WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
Welcome to Stratford-Upon-Avon, birthplace of the
most well-known British playwright: William
Shakespeare.
It’s time to get to know William Shakespeare a
little better, via his father: John Shakespeare.
AN INTERVIEW WITH THE FATHER OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
Interviewer: Good evening Mr Shakespeare. Will you forgive me if I begin with one
of the oldest questions in the book? What was it like to be the father
of the world’s most famous playwright?
John: If you must know, it was much like being the father of any normal,
healthy, intelligent boy, who often got into trouble and took his
beatings like anyone else.
Interviewer: But he must have had a special place in your affections when he was
very young – not because he was clever, but because your first two
children had died in infancy, I believe.
John: Yes, Joan and Margaret. Will was our third, born in April of 1564 when
the plague was at its height. There were over two hundred deaths in
Stratford alone between the July and December – many of them
children. We thanked the Lord that Will was spared.
Interviewer: And after Will?
Interviewer: Will was our first, you might say. Then came Gilbert, Joan – the
second Joan, that is – Anne, Richard and Edmund. Edmund was a full
sixteen years younger than Will.
Interviewer: Eldest sons used to follow in their father’s footsteps in your day, I
think. Did William help you in your business and your other duties?
John: He grew up knowing all about my trade as a glover, but I didn’t insist
that he followed me in it. And he learned a lot about constables and
bailiffs too when he was at home; but Will had a mind of his own –
and a better one than mine! He wasn’t going to follow in his father’s
footsteps.
Interviewer: Well, I suppose he had already started off in a new direction by going
to King’s New School, the grammar school in Stratford-Upon-Avon.
Did he like it? Or was he like the schoolboy in one of his speeches –
‘creeping like snail unwillingly to school?
John: Like all the boys, he was glad when home-time came! Yes, they
worked them hard at that school, especially at their Latin and Greek.
Interviewer: We know that students in Elizabethan times used to
read the Bible in Greek. Do you remember Will doing that?
John: Yes, I do. And those Roman dramatists in Latin. What were their
names now?
Interviewer: Seneca and Plautus?
John: Aye, that sounds something like … Seneca … and … Plautus … yes…
Interviewer: He obviously had a good grounding in classical authors, as we can see
from his frequent references to them in his plays. But what about the
school day itself? What time did school begin?
John: He had to be up at half-past five in the morning in summer to be at
school by six o’clock. Though it became seven in winter. They had a
break for breakfast, then lessons until eleven. Will’s school was only a
quarter of a mile from our house in Henley Street and he used to
come home to dinner. Afternoon school began at one o’clock and
went on till five. Six days a week that was, with two afternoons off.
Interviewer: Hm! We’ve eased up a little since then. Perhaps that’s why we aren’t
producing as many Shakespeares!
John: One is enough!
Interview: Yet many people have argued that because your son left school when
he was fifteen and grew up in such a quiet, remote town in rural
England, he couldn’t possibly have written the remarkable plays we
call Shakespeare’s.
John: Well I can’t say I’m surprised! We found it hard to believe ourselves at
first, but then we got used to the idea of Will being famous and
successful. Mind you, it was London that developed his talents, not
Stratford, though he was slow to mature, even in rural England!
Interviewer: Which brings us to his marriage. William, aged eighteen, married
Anne Hathaway, aged twenty-six, and six months later their first child
was born. All the world knows the story. One half says ‘tut, tut!’ and
the other half says ‘he must have been quite a lad, this Shakespeare!’
What did you say?
John: I’d better not repeat what I said! But he did the honourable thing, he
married her, and when Susanna was born, she became a playmate for
Will’s youngest brother Edmund, who was no more than three at the
time! Then, less than two years later, Anne gave birth to twins,
Hamnet and Judith.
Interviewer: So by the time he was twenty, Will was the father of three children!
Living with you in Henley Street?
John: Yes, living at home, but longing to get away.
Interviewer: You mean Stratford was too small for a man of his talents?
John: Yes, he was restless. London was the place. Everything was happening
there and the acting companies that came to Stratford in the summer
months gave Will a taste of what it would be like to perform in
London. There was no holding him. Wife and children or no – he was
away – joined one of the companies and began a new life! Cause
problems that did! But you must remember he didn’t desert us
altogether. He came back often. Never lost his ties with his family or
Stratford.
