...A TEACHER’S GUIDE TO THE SIGNET CLASSIC EDITION OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S ROMEO AND JULIET By ARTHEA J.S. REED, PH.D. S E R I E S W. GEIGER ELLIS, ED.D., E D I T O R S : UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA, EMERITUS and ARTHEA J. S. REED, PH.D., UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA, RETIRED A Teacher’s Guide to the Signet Classic Edition of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet 2 INTRODUCTION William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is an excellent introduction to Shakespearean drama; teenagers can relate to its plot, characters, and themes. The play’s action is easily understood, the character’s motives are clear, and many of the themes are as current today as they were in Shakespeare’s time. Therefore, it can be read on a variety of levels, allowing all students to enjoy it. Less able readers can experience the swash-buckling action and investigate the themes of parent-child conflict, sexuality, friendship, and suicide. Because of the play’s accessibility to teenagers, able readers can view the play from a more literary perspective, examining the themes of hostility ad its effect on the innocent, the use of deception and its consequences, and the effects of faulty decision making. They can study how the characters function within the drama and how Shakespeare uses language to develop plot, characters, and themes. The most able students can develop skills involved in literary criticism by delving into the play’s comic and tragic elements and its classically...
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...To put Romeo and Juliet into perspective, you will need to know a bit about William Shakespeare, the origins of the story, and its influence today. Shakespeare William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564. His father sold gloves and became an important person in the town. William, one of eight children, was the eldest son, and probably educated at the local grammar school. He married when he was only 18 and his wife, Anne Hathaway, was eight years older than him. They had two girls and a boy (who died aged 11). Nobody knows how Shakespeare began to write, or when he entered the theatre. But we know he became a leading member of the theatre troupe known as 'The Lord Chamberlain's Men'. The company proved very popular, and later, when King James I granted it the right to perform at his court, became known as 'The King's Men'. Shakespeare wrote more than 30 plays for 'The King's Men', making it the most important theatre company in the country. He often wrote parts for particular actors, too. He was very successful and wealthy in his time, and his work has remained very popular ever since Romeo and Juliet in Popular Culture The basic story, of two young lovers from opposing families in Italy, had been popular for hundreds of years before Shakespeare wrote the play. However, there is no evidence Romeo or Juliet ever actually existed. We think Shakespeare based the play on a poem he had read. What makes Romeo and Juliet special is how Shakespeare tells the story...
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...Find out what the Communist Manifesto is. Learn the main ideas of each chapter of the Manifesto, and the points of communism's political platform. Read the lesson, then take a quiz to test your new knowledge. We also recommend watching Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels: The Communist Manifesto and Balcony Scene in Romeo and Juliet: Summary, Analysis & Quiz The Communist Manifesto The Communist Manifesto is a brief publication that declares the arguments and platform of the communist party. It was was written in 1847 by political theorists Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, and was commissioned by the Communist League, a political party based in England. Summary The Communist Manifesto was published in 1848, and consists of a preamble and four chapters, which are summarized below: Bourgeois and Proletarians In this chapter, Marx famously states 'The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles'. The chapter lays out the position that the bourgeois, through competition and private ownership of land, are forever exploiting and oppressing the proletariat (working class). Marx then states that the system always results in class conflict and revolution, and should be replaced by communism -- a society without class distinctions. Proletarians and Communists This chapter explains the relationship between the communist party and other working parties, stating that the communist parties would not organize against them. The chapter also declares the...
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...it comes to in the classroom. They have no choices over books they read. They are forced to read books that they might not like, such as Shakespeare. Although it is a big part in culture, Shakespeare’s work should not remain in the high school curriculum because it is not relatable to students and it could potentially start bad cultural habits in the classroom. Shakespeare should not be in high school curriculum because it is not interesting or relatable to students....
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...Romeo and Juliet | Shakespeare homepage | Romeo and Juliet | Entire play | ACT I PROLOGUE Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. From forth the fatal loins of these two foes A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life; Whose misadventured piteous overthrows Do with their death bury their parents' strife. The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love, And the continuance of their parents' rage, Which, but their children's end, nought could remove, Is now the two hours' traffic of our stage; The which if you with patient ears attend, What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend. SCENE I. Verona. A public place. Enter SAMPSON and GREGORY, of the house of Capulet, armed with swords and bucklers SAMPSON Gregory, o' my word, we'll not carry coals. GREGORY No, for then we should be colliers. SAMPSON I mean, an we be in choler, we'll draw. GREGORY Ay, while you live, draw your neck out o' the collar. SAMPSON I strike quickly, being moved. GREGORY But thou art not quickly moved to strike. SAMPSON A dog of the house of Montague moves me. GREGORY To move is to stir; and to be valiant is to stand: therefore, if thou art moved, thou runn'st away. SAMPSON A dog of that house shall move me to stand: I will take the wall of any man or maid of Montague's. GREGORY That shows thee a weak slave; for the weakest goes to the...
