A STUDY OF SHAKESPEARE IN ENGLAND

Megan Godfrey spoke of her study-abroad experience in England where the famous author and playwright William Shakespeare lived and worked. Godfrey, a junior at Treynor High School, said she found the opportunity through the International Studies program of Hillsdale College, Hillsdale, Michigan. She joined a dozen other students in the study of Shakespeare starting in the lecture halls and library of Hillsdale.

As part of the study course, the students, a couple of professors and a guide traveled to England for 12 days to look first hand at the legacy of Shakespeare. Godfrey noted that Shakespeare lived 1564 to 1616, during the Jacobean and Elizabethan periods of England. His writings are still widely read and studied today and his plays are continually presented in many settings.

Godfrey stated the study group attended three plays; two plays in The Globe Theater, once owned by Shakespeare, and one play in an outdoor setting. The students also had to team up and present a performance of a scene from one of Shakespeare’s plays. Godfrey’s team won the competition.

Godfrey explained the study group did some typical castle and cathedral tours and visited Oxford University. Oxford University was especially grand and her favorite place she visited was St. Paul Cathedral where she climbed the 532 steps to the top of the dome to look out over London.

Godfrey said the experience in England was very gratifying and she would return at the first opportunity, even to pursue additional Shakespeare studies.