Will's Words

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 4

Shakespeare?

Some facts

Watch the video and take notes. You will need your notes to answer some questions

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Please compare notes with a classmate. Did you write down the same information? Anything missing?

How did he start his career?

What is the name of the theatre they played in?

Why were Shakespeare's plays so popular?

What were his first works mainly about?

What can you see about the language he used?

Is his work still relevant? Explain!

Course outline

This course deals with William Shakespeare and his influence on the English language.

Goals and objectives:

At the end of this course, you will have …

 … learned about William Shakespeare, his life and his work

 … learned about some words and phrases that Shakespeare invented

 … learned what a sonnet is and how to analyse one

 … practised reading a sonnet out loud

 … learned how to write your own sonnet

You will also:

• Develop your listening, reading, speaking and writing skills

• Develop your critical thinking skills

• Increase your ability to analyze a different kind of English through individual and pair    

  work and discussion 

• Learn how poetry touches upon many themes found in all other parts of art and     

  literature 

William’s Words - in your hands

Introduction: short recap of previous lesson in which they worked with sonnets based on pop lyrics. Now they are going to write their own.

1. Assignment: write your own sonnet

a. The choosing of suitable lyrics: help students find suitable lyrics. It might be a good idea to book a computer room for this lesson.

b. Help students make rhymes. Also encourage pair work. Help them find synonyms for words that are not very suitable for rhyming.

c. Explain the exact requirements for the assignment and go over the assessment form with them. Make sure they hand in:

d. - the original lyrics (plus writer/artist)

- the sonnet

- the assessment form (see next page)

If the students have not finished this assignment at the end of the class, ask them to prepare their sonnets for next class. Discuss these then and give feedback; have other students give feedback too.

Read the short bio on Shakespeare and do the quiz on page 6 of your student file. You can use your phone to answer the questions.

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, who is often described as the greatest writer in the English language. His surviving works, including some collaborations, consist of 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems.

His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.

 

Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire and was baptised on 26 April 1564. Thought to have been educated at the local grammar school, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he went on to have three children, at the age of eighteen, before moving to London to work in the theatre.

Two poems, Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece were published in 1593 and 1594 and records of his plays begin to appear in 1594 for Richard III and the three parts of Henry VI. Shakespeare's tragic period lasted from around 1600 to 1608, during which period he wrote plays including Hamlet and Othello. The first editions of the sonnets were published in 1609 but evidence suggests that Shakespeare had been writing them for years for a private readership.

 

Shakespeare spent the last five years of his life in Stratford, by now a wealthy man of property. He died on 23 April 1616 and was buried in Holy Trinity Church in Stratford.

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, who is often described as the greatest writer in the English language. His surviving works, including some collaborations, consist of 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems.

His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.

 

Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire and was baptised on 26 April 1564. Thought to have been educated at the local grammar school, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he went on to have three children, at the age of eighteen, before moving to London to work in the theatre.

Two poems, Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece were published in 1593 and 1594 and records of his plays begin to appear in 1594 for Richard III and the three parts of Henry VI. Shakespeare's tragic period lasted from around 1600 to 1608, during which period he wrote plays including Hamlet and Othello. The first editions of the sonnets were published in 1609 but evidence suggests that Shakespeare had been writing them for years for a private readership.

 

Shakespeare spent the last five years of his life in Stratford, by now a wealthy man of property. He died on 23 April 1616 and was buried in Holy Trinity Church in Stratford.

Watch the video and and have a look at the list of words and phrases on page 7 of your student file and do the assignment.

Shakespeare's phrases

• Green-eyed monster  
  
• A foregone conclusion      
  
• All that glisters is not gold      
  
• At one fell swoop   
  
• In the twinkling of an eye    
  
• Love is blind    
  
• Send him packing 
  
• I will wear my heart upon my sleeve    
  
• Wild-goose chase 

Some answers please!

Have a look at page 8 in your students file.

The Sonnet

Study and discuss the quatrain wreck with a classmate (use your phone to look up what you don't understand). Make sure you understand the following terms: 

• Stanza
• Quatrain
• Rhyme scheme
• Iambic pentameter
• Slant
• Volta
• Rhyming couplet

The Sonnet

You have just been handed a sonnet. Please analyse. Pay attention to: 

- The meaning of each quatrain

- Slant

- Volta

- What is the message of the sonnet?

What is a sonnet?

How many lines does a Sonnet have?

What rhyme scheme does a sonnet use?

What is a quatrain?

What do we call rhyme that does not exactly rhyme?

What is the name of the twist or turn in the third stanza?

The fourth stanze is different from the rest. It only has two lines. What is it called?

Each line has exactly 10 syllables where the stress is on the second syllable. What is this the name of this rhyme pattern?

What was different about Shakespeare's sonnet 130 when compared to traditional sonnets?

Assignment 1: write your own sonnet

a. Choose one of your favourite songs. Look up the lyrics and copy them in a Word file. Look up any words you don’t know. (if the lyrics of your favourite song are too difficult or maybe too short, try to find a song that has suitable lyrics).

b. Try to fit the meaning of the first couplet and the refrain in a sort of summary. You can also translate these parts into Dutch if you like. Next, try to make a sonnet of your summary. Try to use the rhyme scheme we discussed before. You can look for rhyming words here: www.rhymezone.com, www.rhymer.com, or go to http://www.thesaurus.com/ to find synonyms (ask your teacher how this works). Help each other! Write several drafts and don’t be afraid to rewrite/correct and rewrite again. Don’t stop until you’re happy with the result.

c. Think of a good title for your sonnet. Type your sonnet on a separate piece of paper in your file. Make sure that the lay-out is attractive. You can add a picture if you like.

d. Hand in:

- the original lyrics (plus writer/artist)

- your sonnet

- the assessment form (see next page)

Also, prepare your sonnet so that you can read it out loud in class. Don’t tell your classmates what the song is; can they guess from your sonnet?

Good luck!

Assignment 1: write your own sonnet

a. Choose one of your favourite songs. Look up the lyrics and copy them in a Word file. Look up any words you don’t know. (if the lyrics of your favourite song are too difficult or maybe too short, try to find a song that has suitable lyrics).

b. Try to fit the meaning of the first couplet and the refrain in a sort of summary. You can also translate these parts into Dutch if you like. Next, try to make a sonnet of your summary. Try to use the rhyme scheme we discussed before. You can look for rhyming words here: www.rhymezone.com, www.rhymer.com, or go to http://www.thesaurus.com/ to find synonyms (ask your teacher how this works). Help each other! Write several drafts and don’t be afraid to rewrite/correct and rewrite again. Don’t stop until you’re happy with the result.

c. Think of a good title for your sonnet. Type your sonnet on a separate piece of paper in your file. Make sure that the lay-out is attractive. You can add a picture if you like.

d. Hand in:

- the original lyrics (plus writer/artist)

- your sonnet

- the assessment form (see next page)

Also, prepare your sonnet so that you can read it out loud in class. Don’t tell your classmates what the song is; can they guess from your sonnet?

Good luck!