Download Introduction to Shakespeare

Introduction to
Shakespeare
Greetings from me, The Bard,
England’s greatest poet and
storyteller. You thought I was
just the greatest writer? I am
also the rudest man in England!
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
By the end of this lesson:
• All of us will use Shakespeare’s language to create
devastating insults
• Most of us will feel more comfortable with
Shakespeare's language.
• Some of us will
By my trowth,
thou dost
make the
millstone seem
as a feather
what widst thy
lard-bloated
footfall
Thy vile canker-blossom'd countenance curdles milk and sours beer.
Thy vile
cankerblossom’d
countenance
curdles milk
and sours beer.
In sooth, thy
dank
cavernous
tooth-hole
consumes all
truth and
reason!
TASK
Use the Shakespeare Insult Kit
Combine one word or phrase from each columns and
add “Thou” to the beginning.
“Thou ruttish,
doghearted foot licker”
Romeo and Juliet (Act 1, scene 1)
ABRAHAM : Do you bite your thumb at us, sir?
SAMPSON: I do bite my thumb, sir.
ABRAHAM: Do you bite your thumb at us, sir?
PLENARY- What have you learned?
Shakespearean Language Lesson 2
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
By the end of today’s lesson I will have
• Learnt about William Shakespeare.
• Learn 18 Elizabethan phrases and vocabulary
words.
Thou sluggabed!
STARTER: Tudor Talk
Miss Swann: Good day unto thee childer
You lot: Good day unto thee Madam
What is Miss Swann saying?
Bridle thy tongues and keep thy peace!
What is Miss Swann saying?
Wouldst thou go to the privy?/ Wouldst thou go pluck
a rose?
What is Miss Swann saying?
 Tis a pretty piece of work
TASK 1: An Insulting Conversation
TASK 2
 Look carefully at the two lists and try to match up
the words with their correct meanings. Some are
easy, some have clues and some are just odd!
What do they mean?
Blunt-witted= stupid
Snipe= fool
Lesson 3: Shakespeare’s Life
LEARNING OBJECTIVE
.
By the end of today’s
lesson I will have:
Learnt at least three interesting
facts about William Shakespeare;
Understood more about the era
in which he lived.
STARTER
 There were no dictionaries until 1604! This means that
language used in that era was very fluid and could be
moulded and shaped.
 Shakespeare experimented with words, phrases and
imagery. He made up words and adopted new ones.
 Shakespeare had a huge fascination with dramatic
language. He truly believed in the power of words to
focus and light up the imagination and move the
audience’s emotions.
Mind mapping Shakespeare
TASK
 Research the life of William Shakespeare.
Add details to the mind map or create your
own.
William Shakespeare
 Most quoted, other than the Bible
 Teen father: married pregnant 26 year old Anne
Hathaway when he was 18
 Deadbeat dad: Left wife and children for London
stage career
 Father of twins
 Elizabethan rapper: uses rhythm and rhyme
PLENARY
The Life and Times of William Shakespeare
STARTER: The Four Humours
As we go through the quiz, make a note of the
answers which best describe you as a person (a), (b),
(c) or (d).
At the end, you will need to add up how many times
you choose each letter.
Question 1
You get up late and someone is hogging the
bathroom. Do you:
a) Throw a strop and start yelling and slamming doors.
b) Have a laugh. You wouldn’t let a little thing like this
bother you.
c) Don’t know. You’re still in bed. You always sleep in.
d) Sigh dramatically. You always gets the worst deal in
life.
You walk in late to Miss Swann’s class. Do you:
a) Slam the door with a stroppy look. It’s not your
fault. It’s the bus/ the weather/ Miss Swann’s fault.
b) Laugh along with Miss Swann’s amusing jokes.
c) Sit at your desk yawning. It’s too early. You should
still be in bed.
d) Sigh. It’s just another example of how hard your life
is now you have to put up with this lesson.
At break time are you:
a) Having an argument with someone who tried
pushing in front of you in the queue.
b) Having a laugh with your mates. You are very funny
and amusing.
c) Yawning in a corner somewhere. You were up late
last night and mornings don’t suit you.
d) Spending it crying. You have fallen out with your
best mate and are upset.
Which animal best sums up your personality?
a) Tiger
b) Hyena c) Slug
d) Lovebird
SCORING TIME
 Now add up how many (a), (b), (c) and (d) scores you
have.
 Which do you have the most of?
