“Praising what is lost, makes the remembrance dear”
-William Shakespeare
First year Commerce students in Additional English class had a date on July 10. A date with the Bard.
In an attempt to revive the declining interest for one of most celebrated writers of English literature, Additional English teacher Mifrah Abid organized a poster making contest on William Shakespeare. Freshman Commerce students have Shakespeare’s ‘All the world’s a stage’ from ‘As you like it’ in their Literature class. To sensitize students to the art and life of William Shakespeare, the class was divided in four groups and were asked to present hand made posters on:
-
William Shakespeare’s life
-
Quotations from his famous plays
-
Synopsis of the plots of some of his major plays and
-
Selected sonnets of Shakespeare
The students gathered near the stage in the library lawn to display their colorful work. The Shakespeare enthusiasts also attracted the attention of other students near the library and the class in action looked more like a mini fest.
For many students, the whole experience was a first of its kind in many ways. Many had never known anything about Shakespeare except that he was “some famous writer”. Many had never searched for information online, or made a poster or even faced an audience to make a presentation. The ‘actual’ class for ’studying’ the poem was on the next day, inside the classroom. The students were much better prepared for Shakespeare’s famed metaphors. Having being ‘on stage’ themselves, with each group member having a ‘role’ to play, they could better understand what Will meant when he said,
All the world's a stage,And all the men and women merely players:They have their exits and their entrances;And one man in his time plays many parts...
The students also displayed keen interest in going 'beyond the text book' as they
began to appreciate Shakespeare's philosophy as displayed in his other works,
particularly his sonnet, 'Let me not to the marriage of true minds..'
Needless to say, the participants became immediate Wordsmiths as they rushed
to sign up for the Guild.
