR TEACHERS AND DIRECTORS
If you’re an English teacher, a theatre director, or a well-trained Shakespeare advocate, here you will find inspiration, as well as techniques, for making our favorite bard fun for Kids. Accordingly, we present old, new and improved ideas for introducing Shakespeare to youth for the non-Shakespeare-academic. Among them, we include theatre games, improvisation, tips, tricks, plus activities for using Shakespeare in education.
SHAKESPEARE FOR KIDS
Since 2011, ImprovEd Shakespeare has been exploring The Bard with youth through theatrical performance. Our signature scripts are a mix of modern narration plus original Shakespeare verse. With a focus on the story, including an abbreviated script length, our productions entertain all ages. Moreover, our catalog goes beyond the oft-used Midsummer Night’s Dream, or Romeo and Juliet. And still, young people find much to their delight among many of Shakespeare’s works. Consider subscribing to our YouTube channel for family-friendly Shakespeare videos.
PERFORMANCES
Each fall and spring, ImprovEd Shakespeare develops a new production for live performance. In honor of the traditional Renaissance traveling troupe, during a period of a few weeks, we present Kid-friendly plays at various venues around town. Our Players, between 3rd-11th grade, gear themselves with playful, as well as engaging interpretations of works by the Bard of Avon. Suitable for all ages, each performance runs for about an hour.
Furthermore, these shows are always FREE. However, we gladly accept Donations! Additionally, visit ImprovEd Shakespeare, Shakespeare for Kids by Kids on Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter. And don’t forget to click on our BLOG for the stories behind these videos.
