How much introduction to Shakespeare is enough before beginning the play?

[Lisa Moore]

I'm about to start Romeo and Juliet. In the past, I have spent a day or two talking about Shakespeare, the time period, and the theater itself. I'm wondering how much/how deep other teachers go into this background before getting into the play. 

Thanks.

[Dana Huff]

I don't do much. I think the best thing is to get into the play, get students on their feet, saying Shakespeare. Take a look at the Folger Shakespeare Library's teaching resources. They are top notch!

• Folger Shakespeare Library K-12 Resources
• My blog posts tagged "Folger"
• My blog posts tagged "Shakespeare"

[Ann Cox]

I usually spend a day or two as well. Any more than that & I think you run the risk of intimidating and/or boring them.

[Laura Turchi]

If you can start in the midst of the play - like staging and talking about the party scene where R & J meet - and help the students recognize the social dynamics from the start (film clips from multiple versions are also great), you can then drop back and fill them in on the historical/contextual stuff. They probably already have a lot of baggage about what SHAKESPEARE is (the man, the plays, the time, and, heaven help us, the drudgery). If they can see the human beings first (including gender differences, social inequity, and "good manners" that try to avoid a fight), the language and time period are far less likely to be barriers.