Wallenfang/2013
Additional Exploration
Shakespeare and Elizabethan England
As we read and perform Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet, you will be responsible for undertaking a
supplemental study of Shakespeare outside of class. In your continuing examination of the Bard,
you will delve into how deeply Shakespeare has influenced the modern world by reading an
additional Shakespearean play and connecting it to some sort of contemporary interpretation of
Shakespeare’s work in film.
There will be a measure of choice in the projects that you undertake, and we will occasionally break
from our collaborative reading of Romeo & Juliet so you may discuss your out-of-class readings with
your peers.
Here are the requirements for this project:
1. From the list below, you will choose one Shakespearean play to read with your reading group.
As you read the play, you will be checking in with your group members to discuss it
periodically. You must rank the plays according to your interest: I can’t guarantee that your
first choice will be the play that you are assigned depending on the class’s collective interest.
2. As you and your group members are reading your selected play, you must also choose a film
adaptation to watch independently. All of these films are based on a Shakespearean play, but are
contemporary. You must watch your film by May 10.
3. At the end of reading your secondary play and watching your film, you will write a literary
analysis of the play that draws a thematic connection to your selected film (more on this
later).
Plays
Films
Comedies
• A Comedy of Errors
• Twelfth Night
• The Taming of the Shrew
Comedies
• The Lion King
• She’s the Man
• 10 Things I Hate About
You
Tragedies/Histories
• Othello
• Julius Caesar
Tragedies/Histories
• West Side Story
• O
• Macbeth* or King Lear*
(PBS: online streaming)
Wallenfang/2013
Extra Credit Option
You may continue to explore the world of Shakespeare
beyond just his plays for extra credit. There have been several
films that explore the Tudor family, and many of them focus
on Queen Elizabeth as a fascinating example of a monarch.
For extra credit, you may watch one or more of the following
films and write a film review of it (this is NOT a literary
analysis). This review must examine the following elements:
• The film’s historical accuracy
• The film’s representation of women and gender in
Elizabethan England
• The film’s connection to Shakespeare (not all films
will include this connection)
• Your review of the film: did you like it? Why or why
not? What made it “good” and/or what made it
“bad”?
You may select from the following films:
Film
The Other Boleyn Girl
(2008)
Elizabeth (1998)
Elizabeth: The Golden
Age (2007)
Shakespeare in Love
(1998)
Rating
Description
Awards
PG-13
A loose historical account of Henry
VIII’s competitive romance with the
Boleyn sisters, including Anne
Boleyn, Queen Elizabeth’s mother.
... this is more of a soapy
love story ... so no ..
R
The historical account of Elizabeth’s
dramatic and troubling rise to the
throne of England following the
death of her father, Henry VIII.
Academy Award
Nomination: Best
Picture, Best Actress
(Cate Blanchett as
Queen Elizabeth)
PG-13
A sequel to Elizabeth, this film
chronicles Elizabeth’s “golden
years,” during which she continued
to expand her power and defeat the
Spanish armada.
Academy Award
Nomination: Best
Actress (Cate
Blanchett as Queen
Elizabeth)
R
This fictionalized account imagines a
young William Shakespeare’s
romance with an aristocrat that
inspires his writing of Romeo &
Juliet.
Academy Award Win
for Best Picture
Academy Award Win
for Best Supporting
Actress (Judi Dench
as Queen Elizabeth)