To Hell, with Shakespeare
In the teaching of Shakespearean plays to ESL students, deciphering Shakespeare‟s language has often been cited as the main obstacle to comprehending his work. While this may hold true to a large extent, there are other „aspects‟/‟areas‟ in Shakespeare‟s plays such as the concept of Hell and black...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2010
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| Online Access: | http://eprints.sunway.edu.my/168/ http://eprints.sunway.edu.my/168/1/Lee%20EiLeen%20-%20To%20Hell%2C%20with%20Shakespeare.pdf |
| _version_ | 1848801763992272896 |
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| author | Lee, Ei Leen * |
| author_facet | Lee, Ei Leen * |
| author_sort | Lee, Ei Leen * |
| building | SU Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | In the teaching of Shakespearean plays to ESL students, deciphering Shakespeare‟s language has often been cited as the main obstacle to comprehending his work. While this may hold true to a large extent, there are other „aspects‟/‟areas‟ in Shakespeare‟s
plays such as the concept of Hell and black comedy, which may prove equally demanding to comprehend in the ESL classroom.
Humor is not only relative but it is also time and culture-bound; in the case of the Malaysian classroom, getting students from different ethnic and religious backgrounds to comprehend the black humor in the Porter‟s scene in Macbeth is no laughing matter. This paper reports on how the researcher tapped on the diverse religious beliefs of the students and used Taoist, Muslim, and Hindu concepts of the afterlife as a prelude to teach and read the Porter‟s scene. Following this, the ESL students engaged in
communicative, language-based activities such as interviews with the Porter or characters in the afterlife to suspend disbelief and transcend the text. As a result of the creative methodology used in the class, the ESL students were able to discuss and comprehend Shakespeare‟s treatment of Hell and grasp the concept of black comedy in the play. In conclusion, the methodology advocated in the study celebrated creativity and diversity in the Malaysian classroom. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T21:12:38Z |
| format | Article |
| id | sunway-168 |
| institution | Sunway University |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T21:12:38Z |
| publishDate | 2010 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | sunway-1682019-06-12T09:04:19Z http://eprints.sunway.edu.my/168/ To Hell, with Shakespeare Lee, Ei Leen * LB Theory and practice of education P Philology. Linguistics PE English In the teaching of Shakespearean plays to ESL students, deciphering Shakespeare‟s language has often been cited as the main obstacle to comprehending his work. While this may hold true to a large extent, there are other „aspects‟/‟areas‟ in Shakespeare‟s plays such as the concept of Hell and black comedy, which may prove equally demanding to comprehend in the ESL classroom. Humor is not only relative but it is also time and culture-bound; in the case of the Malaysian classroom, getting students from different ethnic and religious backgrounds to comprehend the black humor in the Porter‟s scene in Macbeth is no laughing matter. This paper reports on how the researcher tapped on the diverse religious beliefs of the students and used Taoist, Muslim, and Hindu concepts of the afterlife as a prelude to teach and read the Porter‟s scene. Following this, the ESL students engaged in communicative, language-based activities such as interviews with the Porter or characters in the afterlife to suspend disbelief and transcend the text. As a result of the creative methodology used in the class, the ESL students were able to discuss and comprehend Shakespeare‟s treatment of Hell and grasp the concept of black comedy in the play. In conclusion, the methodology advocated in the study celebrated creativity and diversity in the Malaysian classroom. Elsevier 2010 Article PeerReviewed text en http://eprints.sunway.edu.my/168/1/Lee%20EiLeen%20-%20To%20Hell%2C%20with%20Shakespeare.pdf Lee, Ei Leen * (2010) To Hell, with Shakespeare. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences,, 7. pp. 317-325. ISSN 1877-0428 (Submitted) http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877042810020483 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2010.10.044 |
| spellingShingle | LB Theory and practice of education P Philology. Linguistics PE English Lee, Ei Leen * To Hell, with Shakespeare |
| title | To Hell, with Shakespeare |
| title_full | To Hell, with Shakespeare |
| title_fullStr | To Hell, with Shakespeare |
| title_full_unstemmed | To Hell, with Shakespeare |
| title_short | To Hell, with Shakespeare |
| title_sort | to hell, with shakespeare |
| topic | LB Theory and practice of education P Philology. Linguistics PE English |
| url | http://eprints.sunway.edu.my/168/ http://eprints.sunway.edu.my/168/ http://eprints.sunway.edu.my/168/ http://eprints.sunway.edu.my/168/1/Lee%20EiLeen%20-%20To%20Hell%2C%20with%20Shakespeare.pdf |