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Unit
2 - Theatre History
Module
1: Understanding Historical Context
Lesson
2 - Shakespearean Times
Resources:
(pdf's)
Background notes for theatre history unit; Shakespeare's
Theatre Questions; Famous
Lines; Shakespearean
Web Sites; variety of texts from the period.
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This
icon indicates an advanced print resource you can refer
to for more in depth research information. It has been
provided courtesy of Dr. Moira Day, University of Saskatchewan,
Drama Department. |
Activities:
Activity
1- Talking Circle:
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Talking
Circle: Why
do we study Shakespeare? How has his work remained
relevant through all these years? What gives it lasting
power?
(Hint:
What are the key themes used throughout his work?
Greed, lust, betrayal, loyalty, love, hate, power,
relationships - both tragic and comedic)
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Activity
2 - Research:
Form
small groups and engage in research, gather and post information
collectively on posters in the room. Research questions
may include:
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A.
Who was Shakespeare?
Make a list of biographical facts about Shakespeare
as a person.
B.
What are the most important works written of the time?
Include the work of other writers as well.
Make a list of all Shakespeare's plays. Categorize
into tragedy and comedy.
C.
What distinguishes the theatre of that time? Describe
(draw) the stage design of the Globe Theatre? How
was the stage used effectively to create various effects?
Why was costuming so important?
D.
What was it like to live in the Elizabethan Era in
England?
Make a list of what the lifestyle was like, health
problems (effect of the plague), life expectancy,
religion, monarchy, other artists, etc.
E.
What were the various duties and positions of people
involve in the theatre? How often were plays performed
and how did they prepare for each play?
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| Bonus
Question: How were special effects shown in Shakespeare's
time? Actors were in battles, storms, sword fights,
people's heads cut off, and ghosts walking about. |
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(*Thunder
- roll a canon ball on the floor behind the curtain; * Blood
- a red vinegar soaked sponge held under the arm and squeezed
upon being stabbed; * Ghosts - rise up out of the floor
from a hidden trap door; * Decapitated head - actor is under
a table with their through a whole to show on a table, while
the body is hidden with a cloth.)
Activity
3 - Improv Exercise:
Use
the quotes provided below to put together new, improvised
scenes:
-
cut them up and draw from a hat at random.
- or
perhaps put them into groups and assign a line from
each category - opening lines, lines of love, insults
and closing lines.
- it
will work best if students memorize the lines and are
able to improvise new lines (of a Shakespearean sounding
sort).
- the
exercise is for fun - to take pleasure in the words
Shakespeare has given to the English language.
- encourage
them to add in sword fights (mime), balcony scenes,
betrayal, mistaken identity, jealousy and madness -
all elements of the best plays.
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Famous
Opening Lines
"In
delivering my son from me, I bury a second husband."
(All's Well That ends Well)
"In
sooth, I know not why I am so sad." (Merchant
of Venice)
"I
wonder how the King escaped our hands." (Henry
IV)
"Who's
there?" (Hamlet)
"Hence!
Home, you idle creatures, get you home." (Julius
Caesar)
"When
shall we three meet again In thunder, lightning
or in rain?" (Macbeth)
"Boatswain!"
(The Tempest)
"Now
is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer
by this son of York." (Richard III)
"If
music be the food of love , play on; Give me excess
of it, that, surfeiting, The appetite may sicken,
and so die." (Twelfth Night)
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Famous
Words of Love
"I
dedicate myself to your sweet pleasure." (Cymbeline)
"By'r
lady, your ladyship is nearer to heaven than when
I saw you last." (Hamlet)
"I
love you more than words can wield the matter, dearer
then eye-sight, space and liberty." (King
Lear)
"Fair
thoughts and happy hours attend on you." (Merchant
of Venice)
"O,
how ripe in show thy lips, those kissing cherries,
tempting grow." (A Midsummer Night's Dream)
"I
love you with so much of my heart that none is left
to protest." (Much Ado About Nothing)
"I
burn, I pine, I perish." (The Taming of
the Shrew)
"How
like a dream is this I see and hear! Love, lend
me patience to forbear awhile." (Two Gentlemen
of Verona)
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Famous
Insults
"More
of your conversation would infect my brain."
(Coriolanus)
"Away!
Thou art poison to my blood." (Cymbeline)
"Hang
yourself, you muddy conger, hang yourself!"
(Henry IV)
"He
is deformed, crooked, old, and sere,
Ill faced, worse bodied, shapeless everywhere;
Vicious, ungentle, foolish, blunt, unkind;
Stigmatical in making, worse in mind." (The
Comedy of Errors)
"Why,
thou clay-brained guts, thou knotty-pated fool,
thou whoreson obscene greasy tallow-catch."
(Henry IV)
"Thou
art a boil, A plague-sore, an embossed carbuncle
In my corrupted blood." (King Lear)
"Let's
meet as little as we can." (As You Like
It)
"I
had rather hear my dog bark at a crow than a man
swear he loves me." (Much Ado About Nothing)
"Come,
you are a tedious fool." (Measure for Measure)
"You
secret, black and midnight hags." (Macbeth)
"Thou
lump of foul deformity." (Richard III)
"Away,
you 3 inch fool." (Taming of the Shrew)
"Would
thou wert clean enough to spit upon!" (Timon
of Athens)
"Thou
sodden-witted lord! Thou hast no more brain than
I have in mine elbows." (Troilus and Cressida)
"If
you spend word for word with me, I shall make your
wit bankrupt." (Two Gentlemen of Verona)
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Famous
Last Words
"Et
tu, Brute! Then fall, Caesar." (Julius Caesar)
"No,
no, the drink, the drink, - O my dear Hamlet, -
The drink, the drink! I am poison'd" (Hamlet)
"Now
my spirit is going; I can no more." (Antony
and Cleopatra)
"I
kiss'd thee ere I kill'd thee: no way but this;
Killing myself, to die upon a kiss." (Othello)
"The
rest is silence." (Hamlet)
"Lay
on, MacDuff, and damn'd be him that first cries,
"Hold, enough!" (Macbeth)
"A
plaque o' both your houses! They have made worm's
meat of me: I have it, and soundly too: your houses!"
(Romeo & Juliet)
"A
horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!" (Henry
IV)
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Activity
4 - Journal:
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Journal
Note:
If you were to direct, or act in, a Shakespearean
play, which would you choose? Explain why and what
particularly interests you. What would be the most
challenging aspect of this work in your opinion? |
Activity
5 - Staged
Reading:
Select
a sonnet or a soliloquy to perform as a staged reading
for the class. You need to consider how to present the
text, i.e.: costume, lighting, music, etc. Rehearse the
text aloud to perfect pronunciation, articulation of words.
Be sure of the meaning as well, otherwise the intention
will be unclear.
Activity
6 - Evaluation:
Use
the handout Shakespeare's
Theatre Questions to
evaluate your understanding of the period.
Evaluation:
Shakespeare's Theatre questions are use to check comprehension.
Participation in the jigsaw exercise could be marked out of
/ 10, or completion of the poster out of a similar amount.
Next
Lesson / Previous Lesson
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