July 31, 2009 | Posted At: 09:51 AM | Author: Alexander Russo | Category: Teachers & Teaching
TEACHING: Shakespeare In Text-Speak
Rapping Shakespeare is so 1990s. Now some teachers are trying to bring Shakespeare to the world of kids' Sidekicks. Can you tell what famous scene this is?
Bt w8, wuz dat lyt n d wndw ovr der?
Itz d east, n Juliet S d sun.
Rise ^, btifl sun, n kil d jLs m%n .
d m%n
S alrdy sick n pale W grief coz u,
Juliet, her maid, r mor btifl thN she.
Romeo and Juliet
Act 2, Scene II from the balcony scene But soft! What light through yonder window breaks?
It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.
Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon,
Who is already sick and pale with grief,
That thou, her maid, art far more fair than she.(Amarillo.com | Local News: Texting Shakespeare 07/30/09.)
Funny, but also a bit unsettling....
Posted by: Claus | July 31, 2009 at 13:48 PM
SideKicks are for short communication, not for plays. There's no need to force poetry into a medium that isn't designed for it. Better idea: consider how the characters might have used SideKicks if they had had them. Write the messages sent between Romeo and Mercutio (or Benvolio) during the party. Write the texts between Romeo and Tybalt after the party. Or between Romeo and Juliet the next day while they are apart. Or just all the messages sent by one character during a specific scene.
Posted by: Carla | August 01, 2009 at 15:53 PM
Ghastly! At Shakespeare 4 Kidz we make the original text completely comprehensible by combining the best known pieces of dialogue with modern language. Find out what we do and how everyone can enjoy our plays, workshops and DVDs on www.shakespeare4kidz.com
Macbeth is coming this autumn, on a major tour of UK theatre. Our adaptations are for the Ipod generation without being disrespectful to the brilliant man who wrote the originals.
Posted by: Di Eccleston | August 07, 2009 at 05:22 AM