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The Shakespeare Conference: SHK 17.0539  Wednesday, 7 June 2006

From: 		Al Magary <al@magary.com>
Date: 		Tuesday, 06 Jun 2006 20:58:29 -0700
Subject: 	"Eat dagger, old man!" Macbeth tells Duncan

Anger over 'dumbing down' of Shakespeare in schools

Daily Mail, June 6, 2006

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=389410&in_page_id=1770

[There is apparently a sidebar, "Read the translations," at 
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=389412&in_page_id=1770 
but this produced an error message. Can anyone in UK locate these 
"translations"?]

Thousands of teenagers across the country are studying 'dumbed down' 
Shakespeare plays at school, it was revealed yesterday.

They are using texts and GCSE revision guides which reduce the great 
works of literature to a series of simplistic cartoons and jokes.

Critics yesterday condemned the 'puerile' attempts to make Shakespeare 
more accessible and claimed it made a mockery of attempts to drive up 
standards in the country's schools.

They believe that the move to simplify everything to the lowest possible 
denominator explains growing numbers of howlers in students' exam papers.

Examiners recently complained that teenagers are approaching 
Shakespeare's plays as if they are TV soap operas, peppering their 
essays with conversational clichés and references to popular culture.

Coordination Group Publications, which describes itself as one of the 
country's most popular educational publishers, produces a series of 
complete plays of Shakespeare and revision guides.

Last year, more than 126,000 copies were sold direct to schools and on 
the high street.

But critics have rounded on the content of the books which are primarily 
aimed at pupils studying for GCSEs and also Key Stage Three national 
curriculum tests aged 14.

The first page of the complete play of Romeo and Juliet states that 
'reading Shakespeare can be a real headache'.

It goes on to say that there is 'the odd bit of ever-so-nearly 
entertaining humour in the notes and pictures to help you breeze through 
the toughest of scenes'.

A cartoon strip summarises the story of the star-crossed lovers for 
students who may struggle with the whole play.

Shakespeare poetically describes the build up to the kiss between Romeo 
and Juliet in Act One, Scene Five. Romeo then kisses Juliet and 
declares: 'Thus from my lips, by thine, my sin is purg'd.'

The climatic scene is reduced to the following in the CGP book:

Juliet: What are you thinking about?

Romeo: Oh, just moons and spoon in June.

Juliet: Wow. Give us a snog then.

Similarly, in Act Three, Scene Five, when Juliet wakes up with Romeo, 
she famously says: 'Wilt thou be gone? It is not yet near day. It was 
the nightingale, and not the lark That pierc'd the fearful hollow of 
thine ear. Nightly she sings on yond pomegranate tree. Believe me, love, 
it was the nightingale.'

This is translated into: 'Well that was nice. You'd best be off now.'

The play is then produced in full with 'plain English' notes alongside.

In Act Two, Scene Four, when Juliet's nurse comments on the departure of 
Mercutio and Benvolio, she actually says: 'I pray you, sir, what saucy 
merchant was this, that was so full of his ropery?'

The translation becomes: 'Bye. Romeo, who was that smart alec with the 
dodgy jokes?'

The play Macbeth receives a similar fate and is promoted with a series 
of 'tragic comics'.

In the text guide accompanying the play, Macbeth struggles with his 
conscience as he plots the murder of King Duncan with his wife in Act 
One, Scene Seven.

Macbeth declares: 'I'm not going to do it' and only changes his mind 
after Lady Macbeth calls him a 'cowardly custard'.

When he sees the dagger in Act Two, Scene One, he says: 'Ooh! Would you 
look at that.' He goes on to stab the King, shouting: 'Eat dagger old man!'

Shakespeare actually wrote: 'Is this a dagger, which I see before me, 
The handle toward my hand?' After slaying Duncan, he asks Lady Macbeth: 
'I have done the deed. Didst thou not hear a noise?'

Professor Alan Smithers, director of the Centre for Education and 
Employment Research at Buckingham University, yesterday attacked the 
texts as 'depressing'.

He said: 'If examiners detect the signs of teachers or their students 
having used these texts, I hope they will mark them down. 'The point of 
studying Shakespeare is to engage with his thought and poetry and to 
enhance the students' lives.

'This seems to be circumventing that engagement. It's frightening really 
that it's thought necessary to use this sort of thing at GCSE level.'

Nick Seaton, of the Campaign of the Real Education, added: 'I think most 
parents and sensible teachers will be horrified.

'This is absolutely an attempt to reduce Shakespeare to the dumbest 
level and can only damage pupils' future prospects. It's a puerile 
attempt to dumb down.'

Simon Cook, spokesman for CGP, yesterday denied 'dumbing down', claiming 
they were simply trying to capture children's interest.

He said: 'We believe that when people are encouraging students to look 
at Shakespeare at school it's very important to make it accessible. We 
are stopping people being afraid of it.'

The company, which was founded in 1996 as a schools-only revision 
publisher, has an annual turnover of over £15million. It initially only 
sold to schools but has since expanded to the high street as well.

It also produces revision guides for Key Stage One, Two and Three, 
across a range of GCSE subjects and some A-levels.

_______________________________________________________________
S H A K S P E R: The Global Shakespeare Discussion List
Hardy M. Cook, editor@shaksper.net
The S H A K S P E R Web Site <http://www.shaksper.net>

DISCLAIMER: Although SHAKSPER is a moderated discussion list, the 
opinions expressed on it are the sole property of the poster, and the 
editor assumes no responsibility for them.

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