Plutarch, Shakespeare, Artist & Composer Study Form 3 & 4 (Cycle Year 2)

Description:

Current for 2026-2027

In the Artist & Composer Study portion of this class, students encounter works by master artists and composers in this multi-sensory class. Over the course of the year, students learn about the lives of 4 artists and 4 composers and study multiple works from each. Students gain a listening repertoire of over a dozen classical scores and receive over a dozen full-color art prints, which they study in class through group discussion, written narration, and notebook drawings.

In the Plutarch & Shakespeare portion of this class, the class will read, narrate, and discuss passages from Plutarch’s Lives and Shakespeare’s plays. Over the year, students will read two of Shakespeare plays and two of Plutarch’s lives, studying one of each per semester. Students will have the opportunity to dramatically read selected passages, to reenact key scenes, and to prepare and recite optional memory work.

Form 3 & 4 classes follow a 6–year cycle for the reading selections as well as a rotating selection of artists and composers:

Plutarch’s Lives

• Cycle 1 (2025–26): Agis & Cleomenes / Tiberias & Gaius Gracchus
• Cycle 2 (2026–27): Dion / Brutus
• Cycle 3 (2027–28): Agesislaus / Pompey
• Cycle 4 (2028–29): Alcibiades / Coriolanus
• Cycle 5 (2029–30): Demosthenes / Cicero
• Cycle 6 (2030–31): Aristides / Marcus Cato (the Elder)

Shakespeare’s Plays

• Cycle 1 (2025–26): Henry VIII / Romeo & Juliet
• Cycle 2 (2026–27): The Taming of the Shrew / Macbeth
• Cycle 3 (2027–28): Much Ado About Nothing / Hamlet
• Cycle 4 (2028–29): The Merchant of Venice / Coriolanus
• Cycle 5 (2029–30): A Winter’s Tale / King John
• Cycle 6 (2030–31): As You Like It / Richard II

2026–27 Artist Study (TBD)