Cahn authors two books on Shakespeare

Professor of English Victor Cahn, Skidmore's Shakespeare expert, has two new books on the Bard: Political Animal: An Essay on the Character of Shakespeare's Henry V (2011, Wipf and Stock), and Bard Games: The Shakespeare Quiz Book (2011, Taylor Trade Publishers). Political Animal is a close examination of one of Shakespeare's most controversial characters: Prince Hal/Henry V. Professor Joseph A. Dane of the University of Southern California calls it, "An elegant reading of these plays by one who has spent a career teaching them." Read more about the book at the publisher's web site.

Bard Games  asks readers to recognize quotations from Shakespeare's plays, in the context of matching them with the speakers. It is "a delightful and sophisticated compendium for Shakespeare enthusiasts," says David A. Brush, Ph.D. 

Cahn teaches courses on Shakespeare, modern drama, and the history of drama. In a recent interview he explained his approach to teaching well-known works in his classes. "A lot of students enter my courses figuring that Shakespeare has to be boring. But from the first day, I remind them that we'll be reading plays, with lines meant to be spoken by actors in front of an audience. I also tell them that since I'm an actor and a playwright, I'll follow my natural tendency and approach these plays like scripts. Other teachers approach the plays very effectively from an historical perspective or through the intricacies of the verse, but I'm concerned most about how an audience reacts, just as I always ask myself how students are reacting to what I present."