As You Like It Preview Manuscript (Final)

Mr. Silas A. Ramsbottom

McGraw-Hill Education

P.O. Box 182605

Columbus, OH 43218

Dear Mr. Ramsbottom,

Have you ever seen a Shakespeare play marketed to middle school students? With all the editions of Shakespeare plays on the market there is essentially a non-existent Shakespeare market for middle school aged persons. Because of our love for the arts, and of course Shakespeare, we believe that an edition to suit this particular audience will be whole-heartedly embraced by teachers, students, and over ambitious parents who want their children to be well cultured. It is not only our love for the Bard that has inspired us to create an edition of As You Like It suitable for a middle school audience, but because of the many benefits that such an edition will bring to middle school students and their teachers.

Usually the first experience that students have with Shakespeare is in high school; plays like Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet are common choices of high school teachers. These dramas lend themselves to the more serious and tragic side, with rather depressing or gruesome endings. In a general sense, when high school students hear the word “Shakespeare” their adolescent frames tremble with fear or their developing minds dread the coming experience. They associate the wondrous name of Shakespeare with words like: boring, difficult, not important, outdated. We desire to ease this recurring problem by exposing students to Shakespeare at a younger age through a more humorous and light-hearted play, with the hopes that doing so will lay the ground for future enjoyment and involvement.

One very probable reason why teachers do not introduce Shakespeare to middle school students could be due to the noticeable lack of appropriate editions for that particular age range. While there are a variety of choices for high school teachers to choose from, no such selection exists for middle school teachers. Editions like the Folger Library: General Shakespeare Readers As You Like It has simplified text and even explanations of unfamiliar words annotated on each page. A middle school teacher could use the front matter, but it would require vast amounts of elaboration and selected paragraph readings for the students seeing as the material is more aimed at upper-level high school students. Manga offers a simple and creative edition of As You Like It in the form of a graphic novel. However, while this text may be accessible to students, teachers might find it challenging to teach from given that it has no other materials for them but adapted text and drawings; some of which hinge on inappropriateness. Despite the accessibility of these editions, they do not adapt the gender/cross-dressing issue in a manner appropriate for a middle school audience.

Our edition is both accessible and appropriate for middle school students. The text of the play is edited and adapted for their particular needs, while still maintaining the integrity of the Shakespearean language. Unfamiliar or difficult words are annotated at the bottom of each page, but not overwhelmingly so. Rather than emphasizing the ambiguity of gender or homosexual undertones, our edition effectively talks about the role of men and woman at that time and in the present, all the while maintaining the humorous nature of the play. Also, between acts there are short educational readings to help students to have a better understanding of Shakespeare, the theater, and themes in As You Like It. Taking it a step further there are also several critical thinking questions that will encourage the students to develop and use analytical skills. The Common Core states that students in grades 7 to 8 need to be able to “determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text” (RL.7.2). The critical critical thinking questions after each act will help students and teachers be on this path. Please, peruse through the manuscript that we have included as it will speak for itself.

A lack of appropriate editions might not be the only obstacle preventing middle school teachers for teaching Shakespeare. The teachers themselves could be the obstacles. Perhaps these teachers feel that their students would not be able to grasp the complexities of a Shakespearean text or perhaps they are unsure on how to go about teaching Shakespeare to twelve and thirteen year-olds at an appropriate level. Our edition, too, addresses this possible problem by supplying a teacher’s edition of the text. In essence, the teacher’s edition is identical to the students so that there is no confusion when reading together as a class or assigning homework. But in addition to that, the teacher’s edition has a more in-depth look into historical content and references of sources where to find more information if so desired. This allows the teacher to choose how much and what to share with the students. More analytical and summative questions are included that the teacher may use for more class discussion or test questions. This allows teachers to feel comfortable and confident teaching As You Like It in an appropriate and engaging manner for their middle school classrooms.