The Results!
 a- You have a fiery character. You have an imbalance
of choler (yellow bile) and are temperemental. You
are of the fire element.
 b- You are a jolly character. You have a blood
imbalance. You are of the air element.
 c- You are a sluggish and slow person. You have an
imbalance of phlegm. You are of the water element.
 d- You are a melancholic, sad and lovesick person.
You have an imbalance of melancholy (black bile).
You are of the earth element.
The Humours in Shakespearean Society
 People believed that the humours were natural bodily
fluids that corresponded to the four elements (air, earth,
fire and water) and had various qualities (cold, dry, wet
and moist).
 They also believed that if your humours were in balance
you would be healthy,. If not you would be ill.
 Doctors would bleed their patients to restore the balance.
 When a piece of drama involved characters with extreme
emotions or an imbalance of the humours- it was
considered a humourous piece.
hakespeare’s Childhood Home-Stratford
London 1600
 Open gutters, raw sewage, and rotting garbage
was the case in most major cities of the time.
 Conditions caused the outbreak of the
Bubonic plague (black death)
 Bubonic was ramant from 1563 to 1603.
 1592 the plague hit London hard and the
theatres were closed down. During this time
is when Shakespeare wrote most of his poetry.
LESSON 3
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
To gain a greater sense:
 of Shakespeare's times,
 what his theatre was like,
 how the plays were performed and how the
playhouse influenced how the plays were written.
Shakespeare’s Globe- an introduction
Watch the Alan Davies clip who explains what life
was like for the audience watching Shakespeare's
plays at the Globe in Elizabethan times.
 Keywords: audience, intention, public,
London, tragedy, comedy, romance, actor
 http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/shakespe
ares-globe-an-introduction/8383.html
Global empire
In the second half of his career, Shakespeare also became
something of an impresario or theatrical manager. In
1599 his troop (the Lord Chamberlain’s Men) built their
own theatre, the Globe.
In 1613 the theatre
burnedwere
to the
There
already
ground
when
lots
of theatres
in
What
elsethe
can
wadding
for
the
London,
the
you findbut
out
cannon
used
to
Globe
which
about(in
the
create
special sound
Shakespeare
Globe?
effects caught
fire.
himself
had shares)
It was, however,
prospered
rebuilt the following
nevertheless.
year.
Balcony
Housed the musicians; parts of the
play might also be staged here
Galleries
Wealthier theatregoers sat here
Only partly roofed
Actors and
groundlings got wet
in the rain
Tiring house
Where the costumes
were kept
Stage
Most of the action
took place here
Yard
The groundlings stood
here to watch the play
Hell
Home of fiends and
villains, accessed by a
trapdoor
Circular layout
Audience surrounded the stage
 Take a virtual tour of: the Globe
 What was it like for the audience watching
Shakespeare's plays?
 Watch the extract at the end of Shakespeare in Love
PLENARY
 Using the keywords write a statement about
what you have learnt this lesson: audience,
intention, public, London, tragedy, comedy,
romance, actor
THE GLOBE (2)
STARTER
In Shakespeare’s time the theatre was just as popular as the
cinema is today. And just like cinema-goers today,
Shakespeare’s audiences expected to be treated to a wealth
of special effects.
Fiends and villains would vanish under the stage to
‘Hell’ in a puff of smoke.
The tiring house roof was known as ‘the Heavens’.
Gods could descend on ropes and pulleys, and fairies
could fly above the stage on wires and harnesses.
Pigs’ bladders filled with animal blood would be burst at
strategic moments during fights and death scenes.
Costumes and props were often expensive and
elaborate.
The Theatre
 Theatres were a considerable source of
concern for the authorities due to the fact that
those who attended the theatre were not of
favorable stature.
 Called the groundlings - stood in the dirt of
the main floor.
 They were immoral, a source of contagion,
and used profanity.
 Were also seen as extremely antagonistic.
(Which the actors encouraged.)
The Globe Theatre:
•
Open ceiling
•
Three stories high
•
No artificial
lighting
•
Plays were shown
during daylight
hours only
Spectators
 Wealthy people got
to sit on benches
 The poor (called
“groundlings”) had
to stand and watch
from the courtyard
 There was much
more audience
participation than
today
Actors
 Only men and boys
 Young boys whose
voices had not
changed played the
women’s roles
 It would have been
indecent for a woman
to appear on stage
COSTUME AND CHARACTERISATION
Learning Objective
 Excerpt from the travel journal of Thomas Platter,
1599
 The actors are dressed in a very expensive and
splendid fashion, since it is the custom in England
when notable lords or knights die they bequeath
and leave their servants almost the finest of their
clothes which, because it is not fitting for them to
wear such clothes, they offer [them] for purchase to
the actors for a small sum of money.
