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Shakespeare Project: English IV AP Due Monday, October 10
Choose 1 of the following Shakespearean Plays:
Othello: Shakespeare dabbles with interracial marriage. Yes, he wrote about this contemporary issue 500
years ago! Othello, a black military leader, falls in love and marries a white woman, Desdemona. Seething
with jealousy over a military promotion, Iago, Othello’s best friend and one of Shakespeare’s most devious
characters, manipulates events to look as if Desdemona is cheating on Othello in one of the most shocking
denouements ever!
Macbeth: After hearing three witches prophecy his ascent to the throne, Macbeth grows weary with
waiting and takes matters into his own hands. With a wife even more monstrous than he is, they conspire
to hasten the death of those in line to the throne before him. However, the three witches begin some
manipulation of their own, so get ready for some “Double, Double, boil and trouble!”—a line made famous
from the play!
King Lear: A king blessed or cursed with 3 daughters is determined to find out which one loves him the
most. The one who proves she loves him most will receive his kingdom. Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia are
caught in maniacal world of madness and mayhem, where betrayal could leave the last man/woman
standing…..or maybe not!
Midsummer Night’s Dream: (Must do this one if you are planning on trying out for the Lit Crit Team) Four
interlocking plots weave together to make one of Shakespeare’s most entertaining comedies. The marriage
of the Duke of Athens to the Amazon Queen draws in attendance four Athenian lovers, lured into the forest
where Puck, one of Shakespeare’s most lovable, yet mischievous characters, drops magic juice into the eyes
of the two men as a love spell to make them fall in love with the first person they see. A group of actors
likewise hired to entertain at the wedding find themselves in the forest and are drawn into the fourth plot
where they are victims of other mistaken spells involving the King and Queen of the fairies, Oberon and
Titania. Our unlikely hero, Puck, must “restore amends” by returning the love matches back to normal and
making everyone believe it was just a dream—hence the name of the play!
You will create a power point for your play with the following: (make it appealing to the eye with color, clip
art, etc.)
Slide 1: Your name, English IV AP, and the name of your play.
Slide 2: Literary background of the play
Slide 3: Rhetorical questions that play upon logos, ethos, and pathos to prick interest in your play.
Slide 4 and 5: Cast of Characters and their identity
Slide 6: Exposition through Act I—At least three bulleted chronological events, a quote that impressed you
the most, and a powerful literary device and example that Shakespeare used in Act I.
Slide 7: Rising Action through Act II—Three bulleted conflicts set into motion in Act II, a quote that
impressed you the most, and a powerful literary device and example other than the one in Act I.
Slide 8: Climax-Act III—Most difficult in Shakespeare’s plays—the protagonist or antagonist will reach the
peak of his role in the play. For example, in Julius Caesar, this can’t be Caesar because he is dead, so I would
have chosen Brutus and used “et tu Brute.” Put a significant quote from this climax on the slide. Explain
why it is either a turning point down or up in the character’s life.
Slide 9: Falling Action—The action either becomes more tangled or disintegrates. Identify 3 events that
happen in this chaos or spiral, cite a quote that impressed you the most, and a powerful literary device and
example other than the one in Act I or II.
Slide 10: Denouement: Archetypal Just Ending? Justify or negate that the protagonist(s) and antagonist(s)
received their just rewards.
No Fear Shakespeare will be your best source, but make sure your quotes come from the original, not the
revised version!!! A have a few copies in hard copy in the bigger lit books, but see me if that is what you
prefer.