A star danced, and under that I was born…

Happy 451st Birthday, Shakespeare! on PhotoPeach

Happy Birthday, William!

The 451st Birthday of the Bard was celebrated in grand style around the Globe (pun intended) on April 23, 2015, and of course, we had to get in on the festivities.  From Stratford-upon-Avon to New Jersey and Florida, Shakespeareophiles acted, danced, read, dueled, and ate cake, all in homage to London’s finest playwright.  You can follow the worldwide merriment at Shakespeave Lives Here, part of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.

In our little hamlet on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico,  we trumpeted our procession and waved our flags from the “cradle to the grave”.  After processing to our courtyard, the Bard ceremoniously passed the quill to our head student.  We unfurled our flags and released our black and yellow balloons before heading to the final resting place of our honoree, where we laid flowers on his grave, making sure not to move his bones, and recited some of his famous floral verse.  Eventually we made our way into our classroom for cake and ice cream, followed by the reading of birthday poems on lovely, homemade birthday cards.  No party would be complete without games, so we finished our revelry with a Shakespeare Academic Bowl.  Eight teams, including one parent team, answered questions during four rounds of play to determine the team with the most knowledge of Mr. “Shakspere”.  Needless to say, a student team won goody bags of British treats, but a good time was had by all.

What was your best birthday celebration?

(P.S.  Do you know what Shakespeare play is alluded to in the title of this post?)

 

A Tributing to Shakespeare or Attributing Shakespeare?

Live The Bard!
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: Su℮ ❥ via Compfight

Would you be surprised to learn that a man stole a 1623 edition of The First Folio and was able to hide his theft for ten years?  Well, Raymond Scott did just that.

Sometimes people try to steal the work of others for their own benefit.  On the other hand, sometimes people use the work of others without meaning to steal it.  They think that because they found it on the internet, it is free for anyone to use.  That is not always the case.

This week’s Student Blogging Challenge invites us to ethically use images, videos, and music in our posts.  That means we need to add this pizzazz to our posts without stealing the work of others.  First we need to make sure the creator wants to share his work, and then we need to attribute our source.  Check out this excellent article from the Edublogger before adding any pizzazz to your post.  You don’t want to be found guilty after the fact and be forced to protest too much.
And speaking of attribution, here’s an interesting video about some people who wonder if the works we attribute to Shakespeare should be attributed to someone else entirely.

Did Shakespeare really write his plays?

Is his authorship to be or not to be?  That is the question.

 

 

 

A Shakespeare Challenge

Have you ever heard of Shakespeare Week?

What?  You haven’t?  Really?

Well, don’t worry; until this year, we hadn’t either.  Nobody had.  That’s because it’s a new celebration begun just this year by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.  It was celebrated for the first time ever this past week, March 17-21, 2014, by 3,000 schools all over the U.K., and one school that we know of in the United States.   We are the one school!  We joined the festivities related to the Bard this past week, and we’re not done yet.  We’re going to keep going until we celebrate his 450th birthday, which is on April 23rd.

 

Shakespeare's Birthplace

Shakespeare’s Birthplace, Stratford-on-Avon, England

 Photo Credit: floato via Compfight

In order to commemorate the life of the man who most influenced English literature, we have read Hamlet, watched video clips of the “To be or not to be” soliloquy (including a farce on Gilligan), created new words, hurled Shakespearean insults, studied the Bard’s biography, completed word games, memorized lines, and virtually visited Stratford-on-Avon.   On our last day of school before our Easter break, we plan to party hardy with the Bard, making his 450th birthday his best ever.

 …there was a star danced, and under that was I born. (Much Ado About Nothing, II,i, 335)

In honor of this event, we’d like to Skype another class for our first annual Shakespeare Challenge game.  We’ll ask your class questions, and you ask us.  The winner gets a prize.

Do you dare to accept our challenge?

Mercutio: A challenge, on my life.

Benvolio: Romeo will answer it.

Mercutio: Any man that can write may answer a letter.

Benvolio: Nay, he will answer the letter’s master, how he dares, being dared.

                                                                                                  Romeo and Juliet   II, iv, 8-12

Answer our post with a comment letting us know if you are up to a challenge on April 16th, sometime between 9 and 11 am, Eastern Standard Time.

Until then, visit some of our Shakespeare posts from April 2013 or try some of the sites above.

What did you learn about our friend Will Shakespeare?

 

So long lives this, and this gives life to thee

Our birthday celebration for the Bard was a huge success! (The only mishap: I dropped my camera, and it broke.) Thank you to our wonderful speakers: journalist Kim Hackett and editor Camille Cline. Thank you to our honored guests: Mrs. Chonody, Mrs. Lynch, Mrs. Mercurio, Mrs. Piteo, and Fr. John. Thank you to our parent caterers! We are already planning for the 450th birthday next year.

Imagine the entire world celebrating your birthday in the year 2463. What would people do at your birthday party?

Happy 449th Birthday! on PhotoPeach