day 1 lesson plan:

I. Introductions

II. Syllabus

III. Shakespeare and his life

IV. Break (10 min)

V. Interactive games/ice breakers (theater games)

VI. Scenes

a. Split into two groups
- i. Midsummer Night’s Dream; play within a play (Act III, Scene i)
- ii. Richard III; Richard and nephews (Act III, Scene i)
- iii. Twelfth Night; Letter trickery (Act II, Scene v)
- iv. Hamlet; Mouse-trap (Act III, Scene ii)
b. Perform for group

VII. Summaries

a. Read through summaries of plays
b. Allow for discussion/pick one or two definitely would be interested in, one definitely not

I. Elizabethan Times

a. Named after Queen Elizabeth
- i. She created economic and political situation that allowed Renaissance to spread from Europe to England
- ii. Ruled from 1558 to 1603
- iii. Nicknamed Virgin Queen in order to protect England from outside control (like Spain or France)
  - 1. Virginia, among first colonies settled, was named after this nickname
b. Because people did not suffer from poverty or war, were able to enjoy more aspects of life; the arts grew as a result
- i. Elizabeth especially liked the theater
c. Most people were illiterate (cannot read and write); plays were important because it was a source of entertainment
- i. Theater groups/troupes traveled to towns and performed wherever there was space
- ii. Eventually actual theaters were built in London; Globe Theater built around 1599
- iii. Plays included action and simple humor to entertain the uneducated; play on words/intellectual humor and themes of interest used to entertain nobility/more educated

II. Life

a. Lived 1564-1616
b. Not much is known about his early life
- i. Lived in Stratford-upon-Avon
- ii. Middle class family
- iii. Attended a grammar school
- iv. Married Anne Hathaway and had children
c. Believed to have moved to London by 1592 (28 years old), leaving his family in Stratford
- i. Established himself as actor as well as playwright
d. Was a shareholder of a theatre troupe that performed in Queen Elizabeth’s court
e. Built two Globe Theatres
f. Wrote 37 plays and 154 sonnets in 21 years (1592-1613)
- i. Histories (told the lives of past English kings)
- ii. Tragedies (told the downfall of a tragic hero; a char. That falls from a great height; has a tragic flaw – he is neither good nor bad; by the end, recognizes his flaw and accepts consequences)
- iii. Comedies (always end happily)
g. His plays live on because they are universal; same appeal today as during Elizabethan times

III. Language

a. Believed to have made up 3000 words; around 1200 are still used today, even if the meanings are now different/changed over time
- i. Example: addiction, alligator, assassination, bedroom, blanket, compromise, dawn, dislocate, excitement, eyeball, generous, gossip, hurry, label, lonely, mimic, negotiate, numb, swagger, torture, etc.
b. Shakespeare was a very smart man and his language can sometimes be confusing
- i. Blank verse
  - 1. Unrhymed iambic pentameter – one line has five iambs; an iamb is a foot, with one unstressed and one stressed syllable
2. To make this work, would change grammar, word order, and even leave out words or letters
- ii. Liked to play with words
  - 1. Puns – using the different meanings of words