UNDERSTANDING SHAKESPEARE’S HISTORY PLAYS
Here, at ImprovEd Shakespeare, we firmly believe you should get to know the story before jumping into a Shakespeare play. Therefore, in honor of our spring production, Witchcraft In Their Lips: The Women of Shakespeare’s History Plays, we want to share some resources with you.
YouTube
If you like YouTube, we have a playlist on our channel. While you are there, subscribe, and check out our original videos. In the meantime, for more information click Studies: Shakespeare History Plays.
Short Written Summaries
- PBS did a series called “The Hollow Crown” with Richard II, Henry IV, Parts 1 & 2; and Henry V. Additionally, they have a link to a .pdf Hollow Crown Educator’s Guide on their site. It also includes a synopsis of the different stories.
- No Sweat Shakespeare gives a brief overview of the History Plays.
- Minimized Shakespeare provides brief overviews of the different History Plays. You can also follow the links for slightly more and more in-depth summaries.
- Shmoop – Starting with Richard II, then search the site for Henry IV, Parts 1 & 2; Henry V; Henry VI, Parts 1, 2, & 3; Richard III, and lastly, Henry VIII. King John is the first play. However, it’s one of the lesser-known dramas.
Okay, some families will find this site agreeable, while others less so. In this case, Shmoop is very tongue-in-cheek. There are lots of subjective observations inserted into the summary. Additionally, a few “older” annotations also exist, for example, “PITA” and “WTF?” However, it’s entertaining for a quick overview of the story. And, yes, Shakespeare academics barf at this one.
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Interesting Articles
- Shakespeare, Did He Get His History Right? from the journal The Telegraph.
- Shakespeare’s Best History Plays from the publication The Guardian.
- Who’s Who in Shakespeare’s History Plays?
Alternative Versions
- Henry V: The Graphic Novel (American English, Original Text Edition) by John McDonald.
Entire Play
- MIT has all of Shakespeare’s works available for free online
- Or, visit your local library! As to the editions or publishers? It’s up to you, but:
- Henry IV, Part 1 – No Fear Shakespeare – Follow links on the site for Henry IV, Part 2; Henry V, also, Richard III. No Fear Shakespeare website devotes itself to making the Bard of Avon less fearsome. It has a useful modern translation alongside the original text. Although many Shakespeare academics barf at the modern paraphrasing, at the same time, however, that inflexibility makes some of us grin. However, we like No Fear for younger readers. Some people hate it because they feel the paraphrasing is inadequate. But, we think it’s highly readable if you quickly want the gist of the story.
- Arden Shakespeare – Many actors like the footnotes found in the Arden editions.
- Folger Library Shakespeare – Quite a few readers enjoy the annotation plus layout of the Folger editions. Additionally, many high schools use this edition.
- Simply Shakespeare – Similar to No Fear, this is a modern translation including the side-by-side with the original verse. However, there is one point to keep in mind, you can only find used copies.
Conclusion
Finally, a short note about modern translations. Although serious Shakespeare academics and scholars feel that starting kids off with these versions is abhorrent, we disagree. At ImprovEd Shakespeare, we appreciate those fresh interpretations. In fact, we view them as a jumping off point. For example, sometimes you come across a phrase that just doesn’t make sense. Without being immersed in Shakespeare’s language, it can be hard to understand. A current rendering helps a-plenty. In other words, it helps you to appreciate the beauty of Shakespeare’s words.
In any case, there’s no one right way to approach Shakespeare. Indeed, the trick is to find what works for you.
We hope these resources are helpful to get you started on your journey with this play!
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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. We’ve discovered that 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.
