Introduction to Shakespeare
Lesson Plan
Video: 18 minutes
Lesson: 32 minutes
Pre-viewing
• :00 Warm-up: Ask students what their experiences with Shakespeare‘s plays have been. Do they find it hard to
understand his plays?
2 minutes
• :02 Pre-test: Have students give examples of Shakespeare plays they have seen. List their responses on the board.
4 minutes
Viewing
• :06 Playing Video: Hand out Viewing Guide. Go over Viewing Questions and expectations. Tell the students to pay
attention to the program and answer the questions while watching. Don’t hesitate to stop the program and review if
the students seem confused.
18 minutes
Post-viewing
• :24 Question & Answer Session: Ask the class the Viewing Questions. See if any parts of the program were difficult or
confusing for the students. Ask a few questions to check their understanding of the key topics.
5 minutes
Sample Questions
1. Who was the Elizabethan era named after?
2. Who were the groundlings?
3. What did Medieval art focus on?
Handouts
• :29 Practicing Material: Hand out the Worksheet and give the class 5-7 minutes to complete it. Students are allowed to
use their Viewing Guides. Monitor the students’ progress, helping where needed. Go over Worksheet as a class.
9 minutes
• :38 Applying Material: Have students turn over their Viewing Guides and split the class into two teams. Go over the
instructions for the Activity.
9 minutes
• :47 Wrap-up: Briefly sum up what has been covered in class by prompting students to list the main points covered.
Assign any homework.
3 minutes
Viewing Questions Answer Key
1. Where did Shakespeare grow up? Stratford, England
2. Why were plays performed during the day? to take advantage of the daylight, as there was no electricity
3. Where were many of Shakespeare’s plays first performed? the Globe Theater
Teacher Notes:
Introduction to Shakespeare
Teacher's Reference Guide
Video: 18 minutes
Lesson: 32 minutes
Learning Objectives
At the end of the module, students will be able to:
• describe the structure of the Globe Theater
• identify plays written by William Shakespeare
• explain the differences between Elizabethan drama and modern drama
Materials
• Video: the life and times of Shakespeare, Shakespeare’s use of language, Elizabethan drama, the importance of words,
real life vs. stage life; 18 minutes
• Viewing Guide: the life and times of Shakespeare, Shakespeare’s use of language, Elizabethan drama vs. modern
drama; 3 Viewing Questions
• Worksheet: label the characteristics of the Globe Theater, thinking cap questions
• Activity: “Shakespeare Mania Trivia”
• Check Your Knowledge: true/false, multiple choice, and creative flow short answer questions; 50 points
Background
None required.
Preparation
Copy and cut out the Shakespeare Mania trivia cards.
Extension
Have students create a collage of Shakespeare’s life by finding images from magazines, newspapers, or the Internet.
Introduction to Shakespeare
Viewing Guide
Shakespeare’s Life and Times
1564
Born in Stratford, England, on April 23.
1589
Shakespeare settles in London and writes his first plays: Richard the Third, The Comedy of Errors,
Titus Andronicus, The Taming of the Shrew, Henry the Sixth Parts I, II, and III.
1592
All theaters close for two years due to an outbreak of the plague. Shakespeare writes two book-length
poems: “Venus and Adonis” and “The Rape of Lucrece”.
1594
Yippee!! Theaters re-open and Shakespeare is back writing for the stage.
Shakespeare completes Love’s Labour’s Lost, Romeo and Juliet, Richard the Second, King John.
1596–1603
1603
Shakespeare writes his sonnets.
Shakespeare writes The Merchant of Venice, Henry the Fifth, Julius Caesar, Hamlet, and Twelfth Night.
Queen Elizabeth dies in 1603.
King James becomes the new ruler of England.
1603–1608
Shakespeare writes the tragedies Othello, King Lear, Macbeth, and Antony and Cleopatra.
1608–1613
Shakespeare writes his last plays, including A Winter’s Tale and The Tempest.
