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Shakespeare in Art: Tempests, Tyrants and Tragedy
Welcome to the exhibition Shakespeare in Art: Tempests, Tyrants and
Tragedy. Use this trail to help you explore the plays, settings and
characters you will meet on your journey.
You can use this trail on your own or in a group
Use the questions and activities to investigate the spaces and find out
more about what you can see. You can discuss your thoughts in groups.
The questions are designed to help you think, they do not have right or
wrong answers.
You can use the text on the walls and the exhibition guides to find out
more information.
When you are in the exhibition please:
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do not touch the artworks
do not take photographs
be careful with your pencils
respect other visitors
be aware of the uneven floors and changes to the surfaces
Act 1: ‘Be not afeared. The isle is full of noises’
You have entered the world of The Tempest and are caught in the huge
storm that begins the play. On an island Prospero, a magician, and his
daughter Miranda watch as a ship, carrying the King of Naples and his
friends, is caught in the waves and struggles to stay afloat.
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How does it feel to be in the storm?
What can you see?
What can you hear?
What would you be doing?
Look at the paintings and drawings in the room to help you.
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What do you think happened after the storm?
Some of the main characters from The Tempest are shown in the
artworks. Can you find Prospero, Miranda, Caliban and Ariel?
They may appear more than once.
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What do the characters look like?
What do you think their role in the story is?
Storms appear in many of Shakespeare’s plays and you’ll find another
when you reach Act 7: ‘the fretful elements’
Shakespeare in Art: Tempests, Tyrants and Tragedy
Act 2: ‘and draw you into madness?’
In this room you will meet two of Shakespeare’s most famous female
characters, Lady Macbeth from Macbeth and Ophelia from Hamlet. In the
plays both characters are driven to madness, Lady Macbeth by guilt and
Ophelia by sadness. Both characters die as a result of their madness.
Find an image of Ophelia and another of Lady Macbeth.
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What do they look like?
How are they the same or different?
What do you think happened to make them feel guilty or sad?
Can you hear Ophelia singing? Listen to her song,
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How does it make you feel?
You will meet Ophelia again at Act 4: ‘there with fantastic garlands did she
come’
Act 3: ‘Pure Emotion’ The Theatre of Edward Gordon Craig
Edward Gordon Craig was a theatre designer, director and writer. He was
the son of Ellen Terry a famous actress who was the model for two of the
paintings you have seen in the previous room.
Look at the wood cuts made by Edward Gordon Craig. Try to draw a
picture of one of the characters you have seen in the previous rooms in
the same style. Use the box opposite for your drawing.
Shakespeare in Art: Tempests, Tyrants and Tragedy
Act 5: ‘That yet we sleep, we dream’
Act 6: ‘thou unknown power’
You have arrived at the woods where you will find the fairies and young
lovers from A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Here you will meet the Witches from Macbeth. These three women have
supernatural powers and use spells and prophecies to influence Macbeth,
an ambitious army captain. After the Witches predict that Macbeth will
become king he murders the current King of Scotland, Duncan, to make
the prediction come true.
Explore this setting where Oberon, King of the fairies, has instructed his
jester, Puck, to use a love potion on four young humans who have
wandered into the woods. The potion causes the person it was used on
to fall in love with the first person they see when they wake up. The
potion is also used on Oberon’s wife, Titania, who is sleeping near a
group of actors. One of the actors is called Bottom and Puck has used
magic on him to change his head into the head of a donkey.
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What do you think happened to the people the potion was used
on?
“The course of true love never did run smooth” is a famous line from
Midsummer Night’s Dream. Think about what this means and use the
photographs and paintings to help you discover what might have
happened in the story.
Look at the images of the Witches.
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What do they look like?
How do you feel when you look at them?
Do you think Macbeth should trust them?
The Witches make potions using strange ingredients. The lines below
show some of the items they used. Try reading the lines out loud.
Double, double toil and trouble,
Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.
Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the cauldron boil and bake.
Eye of newt and toe of frog,
Wool of bat and tongue of dog,
Adder’s fork and blind-worm’s sting,
Lizard’s leg and owlet’s wing
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What ingredients would you put in a potion? Can you think of
items that rhyme like the one the Witches used?
Shakespeare in Art: Tempests, Tyrants and Tragedy
Act 8: A Vision of Queen Katharine
Here you will witness the vision of Queen Katharine, first wife of Henry
VIII. In Shakespeare’s play, Henry VIII, this vision is a sign of Katharine’s
death, which happens shortly after.
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How does the vision make you feel?
Do you think it would have comforted or scared Katharine?
Shakespeare used many supernatural elements like visions and ghosts in
his plays. In this exhibition you have met magicians, fairies and witches
and seen how their spells and potions have predicted the future and
caused people to fall in love.
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Why do you think Shakespeare used supernatural elements?
How could they help him tell his stories?
How would you use dreams, ghosts or magic in your own story?
In this exhibition you have visited many of Shakespeare’s plays and met
many of his characters.
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What was your favourite room?
Why did you like it?
Can you remember the artworks you saw there?
Who was your favourite character?
Can you draw a picture of them in the box opposite?