Interviewer: One more question, Mr Shakespeare, if I may. It’s about his reasons
for leaving Stratford. One story – or rumour, or tradition – has it that
he fled Stratford because he was charged with stealing deer from the
park of Sir Thomas Lucy. It sounds very unlikely, I know, but how
much truth is there in it?
John: None at all! Mind you, I wouldn’t have put it past Will – but the fact is
that Sir Thomas Lucy didn’t have a licence to keep deer, so there were
none to steal! That story’s a rumour. No, Will left Stratford for
mightier reasons than stealing deer!
Interviewer: And when we next hear of him, he was an actor, a poet and a
dramatist. But what happened to him in the intervening years has
remained a mystery. They are sometimes called ‘the lost years’ and I
would dearly like to ask you about them, Mr Shakespeare.
John: And I would dearly love to tell you, but that would be breaking the
rules, wouldn’t it? And we can’t do that!
Interviewer: No, I suppose we can’t. They will just have to remain ’the lost years’
and we’ll have to draw our interview to a close. But for all you have
told us about William, thank you very much, Mr Shakespeare.
John: Thank you. Now I can go back to my quiet little corner of history.
Besides, why bother with what I have to say when you have Will’s
plays themselves!
Comprehension: You must answer in detail, in full sentences that make sense on their
own.
1. What was John Shakespeare’s occupation?
2. In which street in Stratford-Upon-Avon did he live?
3. What was one of the functions of a councillor in Stratford-Upon-Avon then?
4. What job did the constable do?
5. What responsibility did a chamberlain have?
6. What was the highest position John Shakespeare rose to in Stratford?
7. How many children had John and Mary Shakespeare?
8. Where did William come in the family?
9. Which school did William go to?
10. Which languages did he study?
11. What time did the school begin in summer?
12. How long was the school day?
13. How old was William when he got married?
14. How old was Anne Hathaway at the time?
15. What was the name of their first child?
16. What were the names of their twins?
17. What name is given to the period between Shakespeare’s leaving Stratford and his
appearance in London as an actor and a poet?
Translate Shakespeare’s Language Into
Modern English
● Prithee, let us repair post-haste to yonder
tavern for a pot of sack and some capon.
● Yon wench seems in a choler. Her
humour hath been this sith days of yore.
● Ifaith, the caitiff hath been justly
punished for cozening divers townfolk.
● Yon jade hath not the worth of one groat.
avaunt – go away
avouch – prove
betimes – soon
caitiff – cowardly wretch
capon – chicken
choler – bad temper
con – study
conceit – idea
cozen – cheat
divers – various
drab – an immoral person
entreat – beg
e’re – before
enow – enough
fain – rather
fardel – burden
fell – terrible
forsooth – honestly
groat – a small coin
humour – mood
husbandry – maintenance
ifaith – honestly
jade – worn out horse
jakes – lavatory
lest – unless
lief – prefer
methinks – I think
naught – nothing
noisome – harmful
o’er – over
parley – talk
pate – head
prithee – I beg you
quaff – drink
repair – make your way to
riggish – playful
rude – rough
sack – wine
sith – since
taper – candle
varlet – low class rogue
visage – face
yore – long ago
zounds – God’s wounds!
Translate Modern English Into
Shakespeare’s Language
● Honestly, I think your face has the look of
a worn out horse.
● Go away! I’ve had enough of this
quarreling between you two.
● I cannot drink this unpleasant wine.
● Let’s make our way to the pub and have a
talk about this terrible business
immediately.
● That wretched coward has cheated you. I
would be inclined to testify how he has
treated you in a harmful manner.
Reading Shakespeare
Four Important Rules:
1. ‘Thou’ means ‘you’.
2. You don’t pause at the end of a line unless there is punctuation telling you to.
3. An apostrophe in a word just means there is a letter missing (like when we say ‘don’t’).
4. Adding ‘eth’ to a verb doesn’t make it Shakespearean.
Task:
● Practice speaking some Shakespeare aloud with a partner.
● This extract comes from his play Macbeth…
cauldron = a witch’s pot
entrails = guts
sweltered = heated, venom =
poison
thou = you
toil = work
fillet = a piece of meat
fenny = from a swamp
fork = forked tongue
owlet = baby owl
broth = soup
WITCH 1. Round about the cauldron go;
In the poison’d entrails throw.—
Toad, that under cold stone,
Days and nights has thirty-one;
Swelter’d venom sleeping got,
Boil thou first i’ the charmed pot!
BOTH. Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and caldron bubble.
