Free Downloadable educational videos on demand

Check out Annenberg Media, http://www.learner.org/, for extensive free learning resources, including online free videos on demand. A few examples are "English Composition: Writing for a Audience," A video instructional series on English composition for college and high school classrooms and adult learners, and "Literary Visions," A video instructional series on literary analysis for college and high school. The web site recommends DSL; however, we were able to download the videos using dial up, although it took awhile.

Analyzing and Interpreting Literature from a Christian Worldview

Take a look at these free resources on the study of Shakespeare:

Ambleside Online's Shakespeare Rotation, http://www.amblesideonline.org/ShakespeareSch.shtml
This comprehensive resource includes links to Shakespeare Sparks Notes, Shakespeare Resource Center History, Glossary, grammar and language information, Absolute Shakespeare - the essential resource for William Shakespeare's plays, sonnets, poems, quotes, biography and the legendary Globe Theatre, AllShakespeare - free study guides, translations, biography notes, and The Video Shakespeare - play free videos of Shakespeare plays on Real Player.

Why Shakespeare for Christian Students? http://www.berith.org/hsres/shak/shak01.html
This scholarly yet understandable essay answers some of the critics who claim that Shakespeare "did not write as a Christian." Ralph Allen Smith answers that "...Christians will remember that he was buried in a church and that his last will names Christ as his Savior. What Shakespeare wrote while contemplating eternity, it seems to me, is a confession not to be taken lightly. Be that as it may, the worldview which informs and forms his plays is Christian. It is the realistic and complex moral worldview of the Bible. If modern, English-speaking Christians -- whose worldviews now suffer from the influence of TV and movies that are at best non-Christian and not infrequently outright anti-Christian -- have a serious interest in learning to think like Christians Shakespeare is a nearly indispensable source."

Mr. William Shakespeare, http://shakespeare.palomar.edu/ includes:
A Shakespeare Timeline, which gives the key events of Shakespeare's life and work along with related documentary evidence, A Shakespeare genealogy, A chart showing the relevant family relationships and dates, A Shakespeare Timeline Summary Chart, showing the events of Shakespeare's life in outline along with important contemporary events and publications, A Shakespeare Biography Quiz, The Shakespeare Canon, Rowe's Some Acount of the Life &c. of Mr. William Shakespeare, prefaced to his 1709 edition of the Works, Charles and Mary Lamb's Tales From Shakespeare, The Prefatory materials from the First Folio.

Finally, check out the free Study Guide for Macbeth, from BJU
http://bjupress.com/services/bjhomesat/pdf/handouts/macbeth.pdf

Analyzing and Interpreting Literature: Frankenstein, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Six Questions on the Nature of Man

In the Bible, the number six is associated with man. Coincidentally or not, I wound up with six questions about the nature of man for this post. Note that although the questions are similar, they each confront the problem of the nature of man from a slightly different perspective.

According to David Quine in Starting Points, "A world view is a way of looking at life." Pick one of the following questions. Click the Comment button, and post your response. Write at least three paragraphs, please, and note (in your Title) which question you are answering.

1. In Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, what do the main characters believe about life? What do they base their life on? What life perspectives are the characters taking, and how does that illustrate Stevenson's view of man's nature?

2. In Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, who are the main characters in the story? What are the characters like, and how are they related to the plot? In a longer essay, you can also cite examples from the minor characters in the book.

3. In Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, what is Robert Lewis Stevenson's view of the nature of man? (Please cite specific examples from the book--try looking at the last chapter.)

4. Does Stevenson's view of the nature of man agree with the Bible? Why or why not? Give examples from the book and the Bible to support your position.

5. In a longer essay (more than five paragraphs), compare and contrast Shelley's view (in Frankenstein) with Stevenson's view (in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde) of the nature of man. Which view of man is the correct view?

6. Are you convinced that there is a correct view of the nature of man, or is the correct view of the nature of man unknowable? Does it matter? Support your position.

Most students do best if they outline an essay before writing it. Try it yourself! Remember that each paragraph needs at least two complete sentences. End each paragraph with a transition sentence, which acts as a bridge or link to the next paragraph. Transitions make an essay read smoothly and logically, from one thought to the next. Here's a simplified essay format:

Title
Opening (introductory) paragraph--state the question or problem
Body of the essay--one or more paragraphs; each addresses a different element of the question
Concluding paragraph--restate the question and give your answer