Taliesin Morgan

My main goal is to encourage students to not only study Shakespeare but enjoy it.
I have a very efficient strategy for learning how to study his works, and how to grasp the English language from a professional perspective; I can teach you how to read and write like a poet, being one, myself.

When studying Shakespeare, you ought to forget what you have been told: plays are meant to be watched, first and foremost. The analysis and study comes afterwards, and depending on the parts you can or cannot grasp in any particular play or sonnet, I can tailor my lessons to ensure a full understanding.

The main basics I teach before delving into the works of Shakespeare involve grasping the basics of Early Modern English (proper usage of thee/thou/hast/hath/thy/thine, etc.), and their relation to Middle English and the much older Eald Englisc, which is closer to German.

Once these basics have been absorbed, then it is time to watch the plays; you needn’t have a perfect understanding right off the bat, as long as you get the general gist of what the tone is. If you cannot hear the tone of the play whilst reading it, it will be far more difficult to wrap your head around what is happening and which emotions are meant to be conveyed.

After that, we can pick apart the finer details and have a look at what you’re struggling with.

As a budding author, I am highly disciplined and well versed in my craft, having recently completed my first fantasy novel of words, and as a poet I specialise in writing Shakespearean and Petrarchan sonnets. My favourite books are The Silmarillion (JRR Tolkien), Beowulf (Anonymous) and The Canterbury Tales (Chaucer), and my favourite Shakespeare plays are ‘Coriolanus’, ‘Macbeth’ and ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’.

When studying GCSE English Language and Literature, my work was often showcased and presented to the entire school, and was sent to the Head of English followed by an external examiner due to the teachers “not being able to mark my work”. In national tests I could not be placed on the chart, and in Primary School, I was sent to the headmaster because my teachers could not find a word that I could not spell; the poor man went through the entire dictionary and caught me out on ‘pneumonia’ (I was unaware of the silent ‘p’). When leaving school, I received the playful award of ‘Most Likely to Become the Next JK Rowling’, although that now seems to be in poor taste, considering that I am a proud member of the LGBT+ Community and champion safe spaces for all, regardless of race, orientation, identity or socioeconomic background. I passed GCSE English with an A*.