2025 A to Z Challenge Blog for the Letter S

April 22, 2025. There may be sun today, but it probably won’t be warm enough to sit outside. Sad news yesterday that Pope Francis died. It wasn’t unexpected since he had been gravely ill, but it is a blow to the millions of Roman Catholics around the world. Even a Presbyterian like myself can appreciate the good the man did during his time as the head of the RC church. Now, the process begins to find a replacement. In the past, there was a lot of interest in watching for the white smoke. Will there be as much now?

I spent thirty years of my career as a teacher as an English teacher. My love for literature is a deep-seated one that started with reading Little Golden Books, and grew into the writing career I’ve created for myself since retiring. The two units that were may favorites included my poetry unit and my Shakespearian unit. I can see some of you cringing, but I loved Shakespeare, and I did everything I could to ensure my students loved it, or at least enjoyed the six weeks we spent there. Tomorrow is the Bard’s birthday.

Today’s letter is S, and I’m going to focus on Shakespeare. Back in the day, there would be memory work, acting out scenes, doing research on the period and of course, reading and studying the plays. Did I have my favorites? Yes. I loved the comedies, Twelfth Night, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Merchant of Venice, and The Taming of the Shrew. While I taught them, the two I disliked the most were Romeo and Juliet, and Hamlet–both men were spoiuled wimps. The tragedies that I preferred were King Lear and Macbeth, although the one who wore the pants in that relationship was definitely Lady Macbeth. I visited Cawdor Castle in Scotland and that was a thrill. Macbeth was the Thane of Cawdor and there is an exhibit dedicated to that inside.

Students used to complain that Shakespearian Engligh was hard to understand. Maybe, but he had the best insults. Here’s a list and a fun activity to create your own. Enjoy!

This song refers to Julius Caesar, Macbeth, and King Lear

Come back tomorrow for the letter T. Here’s the MASTER LIST https://tinyurl.com/tauke86z