"On love and war, Iraq learns from Shakespeare"

Although that is the full title of the Daily Star news article by Shelina Zahra Janmohamed, it only covers 60 percent of the words and example sentences in this list: the reporter also makes the point that the rest of the world can learn more about the Mideast country through the Iraqi Theatre Company's adaptation of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet."

Here are all the word lists to support the reading of Grade 9 Unit 5's texts from SpringBoard's Common Core ELA series: As You Like It, The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, West Side Story, Is Shakespeare still relevant, Shakespeare marathon, Iraq learns from Shakespeare, How Shakespeare Changed Everything, Kentucky inmates turned actors, Nancy Hanks Lecture on Arts and Public Policy, Texting Makes U Stupid, give the Bard the heave-ho
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. colloquial
    characteristic of informal spoken language or conversation
    Adapted into colloquial Arabic and performed by an Iraqi cast with English subtitles above the stage, the story, while written in an Iraqi context, is a familiar one.
  2. apropos
    of a suitable, fitting, or pertinent nature
    This serves as an apropos metaphor for Iraq at the beginning of the war.
  3. obstacle
    something that stands in the way and must be surmounted
    The story prompts the audience to reflect on how pride, regret, a lack of mutual understanding and interference from the outside are obstacles to resolving conflicts peacefully.
  4. discourse
    an extended communication dealing with some particular topic
    In 2008, he founded the Iraqi Theatre Company to "bring a contemporary cultural voice of unity and inclusiveness into the civic discourse in Iraq."
  5. immense
    unusually great in size or amount or extent or scope
    The drama was a chance to create enough distance from their own stories so that they could look at the effect of the last nine years on their homeland, with its immense loss, death and suffering.
  6. catharsis
    purging of emotional tensions
    It was an opportunity to move on, make sense, find catharsis and even laugh.
  7. stoke
    (of a fire) stir up or tend
    The play at its heart is a universal story of the birth and development of conflict, stoked by fear, misunderstanding and pride.
  8. portal
    a grand and imposing entrance
    In this case, a love story is a portal into a world that audiences might otherwise never be able to begin to understand.
  9. nuance
    a subtle difference in meaning or opinion or attitude
    By connecting with the story of young lovers--a theme that transcends time and culture--we can learn about the nuances of today's Iraqi society.
  10. aspiration
    a cherished desire
    In fact, people around the world might find a lot in common with the ordinary folk of Iraq and their aspirations to bring an end to violence and live better lives.
Created on Tue Sep 30 12:32:34 EDT 2014 (updated Tue Sep 30 18:23:06 EDT 2014)

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