WITCH 2. Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the cauldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,
Adder’s fork, and blind-worm’s sting,
Lizard’s leg, and owlet’s wing,—
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.
William Shakespeare and his tragedies:
Elizabeth I was queen of England when William Shakespeare was born in 1564. He
was the son of a glove-maker in a small town called Stratford-Upon-Avon and he
was educated at a grammar school in that town. He didn’t go to university – it is
thought that he worked for his father when he left school. When he was 18 he
married Anne Hathaway. She was the mother of his daughter, Susanna, in 1583,
and of twins in 1585.
There are no real records of Shakespeare for a while after that, until he popped up in London in
1592. Here, he had become an actor and a playwright.
He started out by writing history plays about England (these earned much money because English
people liked to see their history told on stage).
He then had a period of writing romantic comedies – these usually featured young people falling in
love and ended with marriages and happy endings.
One of his twins died in 1596. Some people think this is why his plays became quite sad and bitter at
this point. Many plays were sad at this time, though – not just Shakespeare’s. Some people thought
this was because Queen Elizabeth was ill – people loved her and were afraid she might die.
Comprehension:
You must answer in detail, in full sentences that make sense on their own.
Where and when was Shakespeare born?
________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
Why were Shakespeare’s history plays so popular?
________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
Why did Shakespeare’s plays become sadder after 1596?
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was born in 1564 in his parents’ house
in _____________________ ______________ ___________.
His mother and father were called Mary and John. John was
a glove maker but later became Mayor of Stratford.
When he was a boy, Shakespeare went to the local grammar school. He would have learnt
Latin, Greek and history. Only boys went to school and here was only one classroom. The
school day was long and tiring, lasting from ______ to ______. Children went to school six
days a week and did not get many holidays. If pupils were naughty they were hit with a
birch rod.
Outside of school Shakespeare might have enjoyed fishing or
swimming in the river Avon, visiting country fairs, or watching
performances by travelling entertainers.
Shakespeare
married Anne
Hathaway when he was 18 and had three
children by the time he was 21. Shakespeare left
his family and travelled to London soon after his
children were born. He stayed there and
became an __________________.
As well as working as an actor, Shakespeare also began to write his own plays. From about
1592 to 1613 Shakespeare wrote __________ plays! Shakespeare’s plays were very popular
and he became famous and wealthy. He joined a group of actors called ____ ________
___________________ _________ and began writing just for them.
__________________ I was Queen of England for most of Shakespeare’s
life. His plays were often performed for her at her palace.
In 1598 Shakespeare and the Lord Chamberlain’s Men built their own
theatre in London called _______ _____________. It was circular and
open air.
In 1612, Shakespeare retired and returned to Stratford. He bought the
second biggest house in Stratford for his family. Shakespeare died on his
birthday in 1616.
Why do we have to study Shakespeare?
● It will help me to understand how people used to live 400 years ago
● I will learn how words have changed
● I will understand how human behaviour hasn’t changed
● To realise that just because a story is old doesn’t mean it’s rubbish
● Because Shakespeare is famous
● It’s in my exams
● It will help me to understand how to read and understand more
difficult texts
● To learn how to select important pieces of information
● To be able to explain how words and phrases are used to create emotions or a sense of
place
● I will learn about putting on a play in Shakespeare’s time
ADD SOME IDEAS OF YOUR OWN:
Life in Shakespeare’s Stratford-upon-Avon
Statford-Upon-Avon is situated in the West
Midlands and s the birthplace of William
Shakespeare, the most famous writer in the English
language.
Shakespeare is known for his sonnets and plays
such as 'Romeo and Juliet' and 'Hamlet'.
The population of Elizabethan England was less
than five million, London had a population of
200,000 and Stratford-Upon-Avon had about 1,500
inhabitants. Towns grew in size throughout the
Elizabethan era, as changes in agriculture during
the period led to people leaving the countryside to search for employment in the town.
The life of William Shakespeare and his family was devastated by the Black Death, also
known as the Bubonic Plague and Black Plague. It killed many members of his family when
he was young, He lost his sisters Joan, Margaret (just babies) and Anne (aged 7) to the
deadly plague. He also lost his brother Edmund (aged 27).
But the greatest loss to William Shakespeare was his only son, Hamnet, who died when he
was just eleven years old. This caused Shakespeare to have a lifelong fear of the disease. It is
no wonder that William Shakespeare was known to be terrified of the Bubonic Plague
throughout his lifetime.