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...Chapter II: literature of the renaissance (End of the 15th - beginning of the 17th century) In the 15th - 16th centuries capitalist relation began to develop in Europe. The former townspeople became the bourgeoisie. The bourgeoisie fought against feudalism because it held back the development of capitalism. The decay of feudalism and the development of capitalist relation were followed by a great rise in the cultural life of Europe. There was an attempt at creating a new culture which would be free from the limitation of the feudal ideology of the Middle Ages. The epoch was characterized by a thirst for knowledge and discoveries, by a powerful development of individuality. It was then that great geographical discoveries of Columbus, Magellan and other travelers as well as astronomical discoveries of Copernicus, Bruno, Galilei were made. The invention of the printing press (Fyodorov in Russia, Guttenberg in Germany, Caxton in England) contributed to the development of culture in all European countries. Universities stopped being citadels of religious learning and turned into centers of humanist study. There was a revival of interest in the ancient culture of Greece and Rome ("Renaissance" is French for "rebirth"). The study of the works of ancient philosophers, writers, and artists helped the people to widen their outlook, to know the world and man's nature. On the basis of both the ancient culture and the most progressive elements of the culture of the...
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...Technology’s Effect on Reading Skills Things are much different from the generation in which I grew up technology-wise. We had few television shows for kids other than Saturday morning cartoons. Computers, even the PCs at home, were used for accounting programs or very early e-mail. There were very few games for kids and it took those forever for them to load. There were not many game systems and none of them were portable. We also did not have the cell phones that are available now with internet access. We did not even have internet. Things have come a long way since then. Today’s kids have access to cell phones, iPods, tablets, laptops, and a lot more options available to them. Modern technology has had both a positive and a negative impact on the current generation's ability to improve their reading skills. Kids growing up in 2015 are growing up in a different world. Life has a much faster pace in this era of technology. People can get things on demand and immediately. Kids in school have a harder time paying attention for long periods of time. This makes sitting still and paying attention to a teacher’s lecture difficult. It also makes getting past a possible slow part of a book or passage tough. Most of their electronics come with many different options and if they don’t like whatever is on they can change it. This makes teaching students what is needed for them to pass the standardized test very difficult. Another issue students have is lowered comprehension. Students...
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...Alice Hoffman Flight Eugene Kessler was supposed to be my brother's best friend, but he and I actually had a lot more in common. It wasn't so much that Eugene and I liked each other, or that there was any possibility of romance between us. It was more that we both despised Franconia, the suburb where we were doomed to live. In Franconia, no one's imagination was working overtime, that much was evident from the moment you first walked through town, where you could find the Franconia High School, the Franconia Mail, the Franconia Diner, and, for special occasions - proms, for instance, or extramarital trysts - the Franconia Steak House, which Eugene and I called Marie's, not only because Marie Fortuna's husband caught her there, eating antipasto with her boyfriend, who happened to be the soccer coach at the high school, but because we couldn't stand to hear the word Franconia used one more time. Eugene and I were in business together, earning money for our escape from town by selling term papers, and June was our busiest time of the year. By the end of the month, however, we were no longer doing our best work. The pressure was on, the stupid among us had panicked, and I was writing all night. In part, I kept odd hours because my brother strongly disapproved of our venture, and Jason was so honest and good that a single look from him could make a person feel sordid and corrupt. But the real reason I was writing three or more papers at a time was that Eugene was in charge of...
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...their works that I have read in the past; however, I do not actively search for their newest material. My current favorite author is Ernest Cline because of his novel called Ready Player One. This novel drew my attention because it is placed in a futuristic setting where the current idea of full-submersion virtual reality is, in fact, a reality. As a person who appreciates videogames, fantasy, and dystopian societies, I appreciated how Cline incorporated the history of videogames into a dystopian society. In general, I tend to gravitate towards science fiction and fantasy novels due to their ability to draw the reader into the book. Contrarily, on some occasions I enjoy reading some news articles so that I can stay somewhat up to date with society. I tend to avoid persuasive writing because I prefer to avoid confrontation and choosing sides. Keeping with the idea of staying up to date in society, social media is the fastest and easiest way to do so. Personally I stay within the normal standards of application use: Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Tumblr, and sometimes Facebook....
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...still the epitome of English literature and are revered by theaters, performers and audiences alike due to their remarkable credibility in portraying everlasting political, social and moral issues. http://www.neptunetheatre.com/content/Shakespeare_hat_trick His plays move from romantic to tragic, humorous to serious so much so that he not only caters to all tastes but also all times by portraying the political situation of his times as well as the way of living. Even Romeo and Juliet, considered by many as a die –hard romantic scripture actually highlights political issues. One of the main political aspects of the play was when count Paris uses his political and aristocratic power to threaten Juliet if she did not marry him. The romance provided a perfect front to front to address the rich/poor issues in the Elizabethan era, and even today we see such situations where the influential overpower the lower castes, forcing them to sometimes give up on their dreams and hopes. The relevance is uncanny and once you read the play you...
