|
| |
"To be or not to be" -- Appreciating the Language and Interpreting the Meaning of Hamlet's Soliloquy
This lesson introduces students to Hamlet's soliloquy, "To be or not to be" in which he questions himself and his need to act in avenging his father's death. They will be encouraged to listen to the language and the sound and rhythm of the …
|
|
| |
To Love, Honor and Obey (One's Parents!)
This lesson will encourage students to think about parent-child tensions regarding obedience and communication, in order to understand the conflicts in the opening scene of King Lear.
This lesson takes one to two …
|
|
| |
Two Sides of the Same Coin: Twins and Duplicity in The Comedy of Errors
Duplicity in its earliest definition means doubleness, but today can mean acting in two ways. Although it often connotes deceitfulness, for this discussion it helps to look at it without judgement. It can be the difference between someone …
|
|
| |
Can't Buy Me Love?
One of the reasons The Merchant of Venice is so interesting—and so troublesome—is that characters in Venice cannot define human values such as justice, mercy, and love in anything other than economic terms. …
|
|
| |
"Importing the Argument": Dis-Covering Hamlet’s Soliloquies
In this lesson, students will work actively and collaboratively on Hamlet’s major soliloquies to experience how they represent Hamlet discovering who he is and what he wants, what he questions, and what he concludes in real …
|
|
| |
"On the Outside, Looking In": Introducing the Outsider theme in The Merchant of Venice
Students will:
- Have the opportunity to "stage" a brief scenario as a silent scene
- Safely experience an understanding of what it feels like to be an outsider
- Work collaboratively in a low stakes (silent) …
|
|
| |
UNIT: She's a Lady...Or is She? Examining dress and behavior in As You Like It and The Merchant of Venice
In this unit, students will analyze the dress and behavior of Portia in The Merchant of Venice and Rosalind in As You Like It. Students will read a primary source to understand the expectations of women in the sixteenth century and …
|
|
| |
Knock, Knock, or Whose Line is it anyway?
In life, people are asked to think quickly and without preparation on a daily basis. Improvisational acting can help students prepare for situations where they are called upon to "think fast". The exercises in this lesson allow students to …
|
|
| |
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
Students design and create photo albums that tell the story of the play. This involves some extra work, resources, and lots of class time, but the end result is worth it!
This lesson will take two to three class …
|
|
| |
Lesson 15: "Tear him for his bad verses:" Cinna the poet and Shakespeare's Sonnets.
The "Cinna the Poet" scene captures the mob mentality of the Roman citizens who tear Cinna to pieces because one of the conspirators was also named Cinna. The mob does not care that this Cinna is a poet and not a conspirator: someone cries, "Tear …
|
|
| |
"Such Affection Move": Finding Staging Clues in A Midsummer Night's Dream
Middle school students are often hesitant to perform Shakespeare. They tend towards two extremes: either they don't move at all, or they use overly-theatrical gestures that have little connection to the text.
This lesson …
|
|
| |
“Close Reading” of a Sonnet: Lesson 7
Showing one line at a time of a sonnet, or any poem, demonstrates the way it accumulates meaning and prevents students from leaping ahead to the couplet to identify the “message” of the sonnet. Going slowly, students can focus on …
|
|
| |
A Guilty Gertrude: Performing Speaking and Silent Moments in Hamlet
In this lesson, students will examine Gertrude's behavior, lines and thoughts in a scene that is normally analyzed for what it reveals about Ophelia's madness. Students will have to synthesize what they know about Gertrude to perform her …
|
|
| |
AA "They Smack of Honor Both"
The objective of this lesson is for students to critique Shakespeare's text in terms of plot, themes, and character motivation and development through comparative analysis with Holinshed's 1577 book, The Chronicles of England, Scotlande, and …
|
|
| |
Complexity of character in The Merchant of Venice
The goal of this assigment is for students to explore ambiguity by discovering the intricacy present in many of the characters in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. Students will:
- Perform a speech of a chosen …
|
|
| |
Juliet vs. Laura: Lesson 6
Romeo and Juliet contains three sonnets: the Prologue, the shared sonnet at the ball scene in 1.5, and one at the start of Act 2. The first and third of these are essentially narratives. The second, which is shared by Romeo and Juliet, …
|
|
| |
"Let all of his complexion choose me so": Elizabethan Perceptions of Africans
This play will give students a glimpse into the early modern period’s negative perceptions and stereotypes of human beings of African descent. Students will use information from a primary source to interpret these elements in …
|
|
| |
Much Ado About Illumination
This lesson will help students engage with Shakespeare's language in several ways. First, they will gain a stronger understanding of Benedick's character in relation to events in the play as well as changes in Claudio. Students will also …
|
|
| |
Pause - What did you say?
In Shakespeare's iambic pentameter, when two characters share a line, the characters say the lines quickly without a pause in the speech. However, the rhythm and meter of iambic pentameter may not be carried through the characters' lines. When …
|
|
| |
Petrarch, Father of the Sonnet: Lesson 2
This lesson offers an introduction to Petrarch (1304-1374) and the influence he had on sonnet writing in the 16th and 17th centuries and beyond. It provides a context for understanding how Shakespeare made use of both “Petrarchan …
|