This terrible disease was not confined to the main English town of London. It stretched out
all over Elizabethan England, claiming the lives of countless victims in the small towns and
villages such as Stratford upon Avon. In 1564 alone, the Black Death (aka the Bubonic
Plague) killed one out of seven of the 1,500 inhabitants of Stratford-Upon-Avon.
William almost certainly went to one of Stratford's 'petty' or junior schools where he would
have learnt his letters with the help of a hornbook. From the age of seven or thereabouts,
he would have progressed to the King's New School where the emphasis would have been
on Latin, it still being the international language of Europe in the 1500s. Shakespeare
probably left school at the age of 14 or 15.
Shakespeare’s plays reveal a detailed knowledge of the curriculum taught in such schools
which were geared to teaching pupils Latin, both spoken and written. The classical writers
studied in the classroom influenced Shakespeare's plays and poetry; for example, some of
his ideas for plots and characters came from Ovid's tales, the plays of Terence and Plautus,
and Roman history.
It is not known what Shakespeare did when he left school, probably at the age of 14, as was
usual.
William Shakespeare’s Strafford-Upon-Avon
Comprehension: You must answer in detail, in full sentences that make sense on their
own.
1. Where is Stratford-Upon-Avon based in the United Kingdom?
2. How many people lived in Stratford-Upon-Avon?
3. Why did the Black Death have such a terrible impact on Shakespeare’s life?
4. What was the name of Shakespeare’s son who tragically died and how old was he when
he passed away?
Task: This is William Shakespeare’s school day. In the space next to it, write the details of
your school day too
A typical day at school My school day
6.30am: start of lessons
Latin: just the thing to help you wake up on
a cold winter’s morning. Pupils would begin
their Latin studies by learning maxims (or
sayings) by heart and later move on to read
classic texts
8.30am: break for breakfast – bread and
then a small amount of fruit. Then…
Divinity: (Religious Studies) followed by…
Arithmetic (in other words, maths)
12.30pm: break for lunch – which might
involve translating a part of the Bible.
Classical History: i.e. the Ancient Greeks and
Romans (as you probably gathered, school
teachers were quite keen on the Greeks and
Romans)
Rhetoric: the art of public speaking. Rhetoric
was a favourite of (guess who?) the Romans,
who loved nothing better than a rip-roaring
public debate. Being taught how to speak in
public wouldn’t have done William
Shakespeare any harm though!
5.30: home time (the end of a long day)
What do you think are the major similarities and differences?
We are going to be looking at two of Shakespeare’s famous plays: ‘As You Like it’ and
‘Macbeth’. Both texts look at issues which are still relevant today: family, life, death,
ambition and love.
The first extract we will be looking at is a famous monologue from Act 2, Scene 7 of ‘As You
Like it’, spoken by a character called Jaques who talks through the ‘seven ages of man’.
What are the seven ages of man according to Shakespeare? What stage do you think you
are at now?
Stage 1
‘First, the infant'
Stage 2
‘Then the….’
Stage 3
‘And then the…’
Stage 4
‘Then a…’
Stage 5
‘And then a…’
Stage 6
‘The sixth age shifts…’
Stage 7
‘The last scene of all…a second childishness’
● Before we read the speech together as a class, listen to an actor performing the speech.
● See if your own predictions of the seven ages of man links in with what you see and
hear. Link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtEUySDDg-I
Here’s the speech. As you’re reading, consider the accompanying questions:
All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first, the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms.
Then the whining schoolboy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress' eyebrow. Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honor, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon's mouth. And then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lined,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slippered pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side;
His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank, and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.
William Shakespeare
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Analysing ‘The Seven Ages of Man’ Speech
The Seven Ages of Man speech describes__________________________________________
and uses the metaphor of a __________________to describe life in general. Other words
such as ‘__________’ and ‘_______________’ also support this.
The first stage of man is____________________. Shakespeare uses the words ‘__________’
and ‘____________’ to describe this. These words are good/bad/effective/not effective
because____________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
The second stage of man describes a school boy who is described as ‘__________’ which
implies that_________________________________________________________________.
