Shakespeare – Then and Now A Unit For 11 th Graders Made by Cadit Nissan Zilbiger

What’s common about the following?  Taming of the Shrew  Julius Caesar  Midsummer night’s dream  Romeo and Juliet

…, They are all Shakespearean Plays!  All of them, like many other Shakespearean plays, deal with issues still relevant to us today!  They were all written by William Shakespeare in the 17th century during the Elizabethan era  They were all produced into films at least once…

So, what will we do with this?  We will look at Shakespeare the man  We will read some of Shakespeare's original works  We will look into Elizabethan culture  We will view some recent adaptations of Shakespeare’s works  We will look into the Modern Shakespearean communitycommunity…

How will we do it?  produce all sorts of materials and share them with the class produce  go over this presentation  enter suggested links  run self search of the web (if necessary )  view a film (that’s right a real Hollywood film!)

“What’s in a name?”  Begin with choosing an authentic name… Elizabethan times surnamessurnames Elizabethan times First nameFirst name Now, write it on the top of the on-going paper

Shakespeare the man…  William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon- Avon (England), on April 23, He had 7 (!) brothers and sisters. He died on his 53th birthday in his hometown, in  He married Anne Hathaway (26) when he was 18, in They had 3 children. He wrote 37 plays(!) and more than a 150 poems… More about Shakespeare’s biography …and more Shakespeare’s biography more

Elizabethan times  Elizabeth I was 25 years old when she became Queen of England in Her 45-year reign, which ended with her death in 1603, saw England's emergence as a nation of tremendous political power and unparalleled cultural achievement… About ElizabethElizabeth Elizabethan FashionFashion Women’sWomen’s place in Elizabethan England

Plays and Sonnets  Sonnet XVIII – one of Shakespeare's most famous sonnets! Even though it looks like a very nice love poem there’s much more to it… Sonnet XVIII  Check out this short analysisanalysis * Romeo and Juliet – this play Shakespearean play was performed in over a hundred different version (including, Romeo and Juliet, Romeo must die, West side story …)!!! * Look into the play, the plot and the analysis of the original version. Then compare and contrast it with the dire straits versionplayplotanalysis the dire straits version

Taming of the shrew  you don’t understand the title? - I promise you you know the play… “Once upon a time in Padua lived two sisters, Kate and Bianca…” - still doesn’t ring a bell?! * Check out these links to learn more about the original play before we start the show *The original play and plot *The The 1967 version (with Elizabeth Taylor) and previous movie scene pictures

Shakespearean Cult today  you might find it hard to believe, but there are people who imitate Elizabethan times and especially Shakespeare up to today!  There are Festivals, games and academic seminars all over the world…Festivalsgamesacademic seminars * Can you see what is relevant about Shakespeare to today?

What have you learnt? You may choose to do individual work or the following group work:individual work 1. Write a 3-4 pages script of the modern Israeli version of taming of the shrew or R & J.Your introduction to the script should include description of character, setting and the conflict. (can be done in threesomes) Due date: May 20

Individual work Choose one of the following: 1. Make up a trivia game consisting of at least 20 question about Shakespeare and his life (attach the answer sheet with short explanations. 2. Write 2 diary entries of someone who lived in the Elizabethan times (Shakespeare and his family, one of his characters from R & J or Taming of the Shrew). You should begin with introducing the person’s gender, social rank, occupation and known personality traits. 3. Write a letter from Kate or Patrick (to whom ever you feel is relevant) in which you state in what stage the letter is written. Make up a different ending to the story.

You may use…  any resource as long as you mention it! (books, films, internet, your staff …)  some more internet sites…:  All about Shakespeare, All about Shakespeare  Fashion reference, Hairstyling in Elizabethan times, clothing, Historical events and famous people Fashion referenceHairstyling in Elizabethan timesclothingHistorical events and famous people  The famous Sonnets, all the sonnets, a more theoretical siteSonnetsall the sonnetsa more theoretical site  Google, Alta-vista, and any other search engine… GoogleAlta-vista

We hope you enjoyed this webquest… You can check the folder on the right for some more fun webquests…