I took a Victorian Poetry course that blew me away and really put the bug in me for that era I love trying to get my students to appreciate the mounting “anxiety” of those poets (Tennyson, Arnold, Hopkins, etc.) as we trace through the historical movement toward the despair of modernism. It actually serves as a basis for understanding much of the narcissism and apathy of our world today.
But, hey, if you want to see something special, watch Kenneth Branagh’s film version of Hamlet. It presents the entire play (4 hours worth) and is visually enthralling. For the most part, his Hamlet is very well done, but his “O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I” soliloquy will bring chills to your spine...emotionally, spot on.
Wow. Sounds like a fun class. And High School, too. Introduce them early! For me, it was almost too late.
And thank you for the suggestion. My son might enjoy it too. I’ll look for it.
My son is reading a lot more than I did at his age. He is a junoior in high school. Right now he is reading book 1 of the Game of Thrones and the Shining. I was joking with him that he will start blending the two books.