Shakespeare describes the school boy’s movement as ‘___________’. This means
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
The third stage of man is someone falling in love who ‘sighs like a ___________’. Then in
the fourth stage a soldier is ‘bearded like a _________________________’
The fifth stage of man is _____________________. The language used to describe this stage
is ______________________________________________which makes me think of
____________________ and suggests that _______________________________________.
The sixth stage of man describes early old age. Shakespeare describes the man here as
wearing ‘_________’ and also ‘__________________’. This stage appears to be
___________________________________________________________________.
The final stage of man is described as a ‘second chidhood’, which suggests that
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
Task 1: storyboard this speech:
● Fill in your storyboard, using your own words to explain what Shakespeare says.
● Using this grid to help you, create your own storyboard of Shakespeare’s seven ages of
man, drawing pictures of each one in each box.
● Label it with the right quotations from the text
Task 2: create the seven ages of a school pupil.
● Make a list of what they could be. Who can think of one to start us off?
● Your storyboard should have:
– Seven boxes
– A name for each stage
– A short description of each stage
– An illustration of each stage.
Task 3: your opinion
Which of the seven ages of man is the best? Explain why
Use these sentence stems:
The best age of man is…
This is most enjoyable because….
Moreover…
Therefore…
Finally…
Use the following persuasive techniques, and cross or tick when you have used each at
least once.
Listing in threes Anecdotes Emotive language
Facts and figures Exaggeration Use of opposites
Storyboarding
______________________________ ______________________________
______________________________ ______________________________
______________________________ ______________________________
______________________________ ______________________________
______________________________ ______________________________
______________________________ ______________________________
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______________________________
______________________________
The second extract we will be looking at is from an extract from Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’.
A summary of the play MACBETH
The play begins with the brief appearance of a trio of witches and then moves to a military
camp, where the Scottish King Duncan hears the news that his generals, Macbeth and
Banquo, have defeated two separate invading armies—one from Ireland and one from
Norway.
Following their battle with these enemy forces, Macbeth and Banquo encounter the witches
as they cross a moor. The witches prophesy that Macbeth will be made thane (a rank of
Scottish nobility) of Cawdor and eventually King of Scotland. They also prophesy that
Macbeth’s companion, Banquo, will start a line of Scottish kings, although Banquo will never
be king himself.
The witches vanish, and Macbeth and Banquo treat their prophecies sceptically until some
of King Duncan’s men come to thank the two generals for their victories in battle and to tell
Macbeth that he has indeed been named thane of Cawdor. The previous thane betrayed
Scotland by fighting for the Norwegians and Duncan has condemned him to death. Macbeth
is intrigued by the possibility that the remainder of the witches’ prophecy—that he will be
crowned king—might be true, but he is uncertain what to expect. He visits King Duncan, and
they plan to dine together at Inverness, Macbeth’s castle, that night. Macbeth writes ahead
to his wife, Lady Macbeth, telling her all that has happened.
Lady Macbeth suffers none of her husband’s uncertainty. She desires the kingship for him
and wants him to murder Duncan in order to obtain it. When Macbeth arrives at Inverness,
she overrides all of her husband’s objections and persuades him to kill the king that very
night.
He and Lady Macbeth plan to get Duncan’s two chamberlains drunk so they will black out;
the next morning they will blame the murder on the chamberlains, who will be defenceless,
as they will remember nothing.
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While Duncan is asleep, Macbeth stabs him, despite his doubts and a number of
supernatural portents, including a vision of a bloody dagger. When Duncan’s death is
discovered the next morning, Macbeth kills the chamberlains—pretending to be outraged at
their crime—and soon becomes king. Duncan’s sons Malcolm and Donalbain flee to England
and Ireland, respectively, fearing that whoever killed Duncan desires their deaths as well.
Fearful of the witches’ prophecy that Banquo’s heirs will seize the throne, Macbeth hires a
group of murderers to kill Banquo and his son Fleance. They ambush Banquo on his way to a
royal feast, but they fail to kill Fleance, who escapes into the night. Macbeth becomes
furious: as long as Fleance is alive, he fears that his power remains insecure.
At the feast that night, Banquo’s ghost visits Macbeth. When he sees the ghost, Macbeth
raves fearfully, startling his guests, who include most of the great Scottish nobility. Lady
Macbeth tries to neutralize the damage, but Macbeth’s kingship now falls under suspicion
from his nobles and subjects.
Frightened, Macbeth goes to visit the witches in their cavern. There, they show him a
sequence of demons and spirits who present him with further prophecies: he must beware
of Macduff, a Scottish nobleman who opposed Macbeth’s accession to the throne; he is
incapable of being harmed by any man born of woman; and he will be safe until Birnam
Wood comes to Dunsinane Castle. Macbeth is relieved and feels secure, because he knows
that all men are born of women and that forests cannot move. When he learns that Macduff
has fled to England to join Malcolm, Macbeth orders that Macduff’s castle be seized and,
most cruelly, that Lady Macduff and her children be murdered. When news of his family’s
execution reaches Macduff in England, he is stricken with grief and vows revenge.