Shakespeare decides it’s time to live the good life, so he retires and moves back to Stratford.
1616–1623
Shakespeare dies on April 23, at the age of 52.
First Folio of Shakespeare’s works is published in 1623.
Shakespeare’s Use of Language
blank verse – a poetic form that usually uses a metrical pattern known as unrhymed iambic pentameter.
meter – the use of a regular rhythm pattern in language.
poetry – a concentrated and heightened form of language, produced through rhythm and sound.
prose – the language of everyday, ordinary speech.
iamb – a unit of speech that contains one unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.
iambic pentameter – a poetic form that consists of five iambs. Shakespeare used this form in his plays to mimic the
natural rhythms of the English language. The line “A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!” is written in perfect
iambic pentameter
Elizabethan Drama
Importance of Words
• Shakespeare’s plays are primarily verbal, not visual
• Shakespeare used words to express the setting and mood
of his dramas
• Modern dramas are primarily visual
Real Life vs. Stage Life
• Characters in a Shakespeare play are understood to be
characters that represent real people––not real people
• Modern dramas suggest that everything is real, especially the
place and the people
• Aristotle, the Greek philosopher, wrote The Poetics, in which he
spelled out his ideas on tragedy
• Aristotle described stage life as an “illusion”
• Aristotle described tragedy as an “imitation of an action”
Symbolic Art
• Shakespeare was influenced by Medieval Art
• Medieval Art was deeply symbolic
Globe Theater
• shaped like an “O”
• penthouse – tower attached to the roof
• pit – center area where groundlings
watched the plays
• stage of theater extended into audience,
with a trapdoor in the middle
Viewing Questions
1. Where did Shakespeare grow up?
2. Why were plays performed during the day?
3. Where were many of Shakespeare’s plays
first performed?
Introduction to Shakespeare
Worksheet
A. Enter the Globe
Label each section of the Globe Theater.
B. Thinking Cap
Put on your thinking cap and answer the following questions.
1. How do you think Shakespeare viewed human nature? Do you think he was pessimistic, optimistic, or something
else entirely?
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Introduction to Shakespeare
Worksheet
Answer Key
A. Enter the Globe
Label each section of the Globe Theater.
Penthouse
Trapdoor
Pit
Stage
Groundlings
B. Thinking Cap
Put on your thinking cap and answer the following questions.
1. How do you think Shakespeare viewed human nature? Do you think he was pessimistic, optimistic, or something
else entirely? (Answers will vary.)
Introduction to Shakespeare
Activity
Shakespeare Mania Trivia
Instructions:
• Place all the cards in a stack.
• Split the class into two teams and flip a coin to determine which team will go first.
• Ask one of the questions from the Shakespeare Mania Activity Card and give the first team a chance
to answer.
• If the team answers correctly, they get a point.
• The second team is then given a chance to answer a question.
• The team with the most points after all the questions on the Activity Cards have been answered wins.
Let The Games Begin!
Introduction to Shakespeare
Activity
What year was William
Shakespeare born?
1564
True or False: William
Shakespeare lived and
wrote during the Italian
Renaissance.
False
Shakespeare was a member of
what theatrical company?
Lord Chamberlain’s Men,
which later became the
King’s Men
True or False: The English
Renaissance was a time of
immense creativity in culture
and the arts.
True
Name of the Greek philosopher
that spelled out his ideas on
tragedy in “The Poetics”.
True or False: The Globe
Theater was shaped like an
“O.”
Aristotle
True
Where was Shakespeare
born?
True or False: William
Shakespeare wrote two booklength poems, “Venus and
Adonis” and “The Rape of
Lucrece”.
Stratford
True
Introduction to Shakespeare
Activity
How many iambs does a
line of perfect iambic
pentameter contain?
True or False: William
Shakespeare died in
Stratford at the age of 90.
Five
False
Name one of Shakespeare’s plays.
