Students study a wide variety of classic and modern literature. Much, but not all of it, coincides with the history rotation being studied. (Some works were written during the time period; others were written about the time period.) Literature includes daily poetry reading, literature, historical fiction, Shakespeare, and the history of literature.
Daily Poetry Reading
Students of all ages should spend 5-10 minutes each day reading poetry just for pleasure. This time can be scheduled at any time during the day, but may best be habituated if attached to a specific daily activity.
Students in Grades 5 and up also read Historical Poetry during their literature time. This category includes both poems that were written during the historical time period being studied and about events that happened during that time period.
Charlotte Mason wrote, “Poetry takes first rank as a means of intellectual culture.” Still, even as we begin to recognize the power of poetry to heal and guide, we can struggle to morph a school lesson with our children into a meaningful pursuit apart from dissecting each verse to bits. But slowly, nearly imperceptibly, we start to truly experience poetry. In this session, Amber O’Neal Johnston shares her journey as she discusses the role of poetry in our students’ lives and our own. Mason said, “A thousand thoughts that burn come to us on the wings of verse."
The Promises of Poetry (43 min)
Discussion of Word Made Fresh (24 min)
Abram Van Engen, the author of Word Made Fresh, discusses the benefits of poetry and how we can make it a regular part of our lives.
History of Literature
Students begin a study of the history of literature in the English language in Grade 7. The readings focus primarily on American and British writing, and they are correlated with the historical period being studied each year. The materials we use outline the major developments in content, style, and philosophy during the time period. They include poems, short stories, essays, speeches, and excerpts from books. These excerpts may be extended to reading the entire book in the evenings, if desired.
Shakespeare (25 min)
Students begin reading Shakespeare plays in Grade 4, and they continue to read three plays per year through Form 6. Mason’s purpose for such focused and consistent study seems to be Shakespeare’s uncanny insight into human character. In Philosophy of Education, she tells us that students read their Shakespeare plays aloud and ‘in character.’ We have patterned our Shakespeare rotation on her original programmes insofar as students did not read every Shakespeare play, students in different Forms sometimes read different plays due to content, and they often repeated particular plays. Therefore, there is no need to substitute a different play for the one we have scheduled if your student has already read it.
Nancy Kelly talks about the role of Shakespeare in a Mason education. She also walks you through a lesson and offers her best practices and tips after years of teaching the plays.
Reflection
Respond to the following in the comments or in your journal:
1) What were your impressions of Shakespeare before learning about Mason's methods? Has that changed since encountering Shakespeare in a Mason education?
2) Do you agree with Nancy Kelly that the "reading of the play should trump the seeing of the play"? Explain your answer.
3) What new insights did you glean that you want to implement with your students?
4) What do you find challenging about teaching Shakespeare?
5) What do you find rewarding about teaching Shakespeare?
In Mason's Own Words
“We probably read Shakespeare in the first place for his stories, afterwards for his characters, the multitude of delightful persons with whom he makes us so intimate that afterwards, in fiction or in fact, we say, ‘She is another Jessica,’ and ‘That dear girl is a Miranda’; ‘She is a Cordelia to her father,’ and, such a figure in history, ‘a base lago’. To become intimate with Shakespeare in this way is a great enrichment of mind and instruction of conscience. Then, by degrees, as we go on reading this world-teacher, lines of insight and beauty take possession of us, and unconsciously mould our judgments of men and things and of the great issues of life” (Ourselves, p.72).
“And Shakespeare? He, indeed, is not to be classed, and timed, and treated as one amongst others,––he, who might well be the daily bread of the intellectual life; Shakespeare is not to be studied in a year; he is to be read continuously throughout life, from ten years old and onwards. But a child of ten cannot understand Shakespeare. No; but can a man of fifty? Is not our great poet rather an ample feast of which every one takes according to his needs, and leaves what he has no stomach for?” (Formation of Character, p.224)
Further Reading
Brightest Heaven of Invention: A Christian Guide to Six Shakespeare Plays by Peter Leithart
Stories from Shakespeare, Shakespeare of London, An Introduction to Shakespeare by Marchette Chute
Shakespeare After All by Marjorie Garber
Echoes of Eden: Reflections on Christianity, Literature, and the Arts by Jerram Barrs
Recovering the Lost Art of Reading: A Quest for the True, the Good, and the Beautiful by Leland Ryken and Glenda Mathes
Invitation to the Classics edited by Louise Cowan
