Overview:“[A]nd yet, to say the truth, reason and love keep little company together now-a-days.” ~Shakespeare
The world around us is full of drama, especially when it involves relationships and the big L-O-V-E. So it is no surprise to find that same kind of drama in magazines, on TV, or on the big screens. However, many of us are not aware that stories about love drama have been around for ages, and that time doesn’t hinder their relevancy. One such example of this is the works of Shakespeare. His works transcend across time and space to connect with modern day audiences. There’s only one problem: it’s SHAKESPEARE. For some students, this word is equal to that of Harry Potter’s Volder…err.. “He Who Must Not Be Named”. But seriously, many students are immediately opposed to Shakespeare’s work for several different reasons: A) they don’t understand it, B) they don’t know how to understand it, C) they have trouble imagining the story based on dialogue. With this Unit, students will be given an arsenal of skills to be able to tackle Shakespeare’s text, so that they may have tools to know how to “demystify” the text, understand the meaning, and begin to imagine the plotline. These tools will enable them to create their own modern translations of the text, and create their own drama: as in, students will get out of their desks and interact with the play in a way that reflects its true nature. Reading Shakespeare will allow students to analyze dramaturgy and generate discussion on universal themes that are already present in many adolescents’ lives: attraction, love, friendship, magic, and parent/child relationships. We will be specifically looking at A Midsummer Night’s Dream and examining what Shakespeare is saying about love. We will uncover Shakespeare’s beliefs on love by looking at the characters, events, themes, allusions, and figures of speech present in his plays and poetry. We will also dig deep into the background behind Shakespeare, The Globe, and how he has transformed other source materials into his own work. We will look at source material for the play and thoroughly discuss why works like this are transformed over time and how this transformation demonstrates the different views on Love. The unit will culminate with a project in which we will examine themes and how the author creates tensions and suspense in the story. |
Standards:RL.9-10.5 Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure a text, order events within it, and manipulate time create effects such as mystery, tension, or surprise.
L.9-10.5 Demonstrate understanding of figurative language and nuances in word meanings. RL. 9-10.9 Analyze how an author adopts or adapts source material in a specific work. Focus Questions:
Student Outcomes:What will students know, understand and be able to do by the end of this unit? I can…
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