STARTER ACTIVITY: Prop Box
 A company's costumes were among its most valued assets;
individual costumes often cost more than the outright
purchase of a play.
 Philip Henslowe once purchased a "black velvet cloak with
sleeves embroidered all with silver and gold," for £20 10s 6d,
more than a third of the price Shakespeare paid for New Place,
the finest house in Stratford.
 Actors were known to wear their stage finery in the streets,
and were criticized for emulating their betters. In 1579, one
person complained: The very hyrelings. . . under gentlemen's
noses in sutes of silke. . . look askance over the shoulder at
every man, of whom the Sunday before they begged an almes.
 Even Philip Henslowe disapproved of actors wearing their
costumes off stage* -- though this was probably more to
ensure that his investment in the costume was not threatened.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
What are your ideas/
expectations?
Midsummer's Day is a time
associated with witches,
magic, fairies and
dancing.
Rose leaves, rose leaves,
Rose leaves I strew.
He that will love me
Come after me now.
 Shakespeare uses names to give hints to the audience
about their personality…
Puck
Oberon’s jester; a
mischievous fairy
who likes to play
tricks on people.
Oberon
King of the
fairies. He is a
powerful man
who is used to
being obeyed.
Titania
The beautiful queen of the fairies.
She is strong and independent,
but is tricked
into loving
Bottom with the
love potion.
Lysander
A young man of
Athens. He is
romantic, and
starts off in love
with Hermia.
They run away
together.
Demetrius
A young man
of Athens, also
in love with
Hermia, and
ready to fight
to be with her.
Hermia
A beautiful
young woman.
She is in love
with Lysander
and is willing to
disobey her
father and run
away with him.
Helena
Hermia’s good
friend. She lacks
confidence about
her looks and
doesn’t think she
can compare to
Hermia.
Bottom
He is overconfident
and often makes
mistakes, seeming
foolish. He
becomes a real fool
when puck gives
him an ass’ head.
Puck, Oberon, Titania, Lysander, Demetrius, Helena,
Hermia, Bottom.
Choose one of the characters for your presentation.
Do some further research at home about the
character which you can present to the class
alongside your own ideas.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE
 To explore how language creates effect.
STARTER
 Write down as many adjectives and adverbs as you
can that describe a feeling.
 Would Shakespeare have used words like these?
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
 To look at the ways in which A Midsummer Night’s
Dream has been adapted on stage.
 Here you can use colour or type of fabric. Some
costumes (Oberon and Titania for
 example) could also look grander by using more
fabric or bolder colours.
SHAKESPEARE’S WORKS
LEARNING OBJECTIVE
 To research Shakespeare’s work.
PLENARY
 Write 3 things that you have learnt so far.
 Write 3 things that you found interesting.
 Write 3 things you would tell someone who didn’t know
about Shakespeare.
Lesson 3
 STARTER:
 Thames River polluted with raw sewage
 Trees used up for fuel
 Poverty
 Shakespeare is credited with making up 1000-3000
words, depending who you listen to!
 He also used old words that no one had heard for a
while. This helped to make the English language a
lot more interesting than it was before.
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air-drawn
imaginary
allycholly
melancholy, sad
blunt-witted
stupid
bottom
a ball of thread
burn daylight
to waste time
buzzer
a tell tale
by small and small
little by little
canstick
candlestick
head-lugged
dragged by the head
ich-eke
in addition
sleeve-hand
wrist band
sluggabed
someone who lies in bed for too long in the mornings
sluggardise
to make lazy
snapper-up
someone who snaps things up
snipe
a fool
snipt taffeta fellow
someone who wanders around in slashed silk clothes
wistly
longingly
wist-snapper
someone who tries to be witty (funny) and fails
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
O me! you juggler! you canker-blossom!
You thief of love! what, have you come by night
And stolen my love's heart from him?
Double Double Toil and Trouble
 Witchcraft - What is it?
 Witchcraft is the term for using magical powers and
the supernatural to control people, events and
happenings. Most human societies have believed in
witchcraft.
In Shakespeare’s time, people believed that witches
could…
• could control the weather
• had the power of flight
• could vanish into thin air
• were able to change their physical form
• could see into the future
• could bring disease and illnesses to crops, animals or
people
And…
 could sink ships
 had the ability to make people go mad
 Would become your enemy if you refused them food
 usually 'worked' at night
 had contact with the devil and their familiars
(animals)
 were able to cast spells (for 'good' and 'bad') by
chanting and making potions
How could we present the witches on stage?
