Bringing Forth the Bard

Zoe Enser was a classroom teacher for 20 years, during which time she was also a head of English and a senior leader with a responsibility for staff development and school improvement.

Zoe Enser's Bringing Forth the Bard is a tour de force, an essential guide ensuring our students receive the best teaching when it comes to approaching Shakespeare. It is a text that allows its readers to consider, to analyse and to reflect on why Shakespeare is still relevant in our classrooms today. From discussing his context and influences as well as biblical and classical allusion to an exploration of symbols, motifs and stagecraft, Enser deftly removes any barriers to understanding Shakespeare we may encounter, offering us a peek into parts of the Bard's world that are often ignored. This has clearly been a labour of love for Zoe, and how brilliant it is that it has been shared with us all. It is, quite simply, a triumph.Stuart Pryke