We have great confidence and faith that our edition will help middle school students (and teachers) feel successful with Shakespeare. Our edition allows for earlier exposure to this great Bard and will therefore lessen the anxiety and increase excitement for future Shakespearean encounters. Please, look through the manuscript that we have included. We hope you see the great potential and benefits that we do in having a middle school edition of As You Like It. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Ashley Campbell

Jacob Matthews

Natalie McChesney

Bethanie Sonnefeld

 Preview Manuscript: As You Like It Middle School Edition

Prototype 2.0

Mr. Silas A. Ramsbottom

McGraw-Hill Education

P.O. Box 182605

Columbus, OH 43218

Dear Mr. Ramsbottom,

Have you ever seen a Shakespeare play marketed to a middle school student? With all the editions of Shakespeare plays on the market there is essentially a non-existent Shakespeare market for middle school aged persons. Because of our love for the arts, and of course Shakespeare, we believe that an edition to suit this particular audience would be whole-heartedly embraced by teachers, students, and over ambitious parents who want their children to be well cultured. It is not only our love for the Bard that has inspired us to create an edition of As You Like It that is suitable for a middle school audience, but because of the many benefits that such an edition would bring to middle school students and their teachers.

Usually the first experience that students have with Shakespeare is in high school; plays like Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet are common choices of high school teachers. These dramas lend themselves to the more serious and tragic side, with rather depressing or gruesome endings. In a general sense, when high school students hear the word “Shakespeare” their adolescent frames tremble with fear or their developing minds dread the experience. They associate the wondrous name of Shakespeare with words like: boring, difficult, not important, outdated. We desire to ease this reoccurring problem by exposing students to Shakespeare at a younger age through a more humorous and light-hearted play, with the hopes that doing so would lay the ground for future enjoyment and involvement.

One very probable reason why teachers do not introduce Shakespeare to middle school students could be due to the noticeable lack of appropriate editions for that particular age range. While there are a variety of choices for high school teachers to choose from, no such selection exists for middle school teachers. Editions like the Folger Library: General Shakespeare Readers As You Like It have simplified texts and even explanations of unfamiliar words annotated on each page. A middle school teacher could use the front matter, which is more appropriate for a high school audience, but it would require vast amounts of elaboration and selected paragraph readings for the students. Manga offers a simple and creative edition of As You Like It in the form of a graphic novel. However, while this text may be accessible to students, teachers might find it challenging to teach from given that it has no other materials for them but adapted text and drawings; some of which hinge on inappropriateness. Despite the accessibility of these editions, they do not adapt the gender/cross-dressing issue in a manner appropriate for a middle school audience.

Our edition is both accessible and appropriate for middle school students. The text of the play is edited and adapted for their particular needs, while still maintaining the integrity of the Shakespearean language. Unfamiliar or difficult words are annotated at the bottom of each page, but not overwhelmingly so. Rather than emphasizing the ambiguity of gender or homosexual undertones, our edition effectively talks about the role of men and woman at that time and in the present, all the while maintaining the humorous nature of the play. Also, between acts there are short educational readings to help students to have a better understudying of Shakespeare, the theater, and themes in As You Like It. Taking it a step further there are also several critical thinking questions that will encourage the students to develop and use analytical skills. This is especially important, as this is a skill covered in the common core across multiple grades. Please, peruse through the manuscript that we have included and it will speak for itself.

A lack of appropriate editions might not be the only obstacle preventing middle school teachers for teaching Shakespeare. The teachers themselves could be the obstacles. Perhaps these teachers feel that their students would not be able to grasp the complexities of a Shakespearean text or perhaps they are unsure on how to go about teaching Shakespeare to twelve and thirteen year-olds at an appropriate level. Our edition, too, addresses this possible problem by supplying a teacher’s edition of the text. In essence the teacher’s edition is identical to the students in order that there is no confusion when reading together as a class or assigning homework. But in addition to that, the teacher’s edition is a more in-depth look into historical content and references of sources where to find more information if so desired. This allows the teacher to choose how much of and what to share with the students. More analytical and summative questions are included that the teacher may use for more discussion or test questions. This allows teachers to feel comfortable and confident teaching As You Like It in an appropriate and engaging manner for their middle school classrooms.

