Anniversary Shakespeare Readings at IvSU

On April 27, 2022, within the framework of the International Scientific and Practical Festival, the thirtieth anniversary Shakespeare Readings, annually organized by the Department of Foreign Philology of the Institute for the Humanities, took place at the university.

The popular project contributes to the cultural and aesthetic education of students, involving them in creative activities, getting to know the cultural realities of the country of the foreign language being studied and popularizing the work of W. Shakespeare. The ideological inspirer and initiator of the wonderful tradition is the head of the REC "Modern Russian and European lexicography", Doctor of Philology, prof. O.M. Karpova. In her welcoming speech, she emphasized that, as a true genius, Shakespeare is inexhaustible and each generation seeks to interpret him in his own way, to comprehend deeper, to say his own word about him.

The participants of the Shakespeare Readings spoke about the era of the great classic, presented an artistic reading of sonnets and excerpts from the works of W. Shakespeare, offered their own poetic translations, as well as dramatic performances.

Anastasia Nizova, Elizaveta Lobanova and Kirill Malafeev, 3rd and 2nd year students of the Philology (Foreign Philology) department, were awarded diplomas in the reading competition. Elizabeth simply captivated the audience with Portia's inspirational and rather impressive monologue on mercy (the play "The Merchant of Venice"). It's great that this year Shakespeare's sonnets sounded not only in English, but also in translations into German! This experience turned out to be a good stimulus for the students – inspired by the expressive reading of a sonnet in German performed by Kirill Malafeev, who received a flurry of applause, they expressed a desire to read Bard's poetic works in Italian, Spanish and French next year. Great idea!

One of the most beloved (and probably the most difficult) competitions is the translation of Shakespeare's sonnets into Russian. This year, 12 novice poets presented their own versions of translations to the audience. Arina Sokolova and Alexandra Tatarinova, 3rd and 1st year students of the department of "Philology (Foreign Philology)" received diplomas of winners. The winner in this nomination, according to the results of the “popular vote”, was Alisa Turul, a 1st year student of the department “Pedagogical education (Teaching foreign languages)”.

It is gratifying to note the active participation of undergraduate students who adequately demonstrated their knowledge of the creative heritage of W. Shakespeare. They actively participated in the online quiz, presented great posters and videos.

The most spectacular, as always, was the drama competition. Third-year philologists and first-year teachers approached the task in a very creative way and presented three original productions based on Shakespeare's plays. Stylized costumes, excellent musical accompaniment, sparkling humor and excellent English made a strong impression on the audience. And the final song, quite unexpectedly, but somehow absolutely naturally, became a kind of anthem for the Shakespeare Readings!

The best readers, translators and actors were awarded books in English, teaching aids and sweet prizes. It seems to us that the anniversary Shakespeare Readings were a success and will be remembered for a long time by both the participants of the performance and the grateful audience!