Michael Rossi
Introduction to Shakespeare, and Romeo and Juliet’s Prologue
Time Constraints: (3) 45 minute periods
Rationale: The themes presented in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet are timeless and relevant to contemporary
students. In order to understand this connection, students will make real world ties to Shakespeare’s life, time, and
language in order to prepare for a thorough examination of the tragedy.
Objectives: Students will draw contemporary connections and inferences to Shakespeare’s life through participation
in an interactive lecture on the subject.
Students will become familiar with vocabulary needed to understand and analyze Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet
through participation in an interactive PowerPoint.
Students will
Standards:
Materials:
- PowerPoint presentation introducing Shakespeare, his life, times, and necessary vocabulary terms.
- Guided notes on each.
- Literature books containing Romeo and Juliet
- Reflection journals.
Anticipatory Set: Students will be arranged in paired rows. Play Mufasa’s death scene from The Lion King
(embedded in slideshow). Ask students to brainstorm about the effect that the film had on their young lives. What
lessons did it teach you? What about the film did you and still find memorable? Ask them to share their ideas.
Procedures and Assessment:
Day One:
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Shakespeare’s life- Students will participate in an interactive PowerPoint that highlights Shakespeare’s
life and the period in which he lived. Students will be able to draw real world connections to
Shakespearean works in order to create a rationale for studying Romeo and Juliet.
Day Two:
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Vocabulary- Students will participate in an interactive PowerPoint that covers the vocabulary they will
need to grasp in order to understand Shakespearean language, drama, and poetry. Students will draw
real world examples from discussion and lecture.
Day Three:
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Reflection:
The Prologue
Name:_________________________
Pd.___
An Introduction to Shakespeare
While you watch this clip, think about the effects that this film has had on your life. What kind
of lessons did it teach you? What did or do you still find memorable?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Shakespeare’s Life
Born on April ____, 1564 in ___________________-on-Avon, England.
He was the son of __________________/local politician.
Married Anne Hathaway at age _____. She was _____ years old.
Little records exist of his whereabouts after 1585. The next 7 years are known as
“_______________________________”.
- Scholars speculate that he may have been banished from the region for
_____________________ or that he may have been travelling Europe gathering material
for his plays and poetry.
- The lack of information about Shakespeare’s life may be due to an epidemic of
____________________ that broke out in England in 1593. It killed nearly ___________
people. However, Shakespeare and his family were unaffected.
Died April 23rd, _________ in his the town of his birth.
Elizabethan England
Shakespeare was extremely interested in several themes throughout his writing:
-The question of whether it is possible to be simply good or evil.
-What causes people to do the things they do.
-The fragileness and struggle of human life.
-The laws that govern the structure of society and the universe, also known
as____________________.
However, Shakespeare did not invent these ideas.
He lived during an exciting time: the end of the _____________________________________.
The world was changing:
-many more people were becoming ____________________ and learning to
______________ and ______________.
-________________________ circled the globe (which proved the theory that it was not
flat).
-the___________________________________ was invented.
-many artists were producing amazing new ideas.
-people had the opportunity to change their __________________ classes for the first
time in history
“Elizabethan” refers to the _________________ and ____________________ atmosphere
during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
-________________ (1533 - 1603).
-________________ (1558 – 1603).
Elizabeth was a great supporter of the arts who pushed for religious peace in a time of instability.
Culture:
-__________________________________- an idea that God created everything to have
a place and hierarchy.
-Extremely recognizable fashion.
-Xenophobia- the dislike or fear of _________________________.
Shakespeare’s Theatre
Regardless of the settings of the play, actors always wore Elizabethan attire because there was a
great emphasis placed on _________________________________________.
Stages used no _________________, just basic props.
The most famous of Shakespeare’s two playhouses was ________________________________.
-_________________________________(outdoor) and seated up to 3,000 spectators.
-Comprised to 2 levels- the ________________________ and the __________________.
-The groundlings could gain access to the Pit for just a penny–more of a rock concert
than a play.
Vocabulary
Foil-__________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
-ex./____________________________________________________________________
Monologue- ___________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________. Others can include us, the audience.
Soliloquy- _____________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Tragic Flaw- ___________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
-ex./____________________________________________________________________
Oxymoron- ____________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
-ex./____________________________________________________________________
Paradox- ______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
-ex./____________________________________________________________________
Open Couplet-__________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Closed Couplet-________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Pun-__________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
-ex./____________________________________________________________________
Other Vocabulary
Alliteration-
Exposition-
Allusion-
Rising Action-
Assonance-
Climax-
Blank Verse-
Falling Action-
Carpe Diem-
Resolution-
Characterization-
Simile-
Flashback-
Sonnet: Shakespearean/Italian-
Foreshadowing-
Symbolism-
FoilHyperboleIambic PentameterImagerySituational IronyDramatic IronyVerbal IronyExtended MetaphorDirect MetaphorIndirect MetaphorMonologueOnomatopoeiaPersonificationRhymeRhyme Scheme-