We have great confidence and faith that our edition will help middle school students (and teachers) feel successful with Shakespeare. Our edition allows for earlier exposure to this great Bard and will therefore lessen the anxiety and increase excitement for future Shakespeare encounters. Please, look through the manuscript that we have included. We hope you see the great potential and benefits that we do in having a middle school edition of As You Like It. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Ashley Campbell

Jacob Matthews

Natalie McChesney

Bethanie Sonnefeld

Changes to this version:

Cover letter:

• Full cover letter
• More comparative to other middle school editions
• More persuasive about selling it
• Fewer sweeping statements
• Actually a letter

Preface:

• Minor grammar errors
• Simplified sentences to better fit a middle-school audience
• The previous prototype had confusing sentences
• Another section feature the Globe Theater
• Images of both the interior of the Globe Theater and William Shakespeare

Table of Context:

• Minor spelling and grammar changes in the annotations

Text:

• Another fully edited and annotated scene

Critical Thinking Section:

• Grammar errors
• Reworded sentences
• More accessible paragraphs

Notes: 

• Notes to cite sources 

Middle School As You Like It 2.0

Prototype

It is pretty common knowledge that high school freshmen will encounter their first Shakespeare play, Romeo and Juliet being the most predominate choice of English teachers. It is also equally known that high school students dread the words Shakespeare and play. Who could blame them? They have probably been exposed to the idea that Shakespeare was difficult to understand and boring. That would not get me excited to read a text either if the only words I associated with it were difficult and boring. What can be done to get these students more excited and prepared for an appreciation of Shakespeare? How about staring them younger?

With our edition of Shakespeare’s As You Like It we aim to draw students in to Shakespeare’s world at an early stage in life: middle school. Through simplified text and accessible supplementary material, our edition will show students that Shakespeare’s plays can be understood and interesting. And beyond mere entertainment this edition will allow students to develop and use critical thinking skills, a skill that teachers and administrators would be ecstatic about.

With close to hundreds of editions available to choose from, there are little, if any, selections that would be appropriate for a middle school audience. Most editions are situated for a college undergraduate audience such as The New Cambridge Shakespeare edited by Michael Hatttaway, which has decent front
matter that covers topics such as gender, politics, and stage history in an attempt to situate the play in a historical context. There is also the daunting edition of from The Arden Shakespeare collection edited by Juliet Dusinberre, with such dense material that even undergraduates are left feeling overwhelmed. The Folger Library Shakespeare edited by Louis B. Wright and Virginia A. Lamar comes closer to a
younger audience: unfamiliar words footnoted with simple explanations, several illustrations, and brief font matter that talks about Shakespearean theater, woodland magic, the author, and stage history. This edition would be more appropriate for a high school audience rather than for a middle school classroom. Then there is the Magna Shakespeare edition of As You Like It, with very simplified text and wonderful Japan style illustrations would be very accessible to a younger crowd although not necessarily intellectually stimulating enough for a classroom setting.

 Our edition of As You Like It will offer appropriate text and material for a middle school audience. This edition will offer teachers a medium that will help middle school students understand, appreciate, and even enjoy reading Shakespeare.

• articles: Middle Ground: To like or Not to Like

• article about appropriate teaching of S. and students response
• “When I asked my 7th-graders if they thought studying Shakespeare was going to be boring, every hand in the class went up” (DeFord 85).
• “No wonder, on the end-of-year evaluations, students rank Shakespeare as one of their favorite subjects” (DeFord 86).

• What our edition will do:
• simplified text while maintaining the integrity of Shakespeare’s language 
• footnotes for unfamiliar words
• vocab words for students
• supplementary material which is written in a way that is easily accessible to students:
• preface  
• stuff between acts  
• links to more if interested in more
• end of act critical thinking questions 
• common core standards:
• 4.a use context as a clue for word meaning
• 4.c. use specialized reference materials to find pronunciation or precise meaning
• 5.a interpret figures of speech 
• 5.b use relationship of words to better understand each word
• 6 acquire and use accurately grade-appropriate general academic and domain specific words and phrases; gather vocab knowledge... 
• teachers edition with more info, maybe ideas to teach(?)  

As You Like It Middle School Edition Prototype

Scholars, Questions, and Editions

Gender and Sexuality

How does having strong, opinionated women change a play being written when women were believed to be inferior to me and with a position of silence to them? How does the balance of power between Rosalind and Orlando affect an interpretation of the play? How does sexual innuendos change the readings of otherwise benign passages? What does the queer situation add to the play?

Our edition intends to discuss the gender questions of women's roles and the balance of power, but not to enter into a conversation about sexuality or homosexuality. We felt these were not appropriate for a middle school edition. The conversations surrounding gender will focus on the subjects which will allow students to see the complications of gender without bringing the conversation to explicit materials.

