Pedagogy Apr 2025

How to Make a King

Scott Oldenburg

Abstract

Abstract This article presents a prereading activity for Shakespeare's history plays, 2 Henry VI in particular. The activity involves students in carefully studying an anonymized family tree extending from Edward III through Richard III, choosing whom they believe to be the rightful heir, and posing arguments in support of their claim. The exploration of rhetoric and rule introduces students to key figures in the plays as well as the central theme of right rule. This problem-solving approach to early modern matters of succession has the further effect of introducing students to the idea that all claims to rule should be subjected to careful scrutiny.

Journal
Pedagogy
Published
2025-04-01
DOI
10.1215/15314200-11630848
Open Access
Closed
Topics
multimodality multilingual writers

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (0)

No articles in this index cite this work.

Cites in this index (0)

No references match articles in this index.

Also cites 15 works outside this index ↓
  1. Bennett (1998)
    Edward III's Entail and the Succession of the Crown, 1376–1471
    English Historical Review  ↗
  2. Corredera (2023)
    Shakespeare and Cultural Appropriation
     ↗
  3. Douglass (2021)
    Neo-nationalism and Universities: Populists, Autocrats, and the Future of Higher Education
     ↗
  4. Ellinghausen (2017)
    Introduction
     ↗
  5. Eren-Zaffar (2020)
    The Impact of Pre-Reading Strategies on Reading Performance: An Action Research
     ↗
  6. Frazer (2020)
    Shakespeare and the Political Way
     ↗
  7. Gil (2013)
    Shakespeare's Anti-politics
     ↗
  8. Giroux (2023)
    Insurrections: Education in an Age of Counter-Revolutionary Politics
     ↗
  9. Given-Wilson (2004)
    Legitimation, Designation, and Succession to the Throne in Fourteenth-Century England
     ↗
  10. Hammer (2008)
    Shakespeare Richard II, the Play of 7 February 1601, and the Essex Rising
    Shakespeare Quarterly  ↗
  11. Hyman (2019)
    Introduction: Making Meaning and Doing Justice with Early Modern Texts
     ↗
  12. Lyon (2006)
    The Place of Women in European Royal Succession in the Middle Ages
    Liverpool Law Review  ↗
  13. McIntosh (2023)
    Teaching English in a Time of Resurgent Nationalism
    TESOL Quarterly  ↗
  14. Mortimer (2006)
    Richard II and the Succession to the Crown
    History  ↗
  15. Scuro (2023)
    Timesoup, Missed Meaning, and Making a Pandemic History
     ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 0 View in citation network →

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