Shakespeare’s plays were written to be spoken out loud.
Yes, we can study them and his writing is so brilliant it merits that but, ultimately, these were plays, which were meant to be spoken and heard.
The Ghost of Lady Shakespeare is intended as a fun introduction to Shakespeare, for kids to hear and speak Shakespearean language and begin the process of having ownership of his work.
When my oldest child was two, I ran Margaret’s lines in our living room for a production of Richard III. My daughter absorbed the music of the language and started opening her arms wide saying ‘wauh, wauh, wauh, wauh, wauh!’ To her, that was ‘Mummy doing Shakespeare,’ but she was owning it, making her own entry point through the musicality and rhythm of the words.
By the way, try saying Margaret’s line, That dog, that had his teeth before his eyes’, in a regular voice:
Below is a clip of her at seven years old, all dressed up and letting her Juliet heart out.
Give it a try.
Dress up.
Speak some lines.
It’s fun.