Module Outline: Timeless Themes from William Shakespeare and Other Poets
Essential Questions: How is Shakespeare’s work transcendent? How do writers establish tone? How/why do poets explore concepts such as conflict and death?
Text One:
From Macbeth’s “Out, Out brief
candle!” speech
Elizabethan Period
Text Two:
Robert Frost “Out, Out”
1920
Text Three:
From Caesar: Act II, scene 1
Brutus’ “It must be by his death…”
Elizabethan Period
Comprehension: Read Macbeth’s speech excerpted from Act V of the tragedy. What seems to have taken place? Interpretation: What is the tone of the excerpt? How do you know? What is the mood (atmosphere) created by the tone? Author’s Methods: Shakespeare is noted for playing to the ear and creating “beautiful language.” Find examples of speech that play to the ear. How do they reflect the tone of the speech? Author’s Methods: Find three examples of metaphor in the speech. What is the central idea found in each metaphor? Interpretation: Considering the metaphors in your previous answer, interpret the last three lines of the monologue. How do the lines reinforce the tone? How might these lines serve as an excuse for bad behavior? Comprehension: In a well-­‐
written paragraph, summarize the events of the poem making sure to use the words in the word list. Interpretation: Where does the tone/mood shift in the poem? Describe the tone/mood prior to the shift and after the shift. Author’s Methods: Identify the use of metonymy in lines 20-­‐21 and explain its impact on the poem. Author’s Methods: Find two examples of words/phrases that reinforce the allusion to Macbeth’s speech. Explain the connection between Frost’s phrases and Shakespeare’s monologue. Retrospective: Read the last three lines of the poem. How do they relate to Macbeth’s last three lines? How do they echo Steinbeck’s closing lines in OMAM?
Comprehension: Brutus is in conflict about something. What is it? How do you know? Comprehension/Interpretati
on: Brutus’ conflict centers on the “question.” What is the question? Paraphrase it. Comprehension: How does Brutus feel about Caesar personally? How do you know? Interpretation: Reread lines 18-­‐21. According to Brutus, how do men abuse power? Does he claim Caesar has or has not abused power? Cite the text to support your answer. Methods: (Analogy) Explain the analogy concerning “young ambition’s ladder.” Methods: (Analogy) Explain the analogy about the serpent’s egg. Interpretation: Brutus based his decision on these two analogies. What has Brutus decided to do? What do you think of his logic?
Text Four:
“The Fence”
By Lenrie Peters
20th century Africa
Comprehension Vocab: Look up
any unfamiliar words in the poem.
Interpretation: Designate one word
to describe the speaker’s view of his
condition based on Stanza One. Do
not use the term “depressed.” Which
words in Stanza One support your
answer?
Comprehension/Interpretation
What conflicts are discussed in the
poem? How much progress has the
speaker made concerning conflict?
How do you know?
Retrospective: Which stanza echoes
Brutus’ soliloquy? Explain the
connections.
Methods/Interpretation: What does
the phrase, “the world has changed
her garment” mean? How could we
apply this phrase to Brutus’ Rome?
Interpretation/Retrospective:
Paraphrase Stanza 7. How does it
apply to Brutus’ specifically? How
does it apply to all humans?
Significance: Explain the significance of
the poem’s title.
Interpretation/Retrospective: How is
the speaker different from Brutus?
Explain.
Interpretation/Retrospective: Consider
that this is a poem written by an African
author who passed away in 2009. What
else, besides time, do Shakespeare’s
themes transcend? So far, what have we
learned of the human condition from
Shakespeare’s characters and the poets we
have read? Text Five:
“Friends, Romans,
Countrymen” speech from
Act III of Caesar
Comprehension: What does
Mark Antony claim to be the
purpose for his speech? Is this
his sole purpose? How do
you know?
Structure:
What do you
notice about the appearance
of the monologue on the
page? (Teach blank verse.)
Interpretation: Paraphrase
lines 3-5 stopping at the
period. Does Mark Antony
abide by his declaration “So
let it be with Caesar”?
Explain.
Analysis:
Find specific
phrases that Mark Antony
says but does not really seem
to believe. Why would he use
them if he doesn’t believe
them? Did you select phrases
that exemplify any rhetorical
strategies we have studied?
Analysis: How does Mark
Antony use pathos in this
speech? Cite the text.
Analysis: How does Mark
Antony appeal to reason
(logos)? Cite the text.
(These
questions
are
presented one slide at a time
in a PowerPoint presentation
located in the dropbox.)
Teachers may choose to have
students view the entire
speech to show Antony’s
success with the mob.
Text Six:
“Do Not Go Gentle into that
Good Night”
Comprehension: What four
groups of people does the
poet address? What is the
poet’s advice to each of
group?
Who is the final
person the poet addresses?
Structure:
What do you
notice about the overall
structure of the poem? (How
many lines? How many lines
repeat?
Where do they
repeat? What is the rhyme
scheme?)
Conduct an
internet search and find out
what type of poem this is.
Interpretation:
Which
category of men would Mark
Antony place Caesar in?
Why? Cite Antony’s speech in
your answer.
Interpretation: What is the
regret of the first three types of
men? How does the grouping
of different types of men
impact the theme of the
poem?
Culminating Essay: In a literary analysis, identify why Shakespeare remains widely studied and read 500 years after his death. Cite four texts from this module in
your essay. Be sure to discuss themes and how he and the poets reveal those themes.