EDMOND—Herbert W. Armstrong sophomores shared a Shakespeare get together on June 28. Shakespearean Literature instructor Dennis Leap hosted the event at his home after guiding the students through Henry V, Hamlet, Othello and King Lear in the three-credit, spring-semester class.

Following a meal and games, the group watched Kenneth Branagh’s version of Shakespeare’s comedy Much Ado About Nothing outside on a do-it-yourself projector screen.

Prior to watching the comedy, the students had studied some of Shakespeare’s most renowned tragedies, such as Hamlet and King Lear. Sophomore Zac Bush said Shakespeare’s characters illustrate specific problems common to human nature. Classmate Maree Tolis said Shakespeare’s characters get into problems by relying too much on themselves and their own reasoning or letting their emotions rule them.

“It really just emphasized to me Mr. Flurry’s orientation lecture about God wanting us to be deep thinkers,” she said.

Mr. Leap said Shakespeare challenges readers to think deeply and “forces us to take an honest look at ourselves.”

He said Shakespeare prompts readers to contemplate important questions.

“We could never think of Shakespeare as a converted man or a religious teacher,” he said, “yet, through his poetry, he does challenge us to think about the problems we face in life and the deeper questions related to life.”