Dr. Jessica Apolloni transforms how Christopher Newport University students interact with Shakespeare
Meme championships, CNU's surprising connection to Shakespeare, and her trust in students to strive for innovation in current scholarship help repair damage done in high school Shakespeare classes
On the first day of Christopher Newport University’s Fall 2022 semester, 24 students filed into their McMurran lecture hall. They’d all signed up for one of the final requirements of the English major offered that semester—English 421: Shakespeare.
Many students dread it. Lauren Hart, a senior in her final semester, talked about how worried she felt about taking the Shakespeare course, as all her previous experience with the subject had been “really bad.”
“In high school, my teachers made it extremely difficult to understand the plays and wouldn't provide outside sources to better understand the context of his plays,” she said. “Because of all of this I really believed an entire course dedicated purely to Shakespeare would be no fun at all.”
But one person changed her mind: Dr. Jessica Apolloni, affectionately known as ‘Dr. A’ by her students.
Dr. Apolloni’s enthusiasm for Shakespeare fills the room the moment she arrives. On some class days, she plays music that relates to whatever play is being studied. On special days, such as Halloween, Dr. Apolloni dresses in a Shakespeare costume.
This year? A simple but recognizable business outfit that actress Catherine Tate wore as Beatrice in the 2011 movie adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing. The class roared with laughter as she slid on some sunglasses and pinned on a flashcard nametag that read #KillClaudio.
Dr. Apolloni’s ability to relate to today’s students extends beyond dressing in costume on Halloween. She thinks “it’s important to have fun with Shakespeare—so we’ll do meme competitions and other creative activities to keep things engaging.” These efforts to have fun with students open them up to the meat of the course—learning about Shakespeare and his plays.
Memes are only the beginning
When asked about what makes Dr. Apolloni excited to teach Shakespeare, she provided several reasons. Firstly, she highlights how often he is “wonderfully ambiguous” and that many different interpretations can be credibly drawn from the same text.
Whether it be analyzing the nature of Ariel the Spirit from The Tempest or the mental state of Macbeth, Dr. Apolloni allows her students to explore whatever peaks their interest through her one to two-page play reflections—provided they can support their arguments through the text.
For Dr. Apolloni, this freedom to argue for any interpretation is an extension of what she loves about Shakespeare’s plays. “I love showcasing that intricacy. And it also makes sense given that Shakespeare portrays larger elements of human experience that are complicated and conflicting by nature,” she says.
She knows that students can come into the Shakespeare course thinking that they hate the subject matter. But Dr. Apolloni doesn’t shy away from this. Instead, she tackles it head-on.
“I always like to start off semesters with a range of approaches—moving from something like historical context of premodern critical race studies, to gender and casting decisions, to modern adaptations of Shakespeare and social justice programs. This usually helps students see that there are many ways to approach any of our given texts,” she says.
To break the ice on that first day of class, Dr. Apolloni talks to the students. She’s aware of how daunting Shakespeare Studies can be because sometimes, his works are presented as perfect or untouchable. But Dr. Apolloni doesn’t see their continued relevance or educational value and often deeply problematic history or influence as incompatible in this course:
“I also always start off semesters making it clear that it is totally ok to be critical of Shakespeare and that we will be critical of the British Imperial background inherent to Shakespeare’s reputation and cultural capital that continues today.”
Day one includes an introduction to resources on the course Scholar page about Shakespeare and Social Justice, a mini biography, key terms, and other links to assist in understanding the context and linguistic history of his plays. That first class period also includes a quick viewing of “There Is No Escaping Shakespeare” from The New York Times.
Excitement and relevancy: Dr. Apolloni’s strongest weapons against preconceived judgments from her students about her favorite subject.
Enthusiasm for Shakespeare
Her class covers all the different types of Shakespeare’s plays: multiple comedies, tragedies, and histories. But she always includes her personal favorite play: Macbeth. Her eyes brighten whenever she talks about Lady Macbeth, the witches, and of course the infamous “dagger” scene.
Why is her favorite play Macbeth? Dr. Apolloni loves that “It’s a spicy play with topics like witchcraft and murder,” but also stressed that it, “has so much more to offer as well. You can approach this play from political, social, cultural, and philosophical perspectives so it really allows for different directions we can take based on class interests. Every time I watch or read it, I find something new and exciting!”
But she doesn’t just rely on her own enthusiasm after years of studying Shakespeare. She looks to her students, nearly all seniors, to take an active role in their learning.
“I work hard to match student interests with important historical and scholarly contexts for each play,” she says, “so that each semester it’s a collaborative process and we kind of collectively create a unique experience. Short assignments and reflections throughout the semester really help me see some common interests that I am then able to synthesize with key themes and elements of each play.”
Then she turns it over to the students. Based on their interests, the students form groups of four or five to “Team Teach” at the end of each play. They are given almost complete freedom to explore the text from any angle.
One person looked at Titus Andronicus through the lens of Black Lives Matter and “ShakeRace” Studies. Others have applied Gender Studies to their plays. The Macbeth group even finished up their presentation with a Buzzfeed personality quiz which provided each student—and Dr. Apolloni herself—with their Macbeth alter ego.
Her other teaching techniques
Students also write three longer papers in the semester beyond play reflections. The first eases the students into examining one or two of Shakespeare’s plays, focusing on student interpretation of “some aspect” be it a theme, character, or specific scene. The second is an analysis of an adaptation.
The final paper, which the last section of the semester is dedicated to, asks the students to complete a formal research paper on any of the plays covered in the course.
Dr. Apolloni provides ample scholarly and historical sources for students to supplement their primary source readings of the text. Another thing that she loves about teaching Shakespeare “is every single play has this interesting history attached to it since it’s been performed and analyzed for hundreds of years—and that’s not even to mention the sources Shakespeare adapts when creating any given play as well.”
When teaching The Tempest, Dr. Apolloni dedicates a portion of the class to unpacking the unique history the play has with Christopher Newport University (CNU). She provides sources such as this British Library article that mention the historic inspiration for The Tempest: a ship, the Sea Venture destined for Jamestown when wrecked by a storm and captained by none other than Christopher Newport.
She credits her own undergraduate Shakespeare course for showcasing the importance of combining history, scholarship, and “class insights and interests” when teaching this subject.
The Shakespeare meme competitions, full class discussions of social issues in Shakespeare, and the CNU-specific connection to Shakespeare’s final play all work together. With Dr. Apolloni, having fun with Shakespeare, critiquing Shakespeare, and demonstrating the continued relevance and relatability of his plays are anything but mutually exclusive.
“These plays all speak to central issues of human experience that translate to today,” she said. “I truly believe whatever your interests are you’ll find them in Shakespeare Studies.”
And her students respond to her techniques.
Lauren Hart had nothing but praise for Dr. Apolloni. “Dr. A has completely changed the way I see and read Shakespeare,” she said. “She’s always cracking jokes and making the class as fun as possible while also providing a lot of critical information, but it’s honestly been one of my favorite classes I’ve taken so far.”
Any professor who can get students excited about receiving a Meme Champion certificate signed by “the Bard" himself, as well as invested enough in the course material to spend nearly an entire period arguing over whether the bloody nature of Revenge Tragedies like Titus Andronicus is entertaining has truly achieved their goal in making Shakespeare relevant, fun, and not at all scary.
As far as her students are concerned, CNU hit the jackpot in Shakespeare Studies with Dr. Jessica Apolloni.