Prince Malcolm, Duncan’s son, has succeeded in raising an army in England, and Macduff
joins him as he rides to Scotland to challenge Macbeth’s forces. The invasion has the
support of the Scottish nobles, who are appalled and frightened by Macbeth’s tyrannical
and murderous behaviour.
Lady Macbeth, meanwhile, becomes plagued with fits of sleepwalking in which she
bemoans what she believes to be bloodstains on her hands. Before Macbeth’s opponents
arrive, Macbeth receives news that she has killed herself, causing him to sink into a deep
and pessimistic despair.
Nevertheless, he awaits the English and fortifies Dunsinane, to which he seems to have
withdrawn in order to defend himself, certain that the witches’ prophecies guarantee his
invincibility. He is struck numb with fear, however, when he learns that the English army is
advancing on Dunsinane shielded with boughs cut from Birnam Wood. Birnam Wood is
indeed coming to Dunsinane, fulfilling half of the witches’ prophecy.
In the battle, Macbeth fights violently, but the English forces gradually overwhelm his army
and castle. On the battlefield, Macbeth encounters the vengeful Macduff, who declares that
he was not “of woman born” but was instead “untimely ripped” from his mother’s womb
(what we now call birth by caesarean section). Though he realizes that he is doomed,
Macbeth continues to fight until Macduff kills and beheads him. Malcolm, now the King of
Scotland, declares his benevolent intentions for the country and invites all to see him
crowned at Scone.
Sum up the story in this box – you can draw diagrams, summarise the story or use any
other method. You must not go outside the box.
Relevant Vocabulary
Ambition (noun)
A strong desire to do or
achieve something.
Chivalry (noun)
Bravery, military skill,
generosity in victory,
courtesy to women.
Loyalty (noun)
A strong feeling of support
or allegiance to another.
Cowardice (noun)
Fear and self-concern
leading to putting yourself
first.
Soliloquy (noun)
A speech given to the
audience.
Monarchy (noun)
The king, queen and royal
family of a country.
Prophecy (noun)
A prediction of the future.
Superstition (noun)
A belief in supernatural
influences for which there is
no evidence.
Duplicity (noun)
Deceitfulness; being two-
faced.
Task: Write the story Macbeth. Use as many of these new words as possible.
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The extract we are going to look at takes place at the end of the play in Act 5, Scene 5. In
this scene Macbeth is reflecting on life and looks back on actions and events in his life:
As you are reading consider which stage of life Macbeth is currently in.
Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
To the last syllable of recorded time.
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle.
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
Answer these questions and use quotes/words from the soliloquy to support your points:
1. What do you think this soliloquy is about?
2. What is the impact of the repetition of the words “tomorrow and tomorrow’?
3. What does “petty pace” mean and suggest?
4. What are “lighted fools”?
5. Why use the word “dusty’ to describe death?
6. What metaphor does Shakespeare use to describe life? Why do you think this has been
used?
7. Why is the poor player only on the stage for an “hour’?
8. What does “strutting” and “fretting” mean?
9. Why is this a tale told by an “idiot’?
10. What does Macbeth think of life? How can you tell?
Task: Comparing Shakespeare’s speeches
Macbeth: As you Like it (stages 6 and 7 of life only)
Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
To the last syllable of recorded time.
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief
candle.
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the
stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slippered pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side;
His youthful hose, well saved, a world too
wide
For his shrunk shank, and his big manly
voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans
everything
List the words used to detail the last stages of life below and consider which you think has
positive and negative connections/connotations.
How are both characters physically described? Which do you prefer and why?
Of the following two words, which one do you prefer and why: “fret” or “whistles”?
Look at the final lines and compare “idiot” to “childishness”. Which word is more
effective?
Sentence stems:
The speeches from ‘As You Like It’ and ‘Macbeth’ both look at the theme of …
Macbeth’s speech focuses on….
In contrast, Jaques’ speech from ‘As You Like it’ focuses on...
In ‘Macbeth’ life is described as…whereas in ‘As You Like It’…
Interesting words which describe different ideas towards life are…
Personally I think…
The speech which I prefer is…
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