by John Wood and Roger Forbes
adapted from the award-winning
novel Falstaff by Robert Nye
an NAC English Theatre / The Old Castle Group (Stratford, ON) coproduction
in association with Richard Jordan Productions Ltd. (UK)
Study Guide
The National Arts Centre English Theatre
Programmes for Student Audiences
2007-2008 Season
Peter Hinton
Artistic Director, English Theatre
This Study Guide was written and researched by Jamieson Findlay for the National Arts Centre, English
Theatre, August 2007. It may be used solely for educational purposes.
The National Arts Centre English Theatre values the feedback of teachers on the content and format of
its Study Guides. We would appreciate your comments on past Study Guides, on this current one, or
suggestions on ways to improve future Study Guides. Comments may be directed to Martina Kuska
either by email at [email protected] or by fax to Martina Kuska at the NAC, (613) 943-1401.
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This is Your Brain on the Bard
by Anne McIlroy
(From the Globe and Mail newspaper, January 27th, 2007. Used with permission.)
Shakespeare often changed the function of words, using nouns as
verbs or adjectives as nouns.
In Othello, for example, he uses the
noun lip instead of the verb kiss.
This sort of wordplay, called functional shift or word class
conversion, has always been of interest to English literature buffs
and playwrights.
But now researchers in Britain have found it also
has a distinct effect on the brain.
“By throwing odd words into seemingly normal word sentences,
Shakespeare surprises the brain and catches it off guard in a manner
that produces a sudden burst of activity,” says Philip Davis, a
professor at the University of Liverpool’s school of English.
Using an EEG, or electroencephalogram, he teamed up with
scientists to monitor the electrical activity in brains of volunteers
as they read sentences such as, “The pizza was too hot to mouth.”
While the phrase is definitely not Shakespearean, Dr. Davis said
that using the real thing would have activated too many parts of the
brain and made it too difficult to measure what the researchers were
interested in — which is how the brain reacts when words are used in
unconventional ways.
Falstaff Study Guide – page 7
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*The Plague: Bubonic plague, an infectious disease caused by the bacillus Yersinia pestis, transmitted by
rat-borne fleas. Called “The Black Death” during its initial epidemic in the 14th century, the plague
devastated Europe and parts of Asia and continued to recur in later centuries.
**Seal Ring: A finger ring bearing a seal—that is, a design or crest, often relating to a family line, in basrelief. The seal was imprinted into the wax that was attached to documents, thus establishing their
authenticity.
Falstaff Study Guide – page 8
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(From Falstaff, by John Wood and Roger Forbes, adapted from the novel Falstaff by Robert Nye. Used
with permission.)
*The Domesday Book: A record of the great survey of England completed in 1086, carried out at the
command of William the Conqueror. It was similar to a government census of today. The name
“Domesday” contains the Old English word dom, meaning an accounting or reckoning; from it comes the
modern variant, “doomsday.”
**“False Taff”: Falstaff is alluding to the anti-Welsh sentiment of the age as exemplified in the following
old English nursery rhyme:
Taffy was a Welshman,
Taffy was a thief.
Taffy came to my house
And stole a piece of beef.
Falstaff Study Guide – page 9
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Shakespeare is a dead white guy who lived hundreds
of years ago and who wrote English that’s impossible
to read.
We shouldn’t be forced to study him.
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