I enjoyed doing the research for this paper, mainly because I settled on a topic that I didn't know much about. I would have never ended up writing a paper on graphic novels if it weren't for all of the social input that people gave me-- and how cool is that?
Overall, I'm mostly concerned with the focus of the paper... I think I'm still trying to cover too much. If you notice, I don't get to the nitty-gritty (the thesis) until almost the end of the second page. So I'm wondering what you think about the information that's included in the first paragraphs about "purists" and bridging language with other things. Do you think this detracts from the focus of the argument, or does it give the argument more meaning? Anything else you want to say is also appreciated. (Oh, and just FYI... I think I'll end up adding one more paragraph that talks about students and problems with Shakespeare language comprehension.)
Janelle Frossard
Dr. Gideon Burton
English 382
15 November 2012
Using the Graphic Novel to Teach Shakespeare:
Embracing Non-Traditional Texts in the Secondary English
Classroom
A recent conversation that I had with
Dr. Crowe, professor of English at Brigham Young University, sparked a question
which, I believe, may be the question
for all English Teaching majors: As a teacher, what do I want my students to
gain from being in my classroom? While I, and perhaps even current teachers, do
not claim to have a complete answer to this question—I would like to propose a more
focused question that may provoke a few answers regarding the question: As a teacher, what do I want my students to gain from
studying Shakespeare? Rather than focus on the classroom as a whole, I would
like to focus on the possibilities and benefits of teaching the works of
Shakespeare—likely described by a 21st century teenager as some guy
who talked funny a long time ago—to secondary English students. By pondering
the “what do I want my students to gain” in regards to Shakespeare, practical ways
in which to accomplish this goal will become increasingly clear.
An article published in 2000 by Kurt
Lancaster discusses the conflict between “low art” and “high art” as they
relate to the study and experience of Shakespeare. Similarly, during our
aforementioned conversation, Dr. Crowe discussed the idea of Shakespeare
“purists,” recognizing the same close-minded attitudes that Lancaster fights
against in his article. Based on our discussion and Lancaster’s article, I
learned that a Shakespeare “purist” is someone who believes that the value of
Shakespeare is only gained by studying and teaching his works as they were
originally written and performed—any adaptation or adjustment to the original
text would be a perversion of the true purpose of experiencing Shakespeare. So,
is this the answer to: As a teacher, what do I want my students to gain from
studying Shakespeare? They should simply learn to appreciate the language as it
was originally written, and that is enough? It is clear that Lancaster does not
believe so, as he states, “…when we see the “high art” of Shakespeare brought
down to the level of popular culture, then Shakespeare… has the potential to be
seen and practiced as he was really meant
to be—his artistic ideals breathing through the daily praxis of everyday life”
(Lancaster 75). While admittedly there is validity to the argument of teaching
the real and pure language of Shakespeare, I, like Lancaster, question why anyone
would believe that this teaching must be exclusive. There must be a way to
preserve the language of Shakespeare while still teaching content, improving
writing, and encouraging life-long learning in a way that is engaging and
beneficial for the 21st century secondary English student. My research
indicates that one way to help students unlock the language of Shakespeare, but
not to only the language of
Shakespeare, is through use of the graphic novel.
In her paper titled, “Overcoming the
Common Complaints of Teaching Shakespeare to Secondary Students through
Alternative Teaching Practices,” Kasey Hammer claims that “the 7 major
roadblocks of teaching Shakespeare to middle school, junior high, and high
school students are: lack of relevance to the modern students, language comprehension,
time constraints, lack of exposure to drama as a genre, lack of ability to
understand mature content, teaching to learning disabled students, and concerns
regarding audience” (Hammer ?) Based on research continuing from Lancaster’s
article which supports Neil Gaiman’s graphic novel adaptation of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, it is clear
that graphic novels can be used to combat many (if not all) of these “7 major
roadblocks,” and some of these adaptations can even do so while still honoring
the language of Shakespeare that “purists” are so loyal to. Non-traditional texts (such as graphic
novel adaptations of Shakespeare’s A
Midsummer Night’s Dream) allow a teacher to combat the problems of:
relevance to modern students, language comprehension, time constraints, and
teaching to learning disabled students, while still honoring the original
language of Shakespeare.
