Month: July 2017

We at Shakespeare For Our Children have always been tremendous fans of the poet and venerated Shakespeare scholar Marchette Chute — please have a look at this — and it is our pleasure to highlight another of her great works. In Stories from Shakespeare, first published in the 1950s, Ms. Chute offers insightful and highly readable retellings of the Bard’s complete plays. These are perfect starting-points for class discussions. They can be read aloud before beginning a production, or even on days when the young performers need a break from rehearsals.

These are no simple plot summaries! In her analyses of the narratives, Chute tells the wonderful stories, exploring the complexities of the characters, and offering interesting historical and cultural context. There are, of course, any number of retellings of Shakespeare’s plays; but this collection is a true classic, written by an inspired and truly great expert.

You can find the book here. Enjoy!

©2017

The Merchant of Venice features one of the Bard’s most profound meditations on humanity’s potential for goodness. In her remarkable monologue from Act 4, Scene 1, the young heroine Portia declares: “The quality of mercy is not strained; it droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven upon the place beneath.” (Read and listen here.)

As with virtually all of Shakespeare’s words, the power of Portia’s speech exceeds the play from which it derives — capturing not only the ethical, but the spiritual impetus that must guide us in our actions. For as Portia remarks, mercy is “twice blest: it blesseth him that gives and him that takes.”

We are reminded of merciful acts both grand — indeed, Portia is disguised as a lawyer here in an effort to save her husband’s friend — and more modest. With this in mind, when discussing the monologue with young performers, it can be helpful to relate this monologue to the everyday kindnesses that many of us take for granted: volunteering at an animal shelter or a soup kitchen; caring for a friend or family member in need.

Such real-life moments reveal the eternal truth of Shakespeare’s observations hundreds of years ago: The quality of mercy is neither elusive nor exclusive . . . it resides in each and all of us, as naturally free-flowing as that gentle rain of which Portia speaks so glowingly.

©2017