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...he is innocent. Everyone is blinded by his color and has already decided to put him into the jail. Obviously, he gets an unfair trial. In the court, Mr. Gilmer, the lawyer who defends for Mayella Ewell, treats Tom without any respect. Even though Atticus finds much evidence that proves Tom is innocent, no one listens to him. Tom is a nice man and he only wants to help others, however, his kindness becomes his murderer. After his death, his wife Helen Robinson needs to raise their children by herself. But no one feels sympathy for her and even no one is willing to offer her a job. Is appearance so important that can destroy our humanity? We are going to lose our selves because of racism. Atticus defends for Tom in order to protect the justice. However, he and his children are disliked by the town people. Jem and Souct get troubles from school. Everyone teases them and no one is willing to make friends with them. Furthermore racism brings out blood. Bob Ewell, Mayella’s father revenges Atticus on his children because he thinks Atticus is against him. He tries to hurt Jem and Scout on that Halloween night. Fortunately Jem just breaks his arm but Bob is killed by another knife. Racism lead him to a wrong way, as a result he loses his life. Criminal is encouraged by racism. In Maycomb, Black and White people...
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...and differences in cultures lead to diversity in people from different parts of the world. Our cultural values and beliefs manifest themselves through lifestyle, making the United States a multicultural society. In our daily lives, those who live around us, those we socialize with, and those we work with, come from different parts of the world and have different cultures, so we are forced to...
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...CERTIFICATE GRADE 12 ENGLISH HOME LANGUAGE P1 FEBRUARY/MARCH 2011 MARKS: 70 TIME: 2 hours This question paper consists of 17 pages. Copyright reserved Please turn over English Home Language/P1 2 NSC DBE/Feb. – Mar. 2011 INSTRUCTIONS AND INFORMATION 1. This question paper consists of THREE sections: SECTION A: Comprehension SECTION B: Summary SECTION C: Language in context 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Read ALL the instructions carefully. Answer ALL the questions. Start EACH section on a NEW page. Rule off after each section. Number the answers correctly according to the numbering system used in this question paper. Leave a line after each answer. Pay special attention to spelling and sentence construction. Use the following time frames as a guideline: SECTION A: 50 minutes SECTION B: 25 minutes SECTION C: 45 minutes 10. Write neatly and legibly. (30) (10) (30) 7. 8. 9. Copyright reserved Please turn over English Home Language/P1 3 NSC DBE/Feb. – Mar. 2011 SECTION A: COMPREHENSION QUESTION 1: READING FOR MEANING AND UNDERSTANDING Read TEXTS A, B and C below and answer the set questions. TEXT A UBUNTU FOR BEGINNERS by Sam Wilson 1 I studied constitutional law at university, when our transitional constitution was just up and running. 'Nifty, but tricky,' I remember whispering to my friend Amanda as I nudged her awake in a lecture. 'What do you think that means? How's that going to 5 work?' As I was soon to discover then – and to have had underlined...
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...generation. Even though being able to read and specifically being literate is necessary to success in today’s society, many students have negative attitudes in regards to reading. In addition to their negative attitude, today’s student also has a plethora of other activities available for them to do rather than pick up a good book. As we continue to grow as a society in our educational and work endeavors, students now more than ever, need to change their attitude in regards to reading. This paper outlines the trends and attitudes of fifteen ninth grade students in rural West Virginia. Why Attitudes? The word attitude can be defined in a number of different ways and everyone has an attitude towards most things in their life, including reading. Alexander and Filler (1976) proposed a definition for read-specific attitudes. Their definition stated that a reading attitude is a system of feelings related to reading which causes the learner to approach or avoid a reading situation (Alexander & Filler, 1976; Verhoeven & Snow, 2001). It is important to understand the attitudes students have towards reading for two major reasons. One, attitude can affect the level of reading ability that a student eventually achieves. One’s attitude can have an influence on the amount of practice a student puts into reading as well as the effort they put into their practice. The other factor is how one’s attitude can effect if they choose to read or not. Even students we are fluent readers but have poor...
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...Sonnet II Look in thy glass, and tell the face thou viewest Now is the time that face should form another; Whose fresh repair if now thou not renewest, Thou dost beguile the world, unbless some mother. For where is she so fair whose unear'd womb Disdains the tillage of thy husbandry? Or who is he so fond will be the tomb Of his self-love, to stop posterity? Thou art thy mother's glass, and she in thee Calls back the lovely April of her prime: So thou through windows of thine age shall see Despite of wrinkles this thy golden time. But if thou live, remember'd not to be, Die single, and thine image dies with thee . Sonnet V Those hours, that with gentle work did frame The lovely gaze where every eye doth dwell, Will play the tyrants to the very same And that unfair which fairly doth excel: For never-resting time leads summer on To hideous winter and confounds him there; Sap cheque'd with frost and lusty leaves quite gone, Beauty o'ersnow'd and bareness every where: Then, were not summer's distillation left, A liquid prisoner pent in walls of glass, Beauty's effect with beauty were bereft, Nor it nor no remembrance what it was: But flowers distill'd though they with winter meet, Leese but their show; their substance still lives swee SONNET1FROM fairest creatures we desire increase, That thereby beauty's rose might never die, But as the riper should by time decease, His tender heir might bear his memory: But thou, contracted to thine own bright eyes...
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