Course Sample for Our Shakespeare, Dickens, and the Bible Homeschool Course

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Shakespeare, Dickens, and the Bible
By Miranda McCulley

Introduction to Shakespeare

Week 1

• This week you will be learning about Shakespeare and the time during which he lived, inpreparation to begin reading some of his works. One way to prepare you for this will be to studyand become familiar with the language he used. I want you to watch the Development of EnglishLanguage PowerPoint (Twinkl content) and follow the instructions.
• As the PowerPoint explains, the language that Shakespeare used is the same as what is found in ourKing James Bible. The language of the Bishops Bible and the Geneva Bible that preceded the KJVare a blend between middle English and early modern English. Comparing a few of the verses fromeach will help you to understand just how the English language has progressed. Read “What theV?” below and answer the questions at the bottom of the page.
• Each day this week I will be giving you a word in Scripture that you will find in Shakespeare’swork. Using the passage(s) I give you, see if you can figure out the meaning of the highlightedword(s). If not, try looking it up in a dictionary or using the Webster’s 1828 online. (You may wantto bookmark that site for future reference; the definitions from that edition of Webster’s dictionarywill prove very useful though out this course.) Once you have the meaning of the word, write it onpaper with the definition. Keep this, as you will add to it each day this week to be a sort of cheatsheet when you begin reading Shakespeare’s works next week.

Shakespearean Word of the Day: twain

And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. (Matthew 19:4-6)

Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent. (Matthew 27:50-51)

For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby. (Ephesians 2:14-16)

Course Outline for Our Shakespeare, Dickens, and the Bible Homeschool Course

Learn to appreciate Shakespeare and Dickens through the eyes of faith with this literature course. 

• Unit 1 (Lessons 1-2): Introduction to Shakespeare
• Unit 2 (Lessons 3-7): Macbeth
• Unit 3 (Lessons 8-10): A Midsummer Night’s Dream
• Unit 4 (Lessons 11-12): Julius Caesar
• Unit 5 (Lessons 13-17): Much Ado About Nothing
• Unit 6 (Lessons 18-24): Romeo and Juliet
• Unit 7 (Lessons 25-31): Great Expectations
• Unit 8 (Lessons 32-34): A Christmas Carol
• Unit 9 (Lessons 35-36): The Signalman

Please Note: This curriculum may include literature by classic authors who are not necessarily Christian, but the lessons seek to evaluate the works from a Christian worldview.

More About Our Shakespeare, Dickens, and the Bible Homeschool Course

This is a high school English Literature course designed to not only give your child a deep appreciation of the works of Shakespeare and Dickens, but to give them a strong Biblical worldview with which to view all other aspects of life, including literature. It is set up to be mostly self-teaching, although they may sometimes need a partner to complete an assignment. You or a sibling will do just fine. Much of the course work is essay based and is not necessarily graded for “correct” answers as much as for understanding. Each day they will have a literature-based reading as well as a Biblical one that relates to the topic of the book in some way. This course is best suited for upper level high school students.