True or False: During the
English Renaissance, actors
were highly regarded and
admired.
Sample Answers: “Richard the
Third”, “The Comedy of Errors”,
“Titus Andronicus”, “The Taming
of the Shrew”.
False
Who were the groundlings?
Spectators at the Globe
Theater who stood on the
ground in front of the stage
while watching a play.
Where were many of
Shakespeare’s plays
performed?
The Globe Theater
True or False: Today’s dramas tend
to suggest that everything is real,
especially the place and people.
True
True or False: Poetry is a concentrated and heightened form
of language, produced through
rhythm and sound.
True
Introduction to Shakespeare
Activity
In terms of symbolic art, which of the
following is a universal?
a) villain
b) protagonist
c) “femme fatale”
d) justice
d) justice
True or False: Verse is
another name for poetry.
True
Introduction to Shakespeare
Check Your Knowledge
Total Score
/ 50
A. Oh, Drama!
Determine whether the following statements about Elizabethan drama are true or false.
Circle (T) if the statement is true and (F) if the statement is false. (4 points each)
1. Elizabethan audiences listened intently to the words of a play.
T/F
2. Shakespeare used words to express the setting and mood of his plays.
T/F
3. Aristotle, the Greek philosopher, described tragedy as an “illustration of art.”
T/F
4. The raging storm in King Lear is an example of symbolism.
T/F
5. Medieval art was deeply symbolic.
T/F
B. What a Life!
Choose the correct answer. (5 points each)
1. During which period did William Shakespeare live and work?
a) the Age of Enlightenment
b) the Elizabethan Era
c) the Romantic Era
d) the Italian Renaissance
2. Where was Shakespeare born?
a) Stratford
b) London
c) Once-upon-a-Thames
d) Hamm-on-Wye
3. What was the name of the theatrical company of which Shakespeare was a member?
a) The King's Men
b) The Queen's Men
c) The Chessmen
d) The Lord's Men
4. Which of the following was an attribute of the Globe Theater?
a) three-story, open-air construction
b) extended stage with trapdoor
c) shaped like an "O"
d) all of the above
C. Creative Flow
If Shakespeare were around today, what artistic medium do you think he'd be working in? Theater? Film? Television? Interpretive
Dance? Do you think he'd have a website? If yes, what would it look like? Explain your answer in 3-5 sentences. (10 points)
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Introduction to Shakespeare
Check Your Knowledge
Answer Key
Total Score
/ 50
A. Oh Drama!
Determine whether the following statements about Elizabethan drama are true or false.
Circle (T) if the statement is true and (F) if the statement is false. (4 points each)
1. Elizabethan audiences listened intently to the words of a play.
True
2. Shakespeare used words to express the setting and mood of his plays.
True
3. Aristotle, the Greek philosopher, described stage life as a “illustration of art.”
False
4. The raging storm in King Lear is an example of symbolism.
True
5. Medieval art was deeply symbolic.
True
B. Oh What a Life!
Choose the correct answer. (5 points each)
1. During which period did William Shakespeare live and work?
a) the Age of Enlightenment
b) the Elizabethan Era
c) the Romantic Era
d) the Italian Renaissance
2. Where was Shakespeare born?
a) Stratford
b) London
c) Once-upon-a-Thames
d) Hamm-on-Wye
3. What was the name of the theatrical company of which Shakespeare was a member?
a) The King's Men
b) The Queen's Men
c) The Chessmen
d) The Lord's Men
4. Which of the following was an attribute of the Globe Theater?
a) three-story, open-air construction
b) extended stage with trapdoor
c) shaped like an "O"
d) all of the above
C. Creative Flow
If Shakespeare were around today, what artistic medium do you think he'd be working in? Theater? Film? Television? Interpretive
Dance? Do you think he'd have a website? If yes, what would it look like? Explain your answer in 3-5 sentences. (10 points)
(Answers will vary.)
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