Shakespeare and the Renaissance

Introduction

Image result for william shakespeare writing

Greetings Ms. Seguin's Grade 9 Academic English Class!

Have you met William Shakespeare? Yes you have, in class we have learned a lot so far! Remember, he was an English poet and playwright and is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language!

He lived in a time that is quite different from ours. It is important to understand the Renaissance and the role it played in the development of Shakespeare's plays.

Poor and rowdy, middle class, rich and snobby - he dealt with them all in his audiences!

The time period of Shakespeare and that in which we live...are they very different if at all?

Let's dive into this Webquest and find out!

Task

Your task: Research the life William Shakespeare and his writing of Romeo and Juliet You will be provided with the appropriate sources and questions that must be answered using these sources.

You will be able to work on this lesson throughout two class periods. Whatever is not completed during school time must be completed for homework.

It is important to pay attention to the differences between the time Shakespeare lived and wrote Romeo and Juliet and the time that we live in today. What a difference in time periods! These differences will be very important in this webquest! Happy questing!

Process

Image result for romeo and juliet renaissance

Click on the following website and navigate through the video clip and information to answer the following questions provided to you on the HANDOUT IN CLASS.

https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/r/romeo-and-juliet/about-romeo-and-juliet

What are the top 3 things that we can learn about the play Romeo and Juliet?

2. During what years did William Shakespeare write Romeo and Juliet?

3. What three themes does this play encapsulate?

_______________________ ________________________ _______________________

4. What event caused the authorities close all the playhouses in London in January 1593?

5. Why does Shakespeare emphasize the relevance of this event for his audience by using it in Romeo and Juliet?

6. What were most of the audience referred to as? Why?

7. Why did the wealthier playgoers prefer to pay an extra penny to sit in one of the galleries?

8. Why was the role of Juliet played by Master Robert Goffe?

Use the following link to answer the below questions:

http://www.britainexpress.com/History/elizabethan-theatre.htm

What was the general feeling towards plays during this period in time?

9. What was the name of the first theatre?

10. What was the name of them most famous theatre?

11. What happened to this theatre?

12. Where did people sit or not sit?

13. When did they have performances? Why?

14. How many women performed in these plays?

15. What did the audience do if they didn't like the performance?

Evaluation

Read the following two websites and write a proper opinion piece as learned in class last month on the following topic.

Do you think the Renaissance is different from the society we live in today?

https://www.thoughtco.com/renaissance-shakespeares-time-2984986

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/art/london-culture/renaissance-changed-the-world/

Marking Rubric for a Supported Opinion Paragraph Name:_______________ ___/24

Paragraph Marking Criteria	Level 4 - Excellent	Level 3 - Good	Level 2 - Satisfactory	Level 1 – Needs Improvement
Opinion/Topic Sentence ___/4	highly effective at stating the main idea, topic and opinion	reasonably effective at stating the main idea, topic and opinion	somewhat effective at stating the main idea, topic and opinion	ineffective at stating the main idea, topic and opinion
Supporting Sentences/Points/ Ideas ___/4	extensive development of the main idea	reasonable development of the main idea	some development of the main idea	limited (if any) development of the main idea
Details/Evidence ___/4	high degree	reasonable degree	some degree	limited degree
Concluding Sentence ___/4	highly effective summary of the main idea	reasonably effective summary of the main idea	somewhat effective summary of the main idea	ineffective summary of the main idea
Fluency/Clarity/ Coherence and Organization ___/4	very fluent, clear and coherent very logical organization of ideas	reasonably fluent, clear and coherent logical organization of ideas	somewhat fluent, clear and coherent somewhat logical organization of ideas	not at all fluent, clear and coherent illogical organization of ideas
Technical Merit and Format ___/4	very good-minimal errors in spelling, grammar, punctuation, sentence structure	good-a few errors in spelling, grammar, punctuation, sentence structure	developing-many errors in spelling, grammar, punctuation, sentence structure	weak-excessive errors in spelling, grammar, punctuation, sentence structure

Conclusion

You are now much more familiar with the influence of the Renaissance and Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.

What a time period they lived in but what a time period we live in...and is it really that different? What a debate it will be :)

Now it is time to dive into the book as we have a better understanding of the meaning this writing piece and the history behind it.

Image result for romeo and juliet

I hope you enjoyed this Webquest, now let's get reading team!

Credits

The following websites were used to create this webquest

https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/r/romeo-and-juliet/about-romeo-and-juliet

http://www.britainexpress.com/History/elizabethan-theatre.htm

https://www.thoughtco.com/renaissance-shakespeares-time-2984986

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/art/london-culture/renaissance-changed-the-world/

Teacher Page

Ms. Seguin's favourite quote from Romeo and Juliet:

Romeo Juliet Act II, Scene 2