Ah, Shakespeare…viewed as one of the greatest (if not the greatest) writers in the English language, Shakespeare’s works consists of 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems. His works have been translated into almost every language, and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.  

William Shakespeare (April 26, 1564 – April 23, 1616) was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. He married Anne Hathaway at the age of 18, and they went on to have three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Shakespeare had a successful career during 1585 and 1592 as an actor, writer, and part owner of the Lord Chamberlin’s Men. He retired to Stratford around 1613, where he died three years later. There are very few details about Shakespeare’s private life, which leads to various speculations.

His work, however, speaks volumes. Most of his greatest works were published between 1590 and 1613. His early plays were mainly comedies and histories (A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Taming of the Shrew, King Richard II). Next, he moved onto tragedies (Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Antony and Cleopatra) until about 1608. In his last phase, he wrote tragicomedies (also known as romances) and collaborated with other playwrights.

It is amazing that although Shakespeare was talented and respected in his day, his reputation did not rise until the nineteenth century. In the twentieth century, his work was repeatedly adopted and rediscovered. Even today his work remains relevant and important in cultural contexts around the world.

If you have never read a Shakespeare play, Simply Charly encourages you to read one…it is an experience! For a complete list of his works, visit the Writings page on Simply Shakespeare. And you can pick up one of those Shakespeare books at the Simply Shakespeare Store.

Happy learning!

Heads down, pencils up! It’s that time of year to begin preparation for those high school standardized tests. The level of emphasis placed on these exams is controversial; but the tests exist and educators have to prepare students to be engaged during the process. The following are just a few tips to help:

• Make test preparation fun—turn the test preparation into competitions. Break your class up into teams and playing games, i.e., a version of “Who Wants to Be A Millionaire” based on test questions. 
• Build stamina by encouraging students to read and write during block periods of time during class. Gradually increase the time, and provide reading material that the students are interested in.
• Simulate actual exams. This is probably the best preparation tip. Get the students acclimated by simulating the actual environment they will be testing in, preferably on a daily basis.
• Build the students’ vocabulary. Introduce new words and their meanings daily.

All of this information and more can be found in an excellent article, “Preparing High School Students for Standardized Exams” on the Scholastic Web site. The most important thing to remember is that test preparation is consistent and on-going; it cannot be crammed into a week before the actual test. Helping the students learn methodologies and strategies over the course of the school year will help them in the long run better than trying to cram several lessons into a short time period.

Happy learning!

Hailed by the New York Times as “…the ultimate impressionist: She does people’s souls,” Anna Deavere Smith is a Tony Award winning and Pulitzer Prize nominated actress, playwright, and professor. Ms. Smith is probably best known for her “documentary theatre” style works, often taking on multiple characters in her one-woman shows…

Which leads Simply Charly to this extremely engaging and captivating TEDTalks video. Ms. Smith brings to life four very different American people, in four very different situations, bringing their stories to the audience in a way that is captivating. Pay not so much attention to the “impression” but to the words of each story. Ms. Smith remains very true to the essence of each person and allows each character’s unique aura to pour forth from her…an amazing performance!

Happy learning!

Pablo Ruiz Picasso (October 25, 1881 - April 8, 1973) was a Spanish born painter and sculptor. Born in Malaga, Spain, he was a child prodigy…his talent was recognized and encouraged by his father, Don Jose Ruiz y Blasco, from a very early age. Picasso was so preoccupied with art that it was often to the detriment of his schoolwork.

In 1891, the family moved to La Coruña so that Ruiz could become a professor at the School of Arts. It was during their stay here that he took notice of the precision of Picasso’s technique, and felt that Picasso had surpassed him in talent, and vowed to give up painting. Four years later, tragedy struck the family when Picasso’s sister died of diptheria. The family then moved to Barcelona and Ruiz persuaded the School of Arts to allow Picasso to allow his son to take the entrance exam for the advanced class. The process normally took a month for students to complete; however, Picasso completed it in a week, and the impressed jury admitted Picasso, who was 13 at the time.

Picasso travelled to Paris in 1900, where he met the poet Max Jacob, who became his friend and roommate. These were hard times, and much of the work he had completed had to be burned for heat for the small room he and Max shared. In 1901, Picasso and his friend Francisco de Asís Soler founded the magazine Arte Joven (Young Art), which published all of five issues. From that day he stopped using his full name and simply began using “Picasso” to sign his works. These first years of the century correspond to the painter’s Blue Period. The Blue Period is full of paintings of despondent figures—musicians, beggars, prostitutes, artists, blind men—all inspired by the struggles in Picasso’s own life.

The Blue Period is immediately followed by the Rose Period, which is followed by the African Period. Picasso is probably best known for co-founding the Cubist movement, which followed the African Period.

Picasso met and married his first wife, Russian ballerina Olga Khokhlova, in 1918. They had a son, Paulo, the following year. Although Picasso began a clandestine affair with Marie-Therese Walter in 1927, he never divorced his wife, because he didn’t want her to have half his wealth. His wife did discover the affair when Walter became pregnant with daughter Maia and the Picassos remained separated until Olga’s death in 1955. Picasso fathered two other children—Claude and Paloma—with Françoise Gilot. Picasso did remarry in 1961, but not to Ms. Walter…he married Jacqueline Roque, subject of one of his more famous later paintings, Jacqueline.

Picasso worked well into his upper years, continuing to work until his death. His last words: “Drink to me, drink to my health, you know I can’t drink anymore.”

There is a world of more information to discover about Picasso. Skip over to Simply Picasso to read more about this very interesting painting genius…don’t forget to take the quiz and, if you have questions, visit the Forum!

