Shakespeare in 3D: Bringing the Bard to Life through New (Old) Media

Shakespeare didn’t write scripts so much as he wrote plays—live productions to be acted out in front of audiences through multimodal forms of expression.  Yet some teachers’ script-only approach to the Bard inadvertently isolates students from the many visual, auditory, and performative elements that make his plays so enduring.  This article offers a varied remix of strategies for incorporating multimedia—and the various literacy skills needed to comprehend them—into the study of Shakespeare, including YouTube clips, graphic novels, audio recordings, and films. With a multimodal approach, the Bard can come to life in a 21st-century classroom.