1. Shakespeare’s Language
Please take out a sheet of paper.

2. Copy the following statement:
“I am a pirate with a wooden leg.”

3. Meter: regular rhythmic pattern in language
Iamb: unit of speech that contains one unstressed syllable and a stressed syllable
Iambic pentameter: a line of poetry containing 5 iambs
Ex: “I am a pirate with a wooden leg.”

4. Write 5 “I am” statements that are in iambic pentameter.
Ex: I am a Boulder Creek High School teacher.
Place a slash after each meter and label the unstressed and stressed syllables in the first 2 statements you create.
Ex: I am/a Bould/er Creek/High School/teacher.
Share your statements with a partner near your seat.

5. Shakespearean insults
Shakespeare is known to have quick- witted characters in his plays who often insult other characters

6. Shakespeare Insult Generator
You will write five of your own Shakespearean insults
Insults should start with “Thou art a…”
Insults should be written in iambic pentameter (the 10 syllables include the “thou art a(n)…”
Ex: “Thou art a goatish clay-brained maggot-pie.”

7. Insult battle
Two students go back and forth insulting each other with their Shakespearean insults.
Students can cheer, clap, laugh as appropriate.
The class will vote on the winner of the insult battle who will receive a prize.

8. Top 10 Shakespeare Terms 1. Thee, Thou, Thy, Thine: you and your
Shakespeare used “thee / thou” instead of “you” and the word “thy / thine” instead of “your”
2. Art: are
A sentence beginning with “thou art” would simply mean “you are”
3. Ay: yes
“Ay, my lady” would simply mean “yes, my lady”

9. Top 10 Shakespeare Terms 4. Would: wish
“I would I were …” means “I wish I were…”
5. Give me leave to: allow me to
6. Alas: unfortunately
7. Adieu: goodbye
8. Sirrah: sir or mister
9. -eth: the ending of some root words
For example “speaketh” simply means “speak” and “sayeth” means “say”

10. Top 10 Shakespeare Terms
10. Don’t, do and did: A key absence from Shakespearian English is “don’t”. This word simply wasn’t around then.
So, if you said “don’t be afraid” to a friend in Tudor England, you would have said “be not afraid.”
Today we would say “don’t hurt me,” Shakespeare would have said “hurt me not.”
Rather than saying “what did he look like?” Shakespeare would have said “what looked he like?”