Shakespeare for the terminally terrified

As teachers of literature, we are tasked with asking candidates to interpret 'the writer's intention' - welcome to the world of mind reading! Or crystal ball gazing:  This is difficult enough when the writer is still alive: I think it was Gillian Clarke who complained, with some spirit, to AQA when one of her poems was seriously misinterpreted on a mark scheme. How much more difficult for a writer who has been dead for more than 400 years, lived in a totally different time in every conceivable way and was working in what was then a new medium. Remember, the first purpose built theatre was constructed by James Burbage in 1576 only around 10 years before Shakespeare went to London. This is not about interpretation. There are as many Macbeth s or Hamlet s as actors who have played them or productions over the years. No, this is about why Shakespeare wrote the plays and what , if anything, his intention was in doing so. Stephen Greenblatt will tell you that the pla

You don't need to learn them all. Just choose the ones you understand and you'll know how to use. Themes Equivocation* Appearance and reality The nature of manhood Hubris** *Equivocation - the use of ambiguous language to conceal the truth - links to the theme of appearance and reality **Hubris - Excessive pride or self confidence. IMO this is a better word to use than 'ambition', though I don't think AQA agrees with me!  Equivocation Macbeth : ... My dull brain was wrought/With things forgotten ( when he has been told he's Thane of Cawdor and has been imagining he can be king ) Lady Macbeth : He that's coming/Must be provided for ( on hearing that Duncan is coming to spend the night ) Porter : here’s an equivocator , that could swear in both the scales against either scale; who committed treason enough for God’s sake, yet could not equivocate to heaven ( this is the key to the whole play - he is talking about Father Garnet, a Cathol

May 15th 2019                        Afternoon AO1 : you know the play really well and you have your own ideas about it  AO2 : you can talk about language and structure and that this is a play written for a reason AO3 : you know this is a tragedy and what makes it a tragedy.  You can talk about what the play tells us about its context. AO4 : you can spell, punctuate and paragraph accurately.   Make sure you know who is who. Tragedies are always named for the main character/s - the protagonist/s.  Romeo and Juliet : no matter what the question is about, you need to talk about them.  It's their play. ( AO1 ) Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet The other main characters are:- Mercutio : neither a Montague nor a Capulet, but a friend to Romeo. His name tells you something about his character which is mercurial ( someone whose mood or behaviour is changeable and unpredictable, or someone who is clever, lively, and quick). He dies at the beginning of Act 3.

May 15th 2019                        Afternoon AO1 : you know the play really well and you have your own ideas about it  AO2 : you can talk about language and structure and that this is a play written for a reason AO3 : you know this is a tragedy and what makes it a tragedy.  You can talk about what the play tells us about its context. AO4 : you can spell, punctuate and paragraph accurately.   Make sure you know who is who. Tragedies are always named for the main character - the protagonist.  Macbeth : no matter what the question is about, you need to talk about Macbeth.  It's his play. ( AO1 ) The other main characters, all of whom are dead by the end of the play, are:- Lady Macbeth : you should develop some ideas about her. Apart from the sleep walking scene, she disappears at the end of Act 3. Why is that? ( AO1/2/3 ) Her death is reported, not shown. Why? Banquo : Macbeth's brother-in-arms and friend - which doesn't stop Macbeth having him killed at

And Breathe Do you know the play? No getting round that one, I'm afraid. You need to know the story and who's who. ( AO1 ) You can't write about what you don't know.    Ah - you do know the play? Excellent news. What now? You can make better sense than this, honest.   OK - this is a general guide. I don't know which play you've studied or what the question will be in May, but I do mark the paper and I know what makes a good answer.  Read the question carefully and find the key words . They tell you what to write about. It will always say: 'Starting with the extract, explore how Shakespeare presents ( key word/s ) in the extract and the play as a whole'. The extract/speech will focus on the key word/s in the question. No-one is trying to trick you.   Good news - unless it helps you to get going, you don't need to write an introduction .  In any case never write 'In this essay I am going to write about key word/s in th

If the comedies end in church, tragedies end in the churchyard. Spoiler alert - the protagonist/eponymous hero dies. All the tragedies are named for the anti/hero. Titus Andronicus - 1592 . First known performance Jan 1594 at The Rose for Sussex's men. Usually considered to be a collaborative play with George Peele (and Vickers makes a very good case for this).  No-one ever does this in school. Romeo and Juliet - 1595 . For The Lord Chamberlain's Men at The Rose as the company did not have access to The Theatre.1596. Boy meets girl. Boy and girl fall in love. Boy and girl are separated by a series of unfortunate events and the  attitudes of their families. They get married anyway and die at the end by mistake. The two families make up.  Adaptations : West Side Story - 1957. Film - 1961 (Bit of trivia: George Chakiris who played Bernardo was paid $100 a week.) There are lots more adaptations - too many to list. Best film version : Zeffirelli - 1968 Globe version