How William Shakespeare Notes Give Students An Exam Advantage

Despite being a product of the seventeenth century, the writings of William Shakespeare have always had an indisputable place amongst the greatest works of literature in the English language. The problem is that today’s high school student hardly recognizes Shakespeare’s plays as being written in English at all, so archaic are many of the phrasings and vocabulary.

Educators today are therefore faced with a dilemma for which there appears, at first, to be only two solutions. As the language register gap continues to widen it requires more time and effort to acquaint students with Shakespeare’s ideas, as his works need to be almost completely decoded for the modern generation. But the only alternative seems to be to admit defeat and retire Shakespeare’s masterpieces from the curriculum, effectively impoverishing all future students of English literature.

But perhaps there is a third option after all, one that both frees up class time for the teacher and provides an engaging mini course in unlocking the treasures of the Shakespearian world for the student.

Using a handbook of William Shakespeare Notes from one or more of the popular educational publishers gives students the keys to the texts themselves, the historical backgrounds, and many fascinating word etymologies. These study notes have at least three distinct benefits for student and teacher alike.

Firstly, for the student William Shakespeare Notes are available for all the specific plays studied at different grade levels, including the popular ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, ‘Othello’ and ‘Romeo and Juliet’. Instead of requiring the student to study, read, re-read and write answers about the difficult Elizabethan language unaided, the Notes act as a guide to tutor the student and clarify the concepts that matter the most. Having become familiar with Shakespeare’s plays through the Notes, the student will also be able to enjoy watching a traditional performance of the text with greater understanding.

The best type of literature notes for Shakespeare include a useful feature where the original wording is used alongside a modern rendering. While the elements of diction and pronunciation will be pointed out for the original, the modern equivalent helps with how the character might be speaking those lines, be it with malice, curiosity, sarcasm or other possible intonations and inflections.

Secondly, the Language Arts teacher will be able to rely on a well laid out William Shakespeare Notes series to take on the burden of explaining in simple terms all the concepts and themes of the play being studied. This relieves the frustration of answering the same puzzled questions from students repeatedly, when the teacher can direct her class to the Notes instead. Often these books are well illustrated with the aim of being especially engaging and clear.

And finally, while not exactly spearheading an Elizabethan literature revival, William Shakespeare Notes have proven to be an excellent way to preserve a respect for some of the richest writing the world has to offer. One cannot have a love for what one does not understand, so these Notes are providing an invaluable service in unlocking Shakespearian language for the modern reader, one generation at a time.