When considering how to relate
Shakespeare to modern students, a graphic novel is perhaps a less obvious, but
successful way to bridge the gap between the content of Shakespeare and the
real life of a student. The Manga Shakespeare graphic novel version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, illustrated
by Kate Brown, is perhaps a perfect example of connecting the 21st
century student to the characters in a Shakespeare play. Brown’s illustrations
depict the four characters involved in a love mix-up throughout the play
(Hermia, Helena, Demetrius, and Lysander) as very young adults—in fact, the
graphic novel makes the characters look like high school aged students. Considering
the relationship issues that arise during high school: love triangles,
unrequited love, loss and gain of friends, etc. it could certainly be asserted
that a high school student would automatically relate to this book based on the
relatable depiction of these four main characters. Even the original
Shakespeare text seems to back up Brown’s illustrations, as characters make
statements such as, “The more I love, the more he hateth me” and, “I am beloved
of beauteous Hermia” (Shakespeare and Appignanesi 5)—exaggerated statements
that seem as though they could come (only slightly modified to fit modern
language) from love-stricken teenagers.
Continuing to a broader examination of
these relatable illustrations and quotations within graphic novel versions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, is obvious that
even just the simple nature of any graphic novel allows teenagers to better
access the text based solely on experience. In graphic novelist Gene Yang’s
article “Graphic Novels in the Classroom,” Yang discusses some of the benefits
to using any graphic novel in a classroom setting: “First, graphic novels are visual, and our students love visual media. After all, they’re
immersed in it” (187). The simple cartoon nature of the graphic novel
automatically allows many students to become engaged in the text, because it
feels like something that is already familiar. This feeling is only enhanced by
looking at graphic novels such as John McDonald’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream Graphic Novel: Original Text, which
includes extra features such as a history of the play, information about The
Globe Theater, and even a page with instructions about creating graphic novels.
Not only can students become better engaged in the text, but now they can also
be directed to create their own projects inspired by Shakespeare’s original
work.
In terms of improving language comprehension, graphic novels
may be one of the most practical ways to get students involved in reading the
actual text of Shakespeare while still understanding the meaning of the words
and the overall plot of the play. In both the Manga Shakespeare and John
McDonald versions of A Midsummer Night’s
Dream, it is really easy to distinguish between the real and the
fantastical. The juxtaposition between reality and magic plays a vital role in
understanding and interpreting the play—and even just by seeing a visual
depiction of the characters, it becomes much easier to notice the differences. The
pointed ears of Titania, and the horns of Oberon, for example, not only give
the reader an immediate cue that these are fantastical characters (King and
Queen of the fairies), but the wicked-looking eyes of both indicate that they may
become devious or playful characters. Suddenly, the reader has visual signals
that give them a clearer understanding of the nature and attitude of each
character.
As the GeneYang article on using
graphic novels in the classroom continues, Yang asserts that, “Graphic novels…
have a “visual permanence” to them. Time progresses only as quickly as your
eyes move across the page… The rate of information-transfer is firmly in your control”
(188)! With the help of a graphic novel, students are gaining control over a
text that, perhaps, once seemed foreign and uninteresting to them. They have
the ability to read the original Shakespeare text while viewing images at a
rate that is comfortable for them—remember Yang’s assertion that, “students love visual media” (187)? Students are
used to rapid-fire instruction and entertainment. By allowing students the
opportunity to self-time their reading and comprehension, teachers will open up
new worlds from their students when it comes to pursuing learning outside of
the classroom. Teachers may promote life-long learning for their students from
this simple act of making a Shakespeare text engaging and accessible.
Graphic novels are not the first non-traditional
method that has proven to assist those students dealing with reading and
language comprehension barriers. In a 1998 issue of the English Journal, Kathryn King Johnson discusses the success that
learning disabled students experienced as Bob Ives, an experienced
Shakespearean actor and director, prepared students to perform plays including A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Johnson 45). Here,
Johnson cites “students [becoming] an active part of the process rather than
passive recipients of ‘words without thoughts’ (Hamlet III, iii, 97)” as one of the obvious reasons that Ives was
so successful in helping ADHD and dyslexic students access the language of
Shakespeare (Johnson 48). Similarly, becoming an active part in the process of
reading a graphic novel is sure to have the same positive effects on learning
disabled students. Gene Yang states that, “By combining image and text, graphic
novels bridge the gap between media we watch and media we read. Image and text
share narrative responsibility. Because of this, many teachers have found great
success using graphic novels with ELL students and struggling readers” (Yang 187).
