Name(s) _________________________________________
Montague ____ Capulet _____
Block _____
Date _____________
Comments ___________________________________________________________________
So, you’re reading The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, or one of the Bard’s other
famous plays, and you have no earthly idea what these people (the characters in the play) are talking about
because you don’t speak their language, and you don’t understand why you have to read this ancient stuff
anyway! Well, read on sistah. . .brutha. . . your awakening to Shakespeare is on the way!
Let’s take a tour of the World Wide Web – courtesy of the Bard himself! What the heck is a “bard” anyway,
and why do I keep calling him that? Well, you’re about to find out! Whether you are working in a pair or on
your own, you’re about to take the TOUR of YOUR LIFE to discover a world that, perhaps, has been
previously unknown to you, or maybe you know a little of this and a little of that. Just so you know where
you’re headed and why, by completing this tour, you will acquaint yourself(-selves) with the WORLD of
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE so that. . .
you will better understand why he wrote and for whom;
you will be able to compare & contrast Shakespeare’s world to your own & make
connections between the people, places and ideas about which he wrote and YOURS!
English I – Hudson
Spring 2006, SJHS
Name(s) _________________________________________
Montague ____ Capulet _____
Block _____
Date _____________
Comments ___________________________________________________________________
Student: WHAT!!! Stop! Hold the PHONE! I know you’re not getting ready to tell me that my life has
anything to do with the life and times of this dead white man who writes in a language I don’t even
understand!
Teacher: If Shakespeare were alive and well today, would HE understand YOUR language? Will people living
four hundred years into our future understand the way you & I talk/write/rhyme today? Be patient!
“The which if you with patient ears attend. . .” (Shakespeare’s prologue to Act I of Romeo & Juliet)
Chill out and listen! Let’s use the web to see what we can discover about this dude – I mean, Bard!
In this web tour, you will use designated internet sites to gather select information about Shakespeare. You
will answer a provided list of questions by hitting the following websites:
Shakespeare Resource Center at http://www.bardweb.net/england.html
Life in Elizabethan England – A Compendium of Common Knowledge at
http://www.elizabethan.org/compendium/
Pretend that you are the teacher and that you need to find facts about Shakespeare’s world to teach your
Romeo and Juliet unit. You may record your answers here on the tour map.
Once the search is done, you will be called on to present the answers you found.
QUESTIONS???
Okay, now let’s begin. . .
English I – Hudson
Spring 2006, SJHS
Name(s) _________________________________________
Montague ____ Capulet _____
Block _____
Date _____________
Comments ___________________________________________________________________
1) Who is Shakespeare? When and where was he born? How do we know about his life? Who were his
parents and what did they do for a living? How and where was Shakespeare educated? To whom was he
married? How did Shakespeare establish himself as a famous playwright? How famous was he? Did he
get rich? Become an expert on Shakespeare’s life. (Hint: You want to know about “the man”.)
2) Say I live on Main Street in B-town (Benson) here today; what might my street be called in Elizabethan
England? (Hint: you want to know about Shakespeare’s “language”.)
Would Shakespeare have said he lives on Silver Street or in Silver Street? You can just circle the
correct answer here.
3) If I were going to use information from the Shakespeare Resource Center online, how would I cite it in
a research paper?
4) What do I mean when I refer to the Elizabethan Era in history? Who was Elizabeth? When did she
reign? How did Queen Elizabeth come to power? Be specific and detailed in your answers.
English I – Hudson
Spring 2006, SJHS
Name(s) _________________________________________
Montague ____ Capulet _____
Block _____
Date _____________
Comments ___________________________________________________________________
Additional Space for Question 4:
5) What was the big deal about London during Elizabeth’s reign?
6) Who were the University Wits and why were they important during Elizabeth’s reign? How did
Shakespeare fit in with this group? Who were the Lord Chamberlain’s men?
7) What is the First Folio? Was it published before Shakespeare died, or after? How do you know? List
five (5) other works by William Shakespeare and indicate whether they are tragedies or comedies.
_____________________________________
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8) In which play (which Act/Scene) did Shakespeare write, “There’s no trust,/No faith, no honesty in men”?
English I – Hudson
Spring 2006, SJHS
Name(s) _________________________________________
Montague ____ Capulet _____
Block _____
Date _____________
Comments ___________________________________________________________________
9) In Elizabethan England, could a betrothal be terminated? Under what circumstances? If I wanted to
get married, what time of day would be the luckiest?
10) If you lived during Elizabethan England, what might you do for fun? What kinds of games would you
play?
11) When was the Globe Theatre built and how many spectators could it seat? When did the Lord
Chamberlain’s Men first perform there? Did Shakespeare own or build the Globe Theatre? What
happened to the Globe in 1613?
12) What kind of work would you have done in Elizabethan England? What kind of work did a draper do?
What did a steward do?
13) Describe a typical Elizabethan dinner. What would have been included from drink to food? What might
we have eaten as snacks?
English I – Hudson
Spring 2006, SJHS
Name(s) _________________________________________
Montague ____ Capulet _____
Block _____
Date _____________
Comments ___________________________________________________________________
14) What would school have been like in Elizabethan England? What time did it start? What time did it end?
What might you have learned there? As a girl, would you have gone to school with everyone else?
15) What kinds of gifts might have been given/received at Christmas in Elizabethan England? How and
when did Elizabethans celebrate Christmas?
16) As an Elizabethan child, what might be expected of you from day to day?
17) If you were a groom in an Elizabethan household, what did you do? (Hint: It was a servile position.)
English I – Hudson
Spring 2006, SJHS