Study Day – Twelfth Night

Study Days are intended for adult learners, as a form of lifelong learning, but we very happily welcome youth who are interested. The focus of Study Days is on textual interpretation. Participants will consider how our appreciation may be enriched by scholarly insight into Shakespeare and his work, led by Darren Dyck, Assistant Professor of English Literature at Ambrose University.

We are delighted that Darren will lead a three-hour Study Day for TSC. He is a Shakespeare scholar well-rooted in the classics of English and ancient literature, who is above all committed to close textual reading and teaching in the liberal arts tradition. His book 'Will and Love: Shakespeare and the Motion of the Soul', which was released in March 2023, examines four of Shakespeare's love plays (Romeo and Juliet, Troilus and Cressida, Twelfth Night and Antony and Cleopatra) in-light of the Augustinian psychology at the heart of the theological romance tradition.

Participants will first obtain an overview of the play and consider it in its historical and literary context. After that, they will get up close and personal with the language of Shakespeare's text, looking at the poetry of the play in key passages and scenes, to figure out how Shakespeare uses words.

The goal of Study Days is to help participants get more out of reading and viewing classical drama, as well as to contribute to the growth of a community of learners around The Shakespeare Company.