English mass entertainment.docVIP

English mass entertainment, nor the effect of immigration on working-class culture, nor the erosion of the ‘working class’ itself together with its cultural identity. But he does put forward a very interesting idea about the decline of religious observance and the waning of interest in Shakespeare among working people. When the words of the King James Bible were regularly heard in schools and in church from an early age, the language of Shakespeare did not seem totally alien to children’s ears. Now, the ‘linguistic disjunction’ between the language of the plays and our contemporary speech has become severe. At the end of his final chapter, ‘Decline and Fall’, where Murphy addresses the situation today, he cites two televised projects to bring Shakespeare to the estates. One was led by the director Michael Bogdanov in Birmingham and the other by the actor Paterson Joseph in Harlesden. Both achieved some success by treating Shakespeare as material for performance. But ultimately Murphy feels that there is a kind of middle-class patronisation going on here, almost a kind of colonialist project to bring enlightenment to the benighted. He concludes by wondering whether today ‘working-class residents of places such as Ladywood …when all is said and done really need William Shakespeare?’ Whatever the answer to that question, Murphy’s researches have opened up a moment in the history of our forebears when Shakespeare was crucial to social progress, at least in name, and frequently in much more significant ways. Shakespeare for the People is fascinating, enlightening and entertaining. Today’s teachers of Shakespeare will also find much to reflect on. Sean McEvoy Varndean College, Brighton Learning to Read in a New Language: Making Sense of Words and Worlds(Second edition) Eve Gregory Sage (2008) ISBN: 978-1-4129-2857-1 ￡21.99 This is a marvellous book. When I was undertaking an MEd ten years or so ago and searching for literature relating to the reading of children with Engl