Macbeth or Macdeath? A cursed play
Shakespeare is said to have used the spells of real
witches in his text, purportedly angering the witches and
causing them to curse the play. Thus, to say the name of
the play inside a theatre is believed to doom the
production to failure, and perhaps cause physical injury
or death to cast members. A large mythology has built up
surrounding this superstition, with countless stories of
accidents, misfortunes and even deaths, all mysteriously
taking place during runs of Macbeth (or by actors who
had uttered the name)
Second Witch
a snake that lives in the
fens (a swampy district of
eastern England).
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 howlet's wing,
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.
The witches then chanted together.
"Double, double, toil and trouble,
fire burn and cauldron bubble!"
a small lizard
owlet (a baby owl).
TASK: Now write your own spell.
Begin with deciding what the spell is for (to blow up
school? To make you taller? To win a million pounds?)
Then produce a list of truly horrible ingredients.
Next, come up with a chant like ‘Double double toil
and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble’ to finish
off each verse off your spell.
Write up your spell neatly, with illustrations.
R and J
 “When It Hurts So Bad” by Lauryn Hill
I loved real, real hard once
But the love wasn't returned
Found out the man I'd die for
He wasn't even concerned
 Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream 2.1.248251
We cannot fight for love, as men may do.
We should be wooed and were not made to woo.
I'll follow thee and make a heaven of hell
To die upon the hand I love so well.
Romeo and Juliet, Act V. Scene III
ROMEO AND JULIET
Learning Objectives
By the end of today’s lesson:
• All of us will have developed knowledge of Romeo and
Juliet.
• Most of us will be confident with the characters, themes
and plots in this play.
• Some of us will be confident with Shakespeare’s use of
language.
STARTER
 Can you change HATE into LOVE in 4
moves?
 HATE
 DATE
 DAVE
 DOVE
 LOVE
TASK 1
Things I love
family and friends
coffee cake
elephants
bright colours
reading
Elvis sandwiches
sunny holidays
storms and rainbows
Things I hate
misty motorway driving
arguments
my computer crashing
queuing
rudeness
TASK 2
What is love?
SYNONYMS:
devotion, rapture,
adoration, passion,
affection, idolise,
infatuation…
DEFINITION: Love is an
emotion of strong affection
and personal attachment.
What is hate?
SYNONYMS:
detest, abhor, loathe,
despise, hold in
contempt…
DEFINITION: Hate is a
feeling of great dislike
and hostility.
‘O she doth teach the torches to shine bright’
Romeo’s first reaction to seeing Juliet
O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!
It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night
Like a rich jewel in an Ethiope's ear;
Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear!
So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows,
As yonder lady o'er her fellows shows.
The measure done, I'll watch her place of stand,
And, touching hers, make blessed my rude hand.
Did my heart love till now? forswear it, sight!
For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night.
Focusing on imagery
O, she doth teach the torches to
burn bright! It seems she hangs
upon the cheek of night Like a
rich jewel in an Ethiope's ear;
Beauty too rich for use, for earth
too dear! So shows a snowy dove
trooping with crows, As yonder
lady o'er her fellows shows. The
measure done, I'll watch her place
of stand, And, touching hers,
make blessed my rude hand. Did
my heart love till now? forswear
it, sight! For I ne'er saw true
beauty till this night.
Oh, she shows the torches how to
burn bright! She stands out
against the darkness like a
jeweled earring hanging against
the cheek of an African. Her
beauty is too good for this world;
she’s too beautiful to die and be
buried. She outshines the other
women like a white dove in the
middle of a flock of crows. When
this dance is over, I’ll see where
she stands, and then I’ll touch her
hand with my rough and ugly one.
Did my heart ever love anyone
before this moment? My eyes
were liars, then, because I never
saw true beauty before tonight.
TASK
Write your own love poem using your own imagery.
It seems she sparkles
Like a can of pepsi in
a school bag
Oh, he doth teach
Tinie Tempah to sing
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
The Seven Ages of Man
 Jacques: All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages.
At first, the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms.
Then the whining schoolboy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school.
And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress' eyebrow.
Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the canon's mouth.
And then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lined,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part.
The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slippered pantaloon
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side;
His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank, and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound.
Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.
(As You Like It, 2. 7. 139-167)
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
 To examine the
STARTER ACTIVITY
Translate Modern English into Shakespeare’s
language
Honestly I think
your face has the
look of a worn out
horse.