Shakespeare Matters

The best place to start with Shakespeare is his book – or better yet, his book brought to life on the stage, as it was intended. I started with his book. It gave me time to get to grips with the language. Shakespeare’s poetry – like all good poetry – is an acquired taste. It takes time and effort; most importantly, the willingness to lay aside our own conceptions of what language should look and sound like. You have to leave these at the door, if you wish to enter Shakespeare’s universe. You have to accept that people speak differently to the way you are used to hearing them. You have to be willing to accept that things are a bit different here. I don’t believe Shakespeare wrote his plays as a sort of philosophical playdough – material for after generations to make what they will of. They are stories – stories which have definite characters who do definite things for definite reasons – reasons which they believe are right – whether in fact they are or not. That is another matter. But for the immediate purpose of entertainment – the first purpose of the plays at all – it is needful that we put ourselves imaginatively into the shoes, the mind, the customs and beliefs of the characters that inhabit the page.

The Shakespeare Matters MOOC seeks to introduce Shakespeare and his works through exploring some of the key emotions that drive characters in the plays. Five plays are touched upon in the five major parts of the course, which cover the broad categories Shakespeare’s plays are traditionally grouped under: Comedy, Tragedy, History, and Tragi-Comedy. Interspersed throughout are readings of key speeches, interviews with various experts, and an abundance of background and commentarial material. We are even treated to a recital of Hamlet’s most famous speech in Serbian.

Perhaps, however, the greatest strength of the course lies in the personal engagement of the lecturers and academic professionals behind Shakespeare Matters with learners of all levels on the discussion forums. No prior knowledge is assumed –and I believe no genuine contribution or attempt to come to grips with the topic on the learner’s part was left without acknowledgement and sincere regard. Without this, the exploration of Shakespeare and his works might have been a cold and lonely experience indeed. Thanks then to those whose diligence and weariless involvement ensured it wasn’t.

An excellent and enjoyable course on Shakespeare. An informative introduction for beginners, and many new insights for those familiar with Shakespeare and looking to deepen their appreciation.

The course has an astute selection of five plays with complementary themes, and is supported with illuminating comments by expert scholars. The course provides clear guidance on close reading of key passages in the plays. I learnt many new things about the chosen plays.

For a generalist like me, the course demonstrates the many benefits that can accrue from exposure to expert knowledge of the historical context of Shakespeare's plays, the deft use of language and dramatic craft in the plays, and the many ways in which Shakespeare's texts can be appreciated, interpreted, and staged. Thoroughly recommended.

I really enjoyed this course. It cleverly catered to first time learners and those who were already acquainted with Shakespeare. The video/transcript system worked well for catering to different learning styles.

I enjoyed having the opportunity to engage with Shakespeare's works in many formats, such as textual analysis, looking at underlying themes, and performing the work.

Part of the charm of this course was how personal it was. Students are encouraged to find their own Shakespeare. Additionally, the videos are made in a way that you feel like you are having a conversation with friends rather than watching an online lecture.

Overall I enjoyed the course and would reccomend it to anyone with an interest in Shakespeare.

This extremely well-structured and thought-provoking course makes excellent use of selected speeches from Shakespeare’s plays and asks quite searching questions as well as offering lots of fascinating information. I found it genuinely instructive, and the participation in real-time of the course educators was a very big and valuable added bonus. I thoroughly applaud all of them, and I’d certainly recommend the course very highly to anyone interested in literature generally and the works of the Bard in particular. All in all, it was an excellent learning experience, my only complaint being that I ran out of time because the discussion forums were so interesting, entertaining and absorbing. A full re-run would be marvellous. I’d certainly be minded to join in again.