To be or not to be
A Review of Entertainment Digest, Volume 1
Ken Burge
The following inscription is written on the grave of William Shakespeare: "Good friend for Jesus' sake forbeare to the digg the dust encloased heare. Bleste be ye man yt spares these stones. And curst be he yt moves my bones."
There is some speculation, however, about whether the playwright himself wrote those words that warn any potential grave robber to stay away from his tomb.
These are just some interesting facts contained in Bride Media's CD,
Discovering Shakespeare, distributed by Ivy Publishing. The CD is based
around five different topics: Life, Times, Theater, Works and World.
Beginning with Life, which
is a well laid out time-line starting at
Shakespeare's birth in 1564, and following it through until his death in
1616. The time-line is segmented off by years. For example the years of
1596-1599 are devoted to Shakespeare the actor. Inside this section more
options are given to learn more about his acting.
Times, surround the daily life, landmarks and transportation issues during the 16th century, each heading branches off into subtopics,
Theater covers the areas of acting, playhouses, and the towns of Stratford and London, where Shakespeare spent most of his life, and where his plays were shown.
When entering Works you are presented with options of choosing synopses from
the plays. The plays are categorized by Tragedies, Comedies, Romances,
History, and Sonnets, and are broken down by acts. One feature I did find
missing was a print option. I thought it would have been nice to be able to
print out the sonnets and synopses.
World takes you to the two towns of Stratford and London. These are overview maps of the cities, presented like an old world map, with points of interest highlighted, and by clicking on a highlighted area more video information is presented.
Videos are the cornerstone of this program. There is 60 minutes of video, shot on location in England and narrated by Rebecca Flynn, M.A., who is the Deputy Director of Education, The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, and other experts. The videos are rich with drawings and paintings from the times. Lots of close-ups and slow pans across the images, gives the videos a real documentary feel.
I did find that some longer running videos could run choppy, sometimes only
seconds of the video would show up. However, replaying the video proved to
help, and they would run fine the second time through. On a faster machine, I
don't think this would be a problem.
Some added options include, Legends, which delves into the myths and mysteries of Shakespeare's life. Some topics covered are: The authenticity of Shakespeare's plays, the hidden messages in his plays, and other interesting occupations that he had during his life, such as: schoolmaster, butcher, page boy, lawyer's clerk, and a soldier of fortune.
In addition a find feature has all of the video clips from the program. This is a quick and easy way to find a video without having to search the entire CD.
An enjoyable feature sprinkled inside this program are the 17 hidden animations. When finding an icon on the screen, pressing the option key, and the mouse button on the Macintosh, you set the animation in motion. It did become addictive trying to search for all of the animations, and they are fun to watch. This is a great way to get kids involved using the CD, and let them learn a little history about Shakespeare, while searching for the animation.
If you've never really read any Shakespeare, and would like to learn more,
then try Discovering Shakespeare. If you are a Shakespeare connoisseur, you
might find this multimedia format a new way of looking at Shakespeare, the
man. This CD can be a unique addition to your collection of other Shakespeare
works. Yet on the other hand, if you are looking, though, for a comprehensive
works of Shakespeare's complete plays, you won't find them here.
I recommend trying out Discovering Shakespeare. This is an informational packed CD with many facts about the man who has continue to influenced generation after generation in the art of play writing.
Multimedia Cafe Scorecard
| Product: |
Entertainment Digest, Volume 1 |
| Company: |
Ivy Publishing
|
| Cost: |
n/a |
System Requirements:
Windows:
486SX 25Mhz or better, 8 MB of RAM, Microsoft Windows 3.1 or later, Double
Speed CD-ROM drive, VGA + 640x480 monitor displaying 256 colors, 16 bit sound
card, mouse required.
Macintosh:
Color capable Macintosh computer (LCIII, CI, FX, Quatra, Performa 450 and up,
Power Macintosh, or Powerbook 145 and up with color video out, 8 MB of RAM,
Double speed CD-ROM drive 13" color monitor supporting 256 colors, System 7.1
or later, mouse required.
Breakdown:
Educational Value 5
Concept 4
Depth 4
Interface 4
Overall Score:
Copyright © 1997 InfoMedia, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide.