Advanced Placement - William Shakespeare
WebQuest
Use the Internet to find the answers to the following questions. You must record the
website you use to extrapolate this information. Refrain from using Wikipedia.
Part 1: William Shakespeare’s Life
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Where and when was Shakespeare born?
Who did Shakespeare marry and how many children did they have?
What year did to move to London, and why did he move there?
What was the name of Shakespeare’s acting group?
What are the name(s) of the monarchs who enjoyed the performances of
Shakespeare’s group?
6. How many plays, poems, and sonnets are attributed to WS’s collaboration?
7. Why is it difficult to accurately date any of his plays?
8. What event marked the end of Shakespeare’s writing and his time in London?
9. What was the cause of WS’s death?
10. Where was he buried?
11. Who was WS’s last known direct descendant? What was his/her name?
12. Provide three “fun facts” about William Shakespeare that most people do not
know.
Part 2: Introduce the class to the plot of Hamlet. Try to bring the story of Hamlet
(the man) to life by using good story-telling elements. After discussing the plot with
the class, discuss the main themes of the text, especially the ones that are the most
relatable to the students.
Part 3: Explore the themes with questions that are similar to the ones in an
“anticipation guide”. For example, evil often spirals out of control. The questions
should be debatable and thought-provoking. Can you think of examples? These are
questions that can be used to get the class to discuss the relevance of reading this
text. Take a look at the following examples provided:
Anticipation Guide
Hamlet
Directions: On the continuum in front of each of the numbers, place an "x" that
indicates where you stand in regard to the statement that follows. Be prepared to
defend and support your opinions with specific examples. After reading the text,
compare your opinions on those statements with the author's implied and/or stated
messages.
Agree
Disagree
------------------------ 1. Families generally have a member's best interests in mind.
------------------------ 2. Having a clear goal, and the ambition to achieve it, is
honorable.
------------------------ 3. Power eventually corrupts the people who have it.
------------------------ 4. Revenge is the only way to gain true justice.
------------------------ 5. A person's immoral choices can come back to haunt
him/her.
------------------------ 6. One must take a stand against injustice, even if the
personal cost is great.
------------------------ 7. A person has to confront death in order to understand life's
meaning.
------------------------ 8. Moral courage is more difficult to accomplish than physical
courage.
------------------------ 9. Evil often spirals out of control.
Part 4: Facts about the Globe Theater
Use the Internet to find the answers to the following questions. You must record the
website you use to extrapolate this information. Refrain from using Wikipedia.
1. At Shakespeare’s Globe in London, how many standing tickets are available
for each performance?
2. Who was the architect for Shakespeare’s Globe?
3. And the architect for the original Globe?
4. Which play was performed at the original Globe in 1599?
5. Record three facts about The Globe using www.shakespeares-globe.org
6. What is the Supporting Wall?
7. Who was Edward Alleyn?
8. In which other countries are there replicas of the Globe?
9. In what year was Hamlet first performed?
Part 5: Shakespeare’s Work
Use the Internet to find the answers to the following questions. You must record the
website you use to extrapolate this information. Refrain from using Wikipedia.
1. Why are William Shakespeare’s (WS) works still read and studies in present
day? Why is WS popular?
2. To whom were WS’s sonnets directed? What is the controversy regarding
WS’s literary works?
3. When was the Renaissance period? What were the three core values of the
Renaissance period? Connect them to Shakespeare. How did the renaissance
influence Shakespeare’s writing?
4. Who were WS’s audience members? What kinds of messages did WS relay to
his audience?
5. How are women positively and negatively represented in WS’s plays? Give an
example from Hamlet.
6. Shakespeare will be some of the most challenging reading you will attempt.
What are some reading tips to ensure or success?
Part 6: All About Elizabethan Love and Marriage
Read about the Elizabethan society's norms regarding love and marriage. Although working
with a group, be prepared to discuss your response to those norms on a more personal level.
Somewhere in your response, answer the following questions. It might be easiest to answer
the questions and craft your personal reaction in direct response to them. Use the following
websites to answer the questions:
http://elizabethan.org/compendium/9.html
http://elizabethan.org/compendium/62.html
http://elizabethan.org/compendium/10.html
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
At what age may a boy and girl marry, and at what age is marriage for non-noble
families common?
When a marriage is arranged for a younger couple, what is the usual reason?
When is it considered “luckiest” to have the marriage?
How is a wedding engagement announced, and what is thought of an unannounced
wedding?
Marrying for love is generally considered what?
Why are most noble marriages arranged, and even some common people marriages?
Part 7: Tell Me Something Concrete about Hamlet
Use the Internet to find the answers to the following questions. You must record the
website you use to extrapolate this information. Refrain from using Wikipedia.
1. Find out where the real Elsinore is located and try to get a picture.
2. This play is called a revenge tragedy. What is a revenge tragedy?
3. What are several of the sources from which Shakespeare likely got his idea
for the play, Hamlet? Use the link below.
http://www.theatrehistory.com/british/hamlet007.html
4. The charge of incest is placed on the conscience of Gertrude and Claudius.
What is the crime of incest then and now?
5. Who are the following characters and what are their relationship to Hamlet
and to other characters:
a. Hamlet the ghost
b. Hamlet the prince
c. Claudius
d. Gertrude
e. Ophelia
f. Horatio
g. Polonius
h. Laertes
i. Rosencrantz
j. Guildenstern