Social Class

What separates social classes? Does class invade the pastoral? Which classes are represented within the As You Like It as a whole and in the pastoral in specific? What role does the pastoral play in the relations with other of the same and opposite genders?

In creating a middle school edition, we're looking to simplify the questions to ones appropriate for the age group. We intend to discuss court and the social classes by looking at the characters and time period to give the students a taste of conversation surrounding the issues of social class.

Historical Context

When was As You Like It written? When was it first performed? Is the poem "As the Dial Hand Tells O'er" a missing epilogue for the play?

To address the historical context, we would probably go to the introduction of the Arden Edition of As You Like It in order to provide a framework for the story in history. We would include a brief biography of Shakespeare's life and what theater was like at the time of his plays. We would not address these specific questions as in depth because middle schoolers may find it harder to follow and a bit confusing.

Theatricality and Portrayal

How do the differences between what Rosalind says and what she does nuance the play? How do scenes like Act IV scene i and their portrayal change the meaning and trajectory of the play? Is the spoken or performed more important?

These questions really only influence the way we handle Act IV scene i. Within this scene, there are some portions that we feel middle school students should not be interpreting. We intend to heavily address the portrayal questions, especially homoerotic suggesting events.

Editions

For young students, is it appropriate to use editions such as "No Fear Shakespeare" to help in reading the language? Or do you have students read the original text because there is a difference in the power of the words?

This dilemma applies directly to our edition because it is geared towards a middle school audience. We feel like we are the ones tackling this question because it is our decision as to whether or not we simplify or keep the Shakespeare's language. Our decision with regards to this question is that we want to keep as much as the students would be able to handle and simplify other parts to increase comprehension.

Much of these point we intend to address in the inter-act sections of our editions. These sections provide context and allow students to brainstorm their own insight. We hope in these sections that we can give students and insight into the time period, culture, or play which they can use to push their own learning with the help of open ended questions.

Bibliography

Franco, Caitilin, and Joseph Scotese. "Teacher to Teacher: What Value Do Side-by-Side or Parallel-Text Editions Such as No Fear Shakespeare or Shakespeare Made Easy Have in a Classroom?." The English Journal, 99.1 (2009). 33-4. Print.

Gay, Penny. "Women and eloquence in Shakespeare and Austen." Shakespeare, 6.4 (2010). 463-77. Print.
Hattaway, Michael. "Dating As You Like It, Epilogues and Prayers, and the Problems of 'As the Dial Hand  Tells O'er'." Shakespeare Quarterly, 60.2 (2009). 154-167. Print.

Kronenfield, Judy. "Social Rnak and the Pastoral Ideals of As You Like It." Shakespeare Quarterly, 29.3 (1978). 333-48. Print.

Khan, Michael. "A Note for Directors of As You Like It." Shakespeare Newsletter, 62.3 (2013). 117. Print.

Quarmby, Kevina. "'As the cony that you see': Rosalind's risque rabbits in As You Like It." Shakespeare, 6.2 (2010). 153-64. Print. 
Ronk, Martha. "Locating the Visual in As You Like It." Shakespeare Quarterly, 53.2 (2001). 255-76. Print.

Stirm, Jan. "'For Solace a Twinne-like Sister': Teaching Themes of Sisterhood in As You Like it and Beyond." Shakespeare Quarterly, 47.4 (1996). 374-86. Print.

Tracy, Ryan. "The unqueering of As You Like It." The Gay and Lesbian Review Worldwide, 17.4 (2010). 26-8. Print

Audience and Edition: Post #3

Play: As You Like It

Audience: Middle School Students & Teacher Editions 

Editions and the Reasoning Behind

First off, we are really excited to work on the production of a middle school version of As You Like It. We hope that this edition will allow students to encounter and appreciate Shakespeare at a younger age. In order for this edition to be successful, we have planned out two different versions of this edition that we will provide to the middle school classroom--the student edition, and the teacher edition.

Student--The middle school edition of As You Like It will be edited for simple language, something that is not so foreign to the young adolescent who will be encountering this play. Obviously, at middle school age, the entire, unedited text might be a bit daunting and difficult to encounter. So, we plan on editing the play for simplicity, while maintaining the main storyline (similar to what directors do when choosing what to include in their rendition of the play, but on a greater level). In order to make the play more accessible and understandable, we were thinking that at the end of each act we would include excepts about the life of Shakespeare, basic information about the court system, influence of Shakespeare's language, and illustrations. Naturally the items listed above would go in corresponding places so as the acts referencing the court system will be followed by the excerpts about the court system. Similarly, another thing that we are considering having after the acts are a few questions that encourage critical thinking about specific aspects of occurrences that happened within the acts. We feel that this will provide middle school students with an opportunity to develop and utilize critical thinking skills, for such will benefit them throughout their lives. We also talked about emphasizing that this is a play and is meant to be acted out, not simply read. We also hope that this edition will help students to be excited about the arts and humanities at an early age.

Teacher--The text of the play will be the same as found in the student's edition. We will do this to avoid confusion when teacher and students and studying/discussing the play together (for example synchronized pagination will be a definite bonus for the teachers). However, the teachers edition will have a more in depth, but not overwhelming, insight into the historical context of the play that will be included after the play. That way the teacher can choose how much and what she will share with the students. We also considered having more questions in this edition that the teacher could use for class discussion or as possible test questions. She will this be able to engage her different classes with appropriate material suited to their needs and abilities. 

Annotations

"As You Like It"

Act I Scene iii

The scene: Rosalind and Celia have just returned from the wrestling match and Celia tries to enter into Rosalind's confidence. Duke Fredrick enters and banishes Rosalind.

Middle school

A middle school edition of this scene would face the most dramatic change from the scholarly explosion of footnotes and historical context that is the Arden. Although, it may actually look similar if you squinted at it—because, page for page, the text of the Middle School edition of As You Like It would occupy about the top half of the page, while the bottom would contain auxiliary information like definitions, pictures, plot clarifications, or the occasional contextual note about Shakespeare (if it may prove interesting or beneficial to a middle school audience.) The format of this edition is similar to the Family Editions of the LDS scriptures, which endeavor to translate the sometimes confusing language of the ancient scriptures to modern day speech as objectively as possible. For example, in this particular scene, the lines 115-120 describe Rosalind suggesting that to disguise oneself as a man is as easy as putting on a mask and adorning some cruel weaponry. This is a vital moment of the play, but Shakespeare’s particular verbiage (phrases such as, “…that I did suit me all points like a man,” and “that do outface it with their semblances”) may easily mask the essential action without further defining certain words—“all points” and “semblances”. The greatest fear here is that you give the youngest and most impressionable audience a biased reading of the story, but to a degree, this is inescapable. I personally believe that the value of coming away with a firm grasp on a story and a connection to characters outranks that of preserving a perfectly objective experience—which cannot exist in reality besides—at the middle school level.

High school

For starters, As You Like It annotated for a high school audience would not have footnotes that took up one-half to three-quarters of a page. It would probably frighten those poor adolescents. A secondary level edition would of course include, but not overwhelmingly so, notes to phrases or words with which students would be generally unfamiliar, providing a brief definition. The primary purpose of these annotations would be to provide clarity of the text and help with overall comprehension. An edition for this audience might occasionally include a culture references or two where pertinent, such as an explanation on the court system. However, this could also be included in the teachers edition of the text and not necessarily in the students edition. 

Undergraduate (not at BYU)

In an undergraduate edition of the text, more supplementary material would be provided for the students. Similarly, there would most likely be a considerable increase in the number and depth of footnotes and annotations. While much scholarly material would still be withheld, there would more likely be allusions to double meanings (perhaps including the more complex issues of gender, cultural connotations of words and events, as well as connections to the overarching themes that the play seems to address). Annotations to this particular scene could include potential allusions to Queen Elizabeth's famous speech to the Troops at Tilbury, and the historical implications of connecting Rosalind to Elizabeth. I also felt that our edition's inclusion of Rosalind's potential social commentary on the "masculine masquerade"that see is assuming via her disguise also would fit this reading audience. However, I do feel that there would be less overall annotations than our Arden Shakespeare edition.

Graduate

For a graduate edition, the annotations could have several focuses taken individually or collectively. Annotation materials may include historical parallels, such as banishing several dukes and earls from court; intertexual connections to literature of the time period, such as when Viola in Twelfth Night decides to cross dress as her brother; and cultural context, such as the inner workings of life at court and courtly intrigue. The annotations might also take on different lenses. The annotations may look at the power dynamics between Duke Fredrick, Celia, and Rosalind which occur from the threatened banishment, Celia's threat to run away, and the responses from each threat. Annotations could focus on the feminist angle--what does the banishment and Celia's disobedience to her father say about women, their role, and powers. Overall, the edition's annotations would include similar aspects to the undergraduate edition, but would go to a much deeper depth.

The Importance of Audience

Macbeth

The Dover Edition of "Macbeth" geared its contents to both passing readers and readers interested in scholarly material. It achieved this by including two introductions--one to appeal to a reader wanting a basic background and another in a more scholarly tone.The basic background does not contain a great deal of detail, making it appealing to the average reader, reading the book for pleasure. The scholarly introduction presents a greater amount of detail, which would help a scholar to see the play in different ways.

As You Like It

The scholarly intent and audience of the Arden Shakespeare’s edition of As You Like It can be quickly deduced by observing the unbalanced ratio of play script to auxiliary material. The text of the play itself only occupies the first half of each page, while the bottom half contains two solid columns of footnotes. What is more, the script is sandwiched between an introduction and a set of three appendices, which, together, out-length the play itself—clearly, the auxiliary material of this edition holds center stage. (ba-dum) The audiences for which this edition is intended are those who would appreciate a documentary-like experience, or a “behind the scenes” look at Shakespeare’s writing process, the unique production aspects of 16^th century theater, possible “alternate endings,” and “deleted scenes” which might round out a more rich and diversified understanding of the play and, clearly more importantly, the playwright and his actors. The Arden Shakespeare, serves the purposes of a college course famously—given that it provides historical context and gives college-level readers an idea of where the Shakespeare research community stands in terms of discovery and theory today. On the other hand, I would not recommend purchasing this edition to direct a theater production, or to introduce anyone new to Shakespeare to As You Like It—especially since understanding the auxiliary material requires an already decent knowledge of Shakespeare’s other works, awareness of standing theories about his life, and a deep thirst for superfluous factoids.

The Tempest

"The Tempest" from Bedford/St. Martin connects with an audience at a university level. The edition features articles varying from historical perspectives of the play to feminine criticism. The edition includes a number of articles and critical theory pieces on "The Tempest" which would interest readers interested in the literary conversation and possibly entering it themselves. It also features a short synopsis of the life of Shakespeare. The biography suggests that academia does not know definitely if Shakespeare actually wrote the works attributed to him in order provoke readers into contemplating the role authorship plays in an interpretation of a work.

Richard III

Thomas Cartelli's Norton edition of of Richard III has a good mix of accessibility as well as scholarly depth. The Preface to the play is comfortably explanatory and contains parenthetical clarifications regarding previous plays by Shakespeare as well as background information useful for a first-time reader. This Preface gives good context for the play and explains where the play fits in with Shakespeare's previous historical works. The play itself has fairly simple footnotes that explain words and phrases, and for the most part remain in the realm of textual analysis. After the play itself, there is a more complex "Note on the Text," as well as substantial scholarly articles and arguments. This post-play material would appeal to a more experienced reading audience and would provide useful materials for future academic papers. This mix between the rather gentle introduction via the Preface and the "richer" material following the actual play provide an edition that seems to be widely accessible to multiple audiences.

Measure for Measure

Shakespeare's "Measure for Measure" edited by Ivo Kamps and Karen Raber in the Bedford Shakespeare Series has a pretty specific audience in mind. This edition was published in response to an emphasis on New Historicism, which focuses more on the historical content surrounding a work. A good portion of this edition focuses on the cultural contexts such sections as governance, the underworld, marriage, sex and society, and geography and religion. The editors included this context to give students background and topics that are relevant to the play as well as help them to discover how primary works can influence a text. The introduction deals heavily with comparisons to other Shakespeare plays as well as comparisons to other editions of "Measure for Measure". I would conclude that this edition is primary targeted to university students who are studying the works of Shakespeare.   

Our Edition

Many people often feel as though Shakespeare is inaccessible because of the style and language he wrote in. We want to demystify Shakespeare by creating an edition more accessible to everyone. Our edition would be specifically aimed at middle school students. By exposing the students to a less difficult edition of Shakespeare's play, we hope to kindle a love and a desire for Shakespeare's work and for literature as a whole.