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ShakesFear and How to Cure It!
Winner of the 2007 Association of Educational Publishers Award for Best Professional Development Book. "At the heart of the book is the deeply held conviction that Shakespeare belongs to us all and that possessing that treasure can be play and not work. That is when we learn best. This book should be compulsory reading for all students of Shakespeare." DAME JUDI DENCH ShakesFear and How to Cure It is a book for teachers of Shakespeare at every level of experience. For beginning teachers the book provides a comprehensive guide to the pleasures of teaching Shakespeare and a step-by-step handbook for tackling twenty-two of the plays. For experienced teachers who are looking for new ways of getting their students excited about a topic so many of them fear, the book is an easy to access resource to a multitude of ideas and activities for the classroom. Casual readers will find a treasury of ideas about Shakespeare's plays and an infectious love of the subject by a renowned teacher and veteran director of the plays.
- GenresShakespeareNonfiction
440 pages, Perfect Paperback
First published January 1, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 18, 2022
This excellent guide to teaching Shakespeare's plays is actually four books in one. The first of these "books" examines assumptions about Shakespeare that the author argues "obstruct rather than promote the teaching of his plays", lists eight "Don'ts" and nine "Dos" for classroom practice, and addresses two typical student complaints: that Shakespeare is too hard, and that Shakespeare is boring and/or irrelevant. It's provocative, informative, entertaining, and persuasive—with the partial exception of its attempt to mimimize Shakespeare's linguistic difficulty, which is not so convincing.
The second "book" consists of a brief introduction to each play. Cohen's comments are enlightening, both as readings of the plays themselves and as keys that can be used to unlock them for the classroom. As in the first section, the author is refreshingly willing to discuss his personal reactions: I found myself underwhelmed by his love for Antony and Cleopatra, wishing he liked The Merry Wives of Windsor a bit more, inspired by his approach to Love's Labour's Lost, and cheering his championing of Henry V. In the third "book", Cohen shares ploys for teaching each play (or section) of a play, along with scenes for alternative readings—or more accurately, given the book's overall emphasis on Shakespeare in performance, alternative actings. These are interesting, but the former are likely to be decreasingly useful the further your own classroom situation diverges from that of the author (my own is a long way away). This is a pity but inevitable: in a book dealing with all of the plays, it's unrealistic to expect that Cohen could anticipate the needs of a very great diversity of teachers and students. A few of the ploys (those for Pericles, for example) feel like the bottom of a barrel is being scraped.
The final "book" is a guide (again proudly personal) to Shakespeare plays on film. Given that Cohen's view is that a film of a Shakespeare play is more likely than not to be both a poor film and a bad Shakespeare experience, there are few gems to be found here. In fact, only one film gets a full four-star rating, and that one is not even a "proper" adaption of a play: Shakespeare in Love! The guide does not deal with DVD versions of stage performances such as those produced by the RSC or Shakespeare's Globe; again, a shame, but an understandable one. My own feeling is that these may be a much better resource than TV or film versions for teachers without easy access to live theatre.
In short, ShakesFear and How to Cure It may not be everything that you are looking for, but it is a very useful resource for reference, and a good read with it.
The second "book" consists of a brief introduction to each play. Cohen's comments are enlightening, both as readings of the plays themselves and as keys that can be used to unlock them for the classroom. As in the first section, the author is refreshingly willing to discuss his personal reactions: I found myself underwhelmed by his love for Antony and Cleopatra, wishing he liked The Merry Wives of Windsor a bit more, inspired by his approach to Love's Labour's Lost, and cheering his championing of Henry V. In the third "book", Cohen shares ploys for teaching each play (or section) of a play, along with scenes for alternative readings—or more accurately, given the book's overall emphasis on Shakespeare in performance, alternative actings. These are interesting, but the former are likely to be decreasingly useful the further your own classroom situation diverges from that of the author (my own is a long way away). This is a pity but inevitable: in a book dealing with all of the plays, it's unrealistic to expect that Cohen could anticipate the needs of a very great diversity of teachers and students. A few of the ploys (those for Pericles, for example) feel like the bottom of a barrel is being scraped.
