Year 8 English Project Shakespeare’s World About this booklet This booklet contains a number of different tasks to help you to explore the amazing world that Shakespeare created. You will learn about Shakespeare’s hilarious sense of humour and the darker side of his tragedies, including what his everyday life was like. If possible, you should aim to complete at least 3 hours of English a week. You may not complete all of the tasks in this booklet on the day specified, but don’t worry- the timings are a guide only and we all work at our own pace. In addition, don’t worry if this booklet takes you longer than 3 weeks as there are plenty of tasks to keep you occupied! All of the answers are in the back of the booklet, so you can check your work. There are also bonus exercises at the end for you to work on if you finish all of the other activities. 1 Week 1 Day 1: Who is Shakespeare? Shakespeare is one of England’s most famous writers. His plays are performed globally and have even been adapted into films. It’s important that we learn about him as he has shaped so much of the world that we live in, but who is he? Very little is known about William Shakespeare's childhood. He was born in the English city of Stratford-upon-Avon about 100 miles northwest of London in 1564. William's father was a successful leather merchant who once held the public position of alderman. He was the third of six children including two older sisters and three younger brothers. Growing up in Stratford-upon-Avon, William lived in a house with his big family on Henley Street. He went to the local grammar school where he learned about poetry, history, Greek, and Latin. When William turned eighteen, he married Anne Hathaway. Anne was eight years older than William. They soon had a family including a daughter named Susanna and twins named Hamnet and Judith. After William and Anne had the twins, there are no records of the next several years of his life. Historians often refer to these years as the "lost years." There are lots of theories and stories about what William was doing during this time. In any event, he and his family eventually ended up in London where William was working at the theatre. William was part of an acting company called Lord Chamberlain's Men. An acting company in England at this time worked together to put on plays. There were typically around ten actors in a company including a lead actor, character actors, and some comedians. Young boys typically played women's roles as women were not allowed to act. Shakespeare wrote plays for the Lord Chamberlain's Men. He worked as an actor as well. His plays became very popular in London and soon the Lord Chamberlain's Men were one of the most popular acting companies in the city. Some of Shakespeare's early plays include The Taming of the Shrew, Richard III, Romeo and Juliet, and A Midsummer Night's Dream. These early plays were put on at a theatre called the "Theatre". While Lord Chamberlain's Men owned the Theatre, the land was owned by Giles Allen. In 1597 Allen decided he wanted to tear the Theatre down. He locked it up and refused to let the actors perform. They tried to renegotiate the lease on the land, but Allen again refused. One night, several members of the company dismantled the Theatre and moved the timber across the Thames River to another spot. There they built a new theatre called the Globe Theatre. The Globe Theatre became the place to be in London. It could house up to 3,000 spectators and had a uniquely designed stage with a painted ceiling, columns, and stage wall. They had specially trained musicians who made special effects noises during the plays. They even had a cannon that fired blanks. Shakespeare also became famous for his poetry. His most famous poem of the time was Venus and Adonis. He also wrote poems called sonnets. A book of 154 of Shakespeare's sonnets was published in 1609. 2 William retired to his home in Stratford and died on his fifty-second birthday. Shakespeare is considered by many to be the greatest writer of the English language. He is also one of the most influential. Through his works, he is credited with introducing nearly 3,000 words to the English language. In addition, his works are the second most often quoted after the Bible. Task 1: Answer these questions using the information that you have just read. You can check your answers at the back of the booklet. 1. In which year was Shakespeare born? 2. What did Shakespeare study in school? 3. What was the acting company that Shakespeare joined called? 4. Why did Shakespeare stop performing at the Theatre? 5. Name 3 things about the Globe. 6. How many of Shakespeare’s sonnets were published in 1609? 7. How old was Shakespeare when he died? 8. How many words did Shakespeare introduce into the English language? Task 2: Shakespeare added so many new words to the English language, many of which you use regularly without even realising! These are all words which Shakespeare created. Match the word to the definition. Check your answers at the back of the booklet. Challenge: Write each of these words into a sentence. Super Challenge: Using the internet, find some more words which Shakespeare created. 1 Invitation A A small beetle with spots 2 Worn out B Makes success more likely 3 Auspicious C An upper floor of a building 4 Gallantry D Asking someone to go somewhere or do something 5 Ladybird E Courageous behaviour, especially in battle 6 Circumstantial F Extremely tired or damaged 7 Upstairs G A description with full details 3 Task 3: There are a lot of interesting facts about Shakespeare. Which of these are true and which are false? Check your answers in the back of the booklet. Challenge: Use the internet to find out why the false statements are wrong. 1. He was born and died on his birthday. 2. He left school at 12 or 13 because his father lost all his money. 3. The rest of his family, including his children, were illiterate. 4. He couldn’t spell – including his own name. 5. He had ‘little Latin and less Greek’. 6. Other than 6 signatures, there is no other example of his handwriting. 7. He had 2 sisters and a daughter named Judith 8. He went to London in 1592. 9. He hardly ever went back to Stratford till he retired. 10.He never bought a house in London. 11.All his plays were performed at The Globe. 12.He was only a member of The Lords Chamberlain’s/The King’s Men. 13.He was the only member of his family to visit or work in London. 14.There is almost no documentary evidence about him – he’s an enigma 15. There are no direct descendants of the Shakespeare family alive today. 16. He made a great deal of money illegally. 17. And his father was a money lender. 18. The people who stood in The Yard were called groundlings. 19. He wrote all his plays by himself. 20. He ‘stole’ the plots for all his plays from other writers. 21. He had a brother who became an actor and who is buried in the nave at Southwark Cathedral. 22. All the plays have 5 acts. 23. And there are 37 of them. 24. His first ever known poem is a sonnet written for his wife. 25. He changed his will just before he died to disinherit his daughter, Judith. 4 Day 2: What was England like when Shakespeare was alive? Task 1: Fill in the blanks. Check your answers in the back of the booklet. When Shakespeare first arrived in London,___________________ was on the throne. Shakespeare found a great centre for entertainment. As well as theatre for all classes, there was sports such as bull and bear-baiting, gambling, _______________ and fairs. The city culture would have been alive with painters, actors and writers. The theatre was becoming an institution popular with all social classes. Playgoing was part of the city's daily life and all levels of society shared the experiences of the theatre. Aristocrats were familiar with the dramas of the day from acting parts at school, seeing plays at Court and, later, becoming patrons of the stage. ______________ and merchants also enjoyed the theatre and often took an afternoon off work to go and see a play. In Shakespeare’s time, the poor had little hope of escaping hunger, cold, damp, disease, and exposure. _____________ flooded the streets. Some were veterans – often maimed or disfigured – of the ongoing, undeclared war between Spain and England. Others were freemen who had been expelled from guilds. Still others had come up from the country perhaps hoping to find work, or trying to avoid family entanglements, or running from the law. By 1601, _____________ was so widespread that Elizabeth handed down ‘An Act for the Relief of the Poor’, which mandated local, community responses to indigent populations. The government wished to provide for the poor not necessarily out of any sense of charity or human kindness, but rather because of the ____________. After the period of the Black Death, the great pandemic of the 14th century, the bubonic plague continued to wax and wane in Europe.