Happy learning!

Budapest is the capital of what European country? Do you know the answer? Watch this video to see how Kellie Pickler, former American Idol contestant, answers…

A very interesting article published by the New York Times highlights the current state of American culture. The article, “Dumb and Dumber: Are Americans Hostile to Knowledge?¹” bemoans the idea that Americans no longer feel it is necessary to know information on cultural issues. Susan Jacoby, author of “The Age of American Unreason” says in the article that two things are happening: anti-intellectualism (”too much learning can be a dangerous thing”) and anti-rationalism (”no such things as evidence or fact, just opinion”) and that these two things have fused into Americans thinking that scientific, civil, and cultural knowledge do not matter.

The article ends with a brilliant story of why Ms. Jacoby decided to write her book. Click on the link above to read the article.

Happy learning!

¹Cohen, Patricia. “Dumb and Dumber: Are Americans Hostile to Knowledge?”, The New York Times, February 14, 2008

Got a headache because you’ve got a big test coming up? Having trouble sleeping because of the big game this Friday? You are probably dealing with stress, which is your body’s way of reacting to pressure. That pressure can come from anywhere: parents, school, coaches, and work. You can even put pressure on yourself.

Your body has a natural reaction to stress; you may experience sweaty palms, knots in your stomach, or even lack of focus or concentration. This is normal and is just your body’s way of telling you that you are under stress. But is stress a bad thing? Not necessarily. A little stress can motivate you to perform better in Friday’s game, or even to study harder for the big test and get a better score. There are signs, however, that indicate that you are under too much stress and you should look out for these signs:

These are all signs that can lead to a more serious condition. The point is we all get stressed out sometimes. The way that we handle it is critical in our overall health. If you are experiencing any of the above signs, let someone know and go see your doctor. No one should let stress get out of hand and rule their lives.

Happy learning!

One of the greatest novelists in history, Ernest Miller Hemingway was born in 1899 in Oak Park, Illinois. His father was a doctor and his mother was a singing instructor who dressed him, as a toddler, in girl’s clothing to match his older sister—she badly wanted twins and he had failed to be a pair.

Although his mother would have liked for him to pursue a career in music, Hemingway developed an interest in the outdoors. In high school, Hemingway excelled both academically and athletically; he boxed, played football, and took naturally to his English classes. After high school, Hemingway did not attend college; instead he became a journalist, beginning his writing career as a cub reporter at the Kansas City Star. Hemingway was only at the KC Star for six months before joining the Red Cross Ambulance Corps on the Italian front during World War I.

Hemingway became one of the “The Lost Generation,” the expatriate community in Paris in the 1920’s. He chronicled his stay there in his memoir, “A Moveable Feast.” His memoir wasn’t published until after his death in 1961. After an initial failed attempt, he committed suicide a few weeks before his birthday. Hemingway suffered from depression, and had received electroshock treatments for his condition.

There is so much more to the life of Hemingway than can be put here…bounce over to the Simply Hemingway site to learn more about this fascinating Nobel Prize winning novelist.

Happy learning!

Simply Charly wishes you a Happy New Year! 2007 was a banner year for Simply Charly and we are looking forward to bringing you lots of exciting new features in 2008, including:

• Knowledge Base
• Essay Contests
• Quizzes
• Webinars
• Podcasts

In addition to the new features coming up, Simply Charly will continue to bring you features on your favorite historical icons, Simply Charly polls, and other regular features already found on our site.

Simply Charly thanks all of you who have supported us since the inception of our Web site. Here’s hoping 2008 brings you much success and happiness! 

Happy learning!

Richard Baraniuk is a Rice University professor who has a truly unique vision: create a free, global online education system that puts the power of collaboration and creation in the hands of teachers. To do this, he created Connexions, a Web site that allows teachers to “create, rip, mix and burn” coursework—without the fear of copyright infringement.

Connexions system cuts out the textbook and allows teachers to share course materials, modify existing work, and distribute it to their students—all under the Creative Commons license. This could become a powerful force in leveling the educational playing field.

To learn more about Richard Baraniuk’s vision, click here to view the video presentation he made at a recent TED Talks conference.

Happy learning!

Ahh, Hitchcock! He of the great suspense and thriller films, Alfred Hitchcock was born in London in 1899. Hitchcock was a great storyteller in his youth, and aspects of his mother were borrowed for the movie Psycho. Surprising as it may seem, Alfred Hitchcock only won one Academy Award for his films; his film, Rebecca won Best Picture in 1940.

Hitchcock was the second son and youngest of three children born to William Hitchcock, a greengrocer and poulterer, and Emma Jane Hitchcock. His father was stern, and it is widely known that Hitchcock’s father once sent him to the local police station with a note asking them to lock him up for 10 minutes as punishment for bad behavior. The idea of being wrongly accused or harshly treated is reflected in his movies. His mother would often make him address her while standing at the foot of her bed, especially if he behaved badly. He often had to stand there for hours. This would be recalled by the character Norman Bates in Psycho.

As a young man, Hitchcock worked in advertising before entering the film world. Hitchcock directed his first film in 1925 (The Pleasure Garden). It was a highly unsuccessful film and threatened to derail his career. However, his next film, The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog was his entry in the thriller genre and was a major success.

The list of Hitchcock’s films is a list of true classics. Read more about Hitchcock’s life, his films, and his achievements on the Simply Hitchcock Web site. Check out the Free Downloads for some awesome stuff. Don’t forget to take the Simply Hitchcock Poll!

Happy learning!