Literature | Ordo Amoris Community

Shakespeare

“We probably read Shakespeare in the first place for his stories, afterwards for his characters. . . . To become intimate with Shakespeare in this way is a great enrichment of mind and instruction of conscience. Then, by degrees, as we go on reading this world-teacher, lines of insight and beauty take possession of us, and unconsciously mould our judgments of men and things and of the great issues of life.”

-Charlotte Mason

Satisfying Stories to Glorious English

Shakespeare’s stories are complex and interesting! Students of all ages enjoy the turns and twists of the plots, the fascinating characters, and the humor or pathos of these plays. As they grow older, we grapple with the original language, and naturally move into discussion of the moral issues addressed and the beauties of the literary form. Each year, students present a “Shakespeare Showcase,” acting out the scenes that they have been immersed in together for months.

Form I

At the Form I level, students gain a familiarity with the plot and characters of a Shakespeare play, reading and narrating an adapted version.

Form II-IV

In Form II-IV, students read the original version of our play. They read it aloud in parts, pausing regularly to narrate and discuss. Discussions explore the “lines of insight and beauty” and “great issues of life” that students have seen.

Works To Be Read

Here are the plays we will enjoy together:

2025-2026 “A Comedy of Errors” | “Macbeth”

Year 2 “Midsummer's Night Dream” | "Henry V"

Year 3 "The Tempest" | "Julius Caesar"

Year 4 “Much Ado About Nothing” | “Twelfth Night”

Year 5 “Hamlet” (1 year)

Year 6 "As You Like It" | "King Lear"

Begin the cycle over

Plutarch

“Perhaps nothing outside of the Bible has the educational value of Plutarch’s Lives.”

Charlotte Mason, School Education p.235

From Citizenship to Character

What are the duties of a citizen? What makes a hero? What should society be like? Throughout our Plutarch program, students grapple with these essential questions. They start with simpler versions of these classic biographies from Greece and Rome, then work their way through full Lives. Gradually they wrestle more and more with issues of character and conduct, as they read these nuanced portraits of historical characters marked by strengths and flaws.

Plutarch’s Lives–considered an essential component of a good education until recently–is a work that has greatly influenced our culture. The founding fathers of our nation studied Plutarch extensively to help them determine how to shape our government and constitution. Shakespeare drew extensively from Plutarch in the writing of his historical plays. Knowing these versions of these historical characters will help our students understand and enjoy our culture.

Plutarch’s Lives are also artistically beautiful. We read them in the classic translation by Sir Thomas North, and the rich sixteenth-century English stretches students’ language skills while the deep portraits stretch their souls.

Form I

Ordo Amoris does not offer Plutarch in Form I, though students may begin to overhear their siblings’ conversations!

Form II

In the first year of Form II, students begin to study the lives of famous Romans, using Mrs. Beesly’s Stories from the History of Rome. In their second year, they plunge into Plutarch’s Life of Publicola. By their sixth grade year, they are ready to join in with the Life that the Form III-IV students are reading. Throughout these years, they are learning to contemplate what citizenship is, what constitutes good character, and how we might define leadership and magnanimity.

Forms III-IV

In Forms III and IV, students meet to read, narrate, and discuss the Plutarch Life of the year. Which leaders are virtuous? Which are effective? How can a certain decision or a fatal flaw affect the life of a leader and his people? What are Plutarch’s goals and biases–and do we agree with him? How does this relate to our modern world and politics today?