Save Hamlet! My lower level literature seniors want to study the classic play of revenge, but our only copies are in a 30lb. anthology with 9pt. font. It is a barrier that immediately discourages my students from reading. The No-Fear Shakespeare version of the play will allow more access. Without the books, the school will cut Hamlet.
My students are seniors in a high-poverty school in an urban-rural school district.
My classes focus on readers with rudimentary reading skills. Funding for new textbooks for seniors has been limited to strictly replacements. Students are continually discouraged because of the state of their twenty-year-old textbooks, especially when their freshmen and sophomore peers have received an all new curriculum and books. It would greatly encourage these students if they had access to new, more suitable materials for them to study.
My Project
The No-Fear Shakespeare version of 'Hamlet' offers a side-by-side translation of the play. On one side, the original Shakespearean English is intact; on the facing page is a modern translation. In my class, we use the modern translation to understand the plot and character relationships while also studying the poetic nature of the original verse. My classes have been using photocopies of the important selections, but it is difficult to read the play in full with our antiquated anthologies. In fact, we cannot issue them to students to take home because we do not have enough copies for all 180 students. If my students had a single copy of 'Hamlet' to take home, their comprehension and appreciation for the play would increase tenfold.
"What a piece of work is a man!" 'Hamlet' has become one of the touchstones of our culture.
It has been referenced, adapted, and parodied enough to warrant its study. Please consider giving my students the chance to experience this play in a way that is more accessible to them.
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