Les 1: Getting to know William Shakespeare

Shakespeare 

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Les 1

What are we going to do?

Lesson series introduction

Activating prior knowledge

William Shakespeare

Historical context

Sonnets

Reflection lesson 1

Lesson series introduction

Welcome to a lesson series on Shakespeare. In the next couple of lessons, we will examine who Shakespeare was, his works, and his influence on society. You will be challenged to dive into Shakespeare’s poems and learn more about poetry overall.

After this lesson series:

1. You will be able to explain in your own words who William Shakespeare was, his life, and the historical context of his time.

2. You will be able to analyze the key themes in his poems.

3. You will be able to interpret and identify literary devices

4. You will be able to share your obtained knowledge in group discussions and in a creative project.

5. You will be able to explore how Shakespeare’s works have influenced society.

Assignment 1

Before we get started:

Answer questions A + B on your own

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare

• 1564 - 1616
• Stratford Upon Avon
• Writer
• Playwright
• Married Anne Hathaway in 1582
• Because of the plague, he started to write sonnets and poems instead of plays (people couldn't get together).
• considered the greatest writer in the English language: Shakespearean Sonnet
• Still has a huge influence on today's society

What is Shakespeare famous for?

Assignment 2

We are going to watch a video

While watching: Answer A until E

After watching: F and G (you will have 10 minutes for this)

We will discuss the answers afterwards.

Historical context

Elizabethan era (Queen Elizabeth I)

King James

Shakespeare had an important role in the English language. As his works became more popular, correctly spelling words became more common.

Before assignment 3: literary devices

Which literary devices do you know?

Metaphor

Simile

Personification

I'm drowing in a sea of grief.

The stars danced playfully in the moonlit sky.

My love for you is as deep as the ocean.

Literary devices

• Metaphor = a comparison with something that might not be true (you are my sunshine)
• Simile = a way of describing something by comparing it to something else using 'like' or 'as', usually interestingly or imaginatively.
• Personification= that non-human objects, ideas, or animals are given human characteristics, actions, or emotions in writing

What is a 'narrator' of a poem?

Which literary device is saying the exact opposite of what you mean?

1. satire
2. hyperbole
3. irony
4. alliteration

Alliteration

Hyperbole

Sarcasm

I'm so hungry I could eat a horse.

Weather forcast for tonight: dark.

Kim's kid kept kicking like crazy!

Literary devices

• Alliteration = when two or more words that start with the same sound are used repeatedly in a phrase or a sentence (= Heerlijk Heineken).
• Hypberbole = an extreme exaggeration (I can eat a horse).
• Sarcasm = to be hostile under a cover of kindness.

What is the aim of imagery?
(The golden sunlight warmed the room during the colourful sunset)

1. To build suspension.
2. To evoke a response from the reader.
3. To make the writing attractive.
4. To highlight jokes.

Shakespearean Sonnet

14 lines in the  poem

3 quatrains (3 x 4 lines) + 1 couplet (2 lines)

Iambic pentameter

Rhyme scheme: ABAB CDCD EFEF GG

Not actually invented by Shakespeare

Assignment 3: Sonnet 18

Learning goals

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