When working to decode the language of Shakespeare, don’t we all feel like
struggling readers? By using a graphic novel version of a Shakespeare play,
students have all the benefits of visual images while still being immersed as
an “active part” (187) of the original Shakespeare text. Further visual
benefits, such as the bolding of specific words in McDonald’s graphic novel
version would continue to assist learning disabled students throughout their
entire reading process. In McDonald’s version, when Egeus (father of Hermia)
exclaims, “My noble lord, this man hath my consent to marry her… and, my gracious duke, this man hath bewitch’d the bosom of my child” (Shakespeare
and McDonald 9), the use of bold helps to point out important words that are
worth knowing, and it may even hint at the tone of Egeus’ words.
While using a non-traditional text can clearly be beneficial
in the classroom, particularly when dealing with something, such as
Shakespeare, that may be difficult for students to access, it is important to
remember that non-traditional methods are not always the preferred or the most
beneficial way to teach students. Using a new method, such as a graphic novel,
without putting any thought behind the purpose for using that method is time
wasted. Non-traditional methods including non-traditional texts, and also
including technology and new media should not be used in the classroom without
careful consideration. Paul Baltes, a longtime teacher of English and
Shakespeare, described an experience of putting Smartboards into a variety of
classrooms: “I have
installed Smartboards at 2 schools… In each case, I asked the principals, the
tech directors and some of the users, what they were going to do with the
boards. They all answered that they didn't know, but that these would
improve learning. ‘How?’ I asked. They had no answer… They were all
convinced that somehow the technology itself would improve performance—just
because they could show something on a screen, but none of them were equipped
to know how” (Baltes). To decide what method will be used to teach
Shakespeare, a teacher should consider the problems that individual students
may have with such an unfamiliar text. And if graphic novels could combat these
problems, then graphic novels should be used to teach with purpose.
In her article titled “‘Signs of Life’ in
the High School Classroom: Analyzing Popular Culture to Provide Student Choice
in Analytical Writing,” Shannon Falkner struggles with a similar issue between
balancing the teaching of traditional texts (and specifically with having
students write about traditional texts) with teaching through non-traditional
methods. Ultimately, Falkner surrenders to a less traditional way of teaching
by fusing popular culture into her writing assignments, and she shares her
reasoning by stating, “[…] at the end of my time with my students, what matters
is that they have grown as thinkers and as writers. They can always go back and
read Jane Eyre, but the chance to
become a successful writer in my English class only lasts a year” (Falkner 49).
I believe that this logic should be applied to the teaching of Shakespeare.
When students leave my classroom, I would rather that they have had a positive
experience—whether it was through the language, the content, or even through
some other means—that will push them to pursue a career of life-long
learning—about Shakespeare, or something else entirely. My goal is to open up a
world for my students that allows them to make choices about what they want to
spend their time doing and investing in, and if I am able to sneak some great
works of writing in there…then I’m convinced that I am doing my job.
Works Cited
Baltes, Paul. "Shakespeare in the 21st Century."
Message to Janelle Frossard. 2 Nov. 2012. E-
mail.
Falkner, Shannon. "English Journal." English
Journal. 101.2 (2011): 44-49. Print.
Hammer, Kasey. “Overcoming the Common Complaints of Teaching
Shakespeare to Secondary
Students Through Alternative Teaching
Methods.” (2012): n. page. Web. 1 Nov. 2012.
<http://teamshakespeare.blogspot.com/2012/11/hey-so-for-those-of-you-looking-at.html
Johnson, Kathryn King. "Teaching Shakespeare to
Learning Disabled Students." English
Journal. 87.3 (1998): 45-49. Web. 1 Nov. 2012.
Shakespeare, William, John McDonald, et al. A Midsummer
Night's Dream The Graphic Novel:
Original Text. Classical Comics, 2011. 1-144. Print.
Shakespeare, William, Richard Appignanesi, et al. A
Midsummer Night's Dream. Amulet, 2007.
1-207. Print.
Yang, Gene. "Graphic Novels in the Classroom." Language
Arts. 85.3 (2008): 185-192. Web. 1
Nov. 2012.
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