The final "book" is a guide (again proudly personal) to Shakespeare plays on film. Given that Cohen's view is that a film of a Shakespeare play is more likely than not to be both a poor film and a bad Shakespeare experience, there are few gems to be found here. In fact, only one film gets a full four-star rating, and that one is not even a "proper" adaption of a play: Shakespeare in Love! The guide does not deal with DVD versions of stage performances such as those produced by the RSC or Shakespeare's Globe; again, a shame, but an understandable one. My own feeling is that these may be a much better resource than TV or film versions for teachers without easy access to live theatre.
In short, ShakesFear and How to Cure It may not be everything that you are looking for, but it is a very useful resource for reference, and a good read with it.
January 25, 2019
If you teach Shakespeare, whether in middle school, high school, or college, this book is heaven-sent. If you don't teach Shakespeare, it probably holds little interest for you. In the first half of the book, Mr. Cohen lists and thoroughly discusses Seven Deadly Preconceptions of Teaching Shakespeare, Eight Don'ts of Teaching Shakespeare, and Nine Do's of Teaching Shakespeare. Whether you agree or disagree with his do's and don'ts, Mr. Cohen's lists and discussion will help you form your own philosophy about why you're teaching Shakespeare's works and how you want to go about it. There's a lot here for seasoned teachers to consider, as well as lifelines to help new ones.
The first half of the book also has chapters on how to best confront two issues that teachers of Shakespeare continually face: "Shakespeare is too hard," and "Shakespeare is boring." He offers some great ideas for teachers to battle these ever-present attitudes.
The second half of the book takes an individual look at 37 plays. In addition to a few pages of discussion, he provides at least two creative lessons that bring a scene or aspect of the play to life and two or more scenes to consider for close reads looking at different perspectives.
All in all, this book is a treasure.
The first half of the book also has chapters on how to best confront two issues that teachers of Shakespeare continually face: "Shakespeare is too hard," and "Shakespeare is boring." He offers some great ideas for teachers to battle these ever-present attitudes.
The second half of the book takes an individual look at 37 plays. In addition to a few pages of discussion, he provides at least two creative lessons that bring a scene or aspect of the play to life and two or more scenes to consider for close reads looking at different perspectives.
All in all, this book is a treasure.
July 5, 2020
It took me a long time to find my own copy of this book that didn't cost a small fortune but I'm glad I persisted. This is one of the best books I've read on teaching Shakespeare (and I've read a LOT). Divided into two sections - the first outlines Cohen's approaches and strategies to teaching Shakespeare and the second gives notes and suggestions for approaching 22 of the plays - this is an invaluable guide to engaging your students with Shakespeare's work. Highly recommended.
October 13, 2011
Cohen's passion for all things Shakespeare is inspiring. And even though there is plenty of great stuff in this book, what is in it cannot compare to what you will learn about all things Shakespeare if you ever get to meet him and hear him speak about it.
July 25, 2012
I highly recommend this book to English teachers at the high school and college level.
This is a "how to teach Shakespeare" book that is a quick read brimming with creativity, enthusiasm, and applicable advice to make Shakespeare accessible to the most reluctant student.
This is a "how to teach Shakespeare" book that is a quick read brimming with creativity, enthusiasm, and applicable advice to make Shakespeare accessible to the most reluctant student.
June 2, 2020
This is really useful book for those new to teaching Shakespeare and also presents good ideas and strategies for those with more experience. I noted several ideas I will test the next time I teach Shakespeare.
July 20, 2010
Some excellent, highly unique ideas on teaching Shakespeare in the active classroom - bringing him to life - particularly for kids who claim to hate him.
March 5, 2016
This is a must read for any teacher of Shakespeare. I wish I had had it when I first started teaching sixteen years ago.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews