Now some of you are like, I don't read Shakespeare at all! And I hear that. But in some homeschool circles, my little confession might seem very shocking. But I don't teach Shakespeare to grammar level/form I/II/III /elementary age students, and I will explain why.
So the Bard: Plot line: net very original, nothing special. Star crossed lovers, the Bad Boys of history, bottom line, he was looking for things that would make a good show, not trying to influence the course of the English language for centuries to come. That was just a happy coincidence. Besides, his plays were written for adults, and such, contain adult themes.
No, the real reason to read Shakespeare is for the language, for his way expressing human emotion and feeling. Words and phrases invented by Will are still in use today. And even though y'all know (or should know!) that I'm all about reading vocabulary-rich literature to children, there's a time and a place for everything. And the time for deciphering brilliant-but-archaic-poetic language is, in my opinion, not until age 12, at least. High school for some students.
Sure, you could read any of the many wonderfully done children's adaptations, but without the language, what's the point? Would you really be reading that story if it had any other name on it than William Shakespeare?
Despite this belief, we have, as you can see, a fair amount of the Bard's plays in picture book format. In fact, this one (published by Candlewick) is one of my children's favorites. And I like them because even if you're an adult, it's incredibly helpful to have some prior knowledge of the plot before you dive into the original plays. If you're a visual person, having some illustrations can help you keep characters straight. Plus, they're just kinda fun :D Although my daughter tells me I should warn you that all the people in William's book have "kissy lips." ;D
Totally unfollowing you, right now! ;)
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