Butler University is advertising its 24th Annual Summer Shakespeare Tour as students begin to look for study abroad opportunities for the coming summer.

Students will visit Stratford-upon-Avon, Bath, Oxford and London, as well as see and review six of Shakespeare’s plays.

The students have an opportunity to control most of the trip themselves.

About 40 percent of the trip is spent on class, while the other 60 percent is meant to be a time of discovery, exploration and cultural immersion for everyone on the trip, according to Butler English professor William Walsh.

“I ask that they take charge of their time, learn the underground system— go and do,” Walsh said. “We have a great time.”

The Tour is also a great opportunity for students to see and review Shakespeare’s plays, performed in the culture in which they were written.

“The plays are seen as scripts for performance, not truly realized until acted,” Walsh said. “Every performance is an interpretation of the text which means what it means for this moment of time.”

The students are able to see plays as well as all of the theaters, pubs, libraries and
landmarks that are a vital part of England’s rich history.

“I was able to see the history of the whole world in the British museum, and seeing the first drafts of some of my favorite novels in the British Library was just breathtaking,” junior Katie Arnt said about her experience on the 2010 summer tour.

Students on the summer tour in the past have enjoyed seeing Shakespeare’s grave at Holy Trinity Church, exploring the National Gallery and the British Museum, seeing the Roman Baths and Stonehenge.

“Seeing this stuff doesn’t get old, nor does my pleasure in seeing the students enjoy it all,” Walsh said.

The students will spend about two weeks in England and they will receive three credit hours for their work and experience on the trip.

The cost of the trip including airfare and exchange is estimated to be about $3,250.