Lesson video

Hello.

Welcome to today's lesson.

I'm really excited to be taking you on this journey.

I missed you, and in today's lesson, we are going to be understanding the context of Shakespeare's "Macbeth".

Shakespeare is one of the greatest writers of the English language.

I can't wait to find out more about him.

Are you ready? Let's get started.

In today's lesson outcome, you are going to be understanding who William Shakespeare was and know some of the key features of his literary style.

The key words for today's lesson are here: playwright, your turn, theatre, play, and monarch.

Well done.

What is a playwright? A playwright is a person who writes plays.

Theatre is a form of art that involves live performances by actors on a stage in front of an audience.

A play is a dramatic work originally intended for the stage, for it to be performed on stage.

A monarch is a ruler who holds supreme and hereditary, sorry, power over a state or territory, often referred to as a king or queen.

In today's lesson, we're going to be learning about William Shakespeare, and then we're going to look at types of Shakespeare plays.

So let's learn a bit about William Shakespeare now.

Some key facts that we would want to know about William Shakespeare are here.

William Shakespeare is an influential playwright and poet.

He is regarded as one of the greatest writers of the English language, and he was born in 1564 in Stratford-Upon-Avon in England.

And there's a purple dot as to where Stratford-Upon-Avon is.

He died in 1616 at the age of 52.

William Shakespeare is famous for what? What do we know him as being? An artist? Does he paint? Does he write plays and poems, or is he known for his dancing? Pause the video and have a think.

Okay, so, yes, it's B.

He's known for his plays and poems. Let's learn a little bit more about William Shakespeare.

He wrote at least 39 plays, including "Romeo and Juliet", you might have heard of that one, "Macbeth", and "Twelfth Night".

Here are some images giving an insight as to what the plays are about.

I want you to just look at those images for now, and then we'll later on in the lesson, we'll come back to what the plays are.

William Shakespeare had a profound impact on the English language, contributing numerous phrases and words that are still in use today.

Is it true or false? William Shakespeare only wrote three plays in total.

Did he only write "Romeo and Juliet", "Macbeth", and "Twelfth Night", or did he write more? Pause the video and have a think.

Okay, hopefully you said that this is false.

That's right.

He wrote at least 39 plays, including "Romeo and Juliet", "Macbeth", and "Twelfth Night".

Or he wrote at least 15 plays, including "Romeo and Juliet", "Macbeth", and "Twelfth Night".

Well, the answer is, he wrote at least 39 plays.

Let's find out a little bit about the Globe Theatre.

The Globe Theatre was a significant, really important landmark in history of theatre, specifically associated with William Shakespeare's career.

Here's a picture of the Globe Theatre in London.

It's known for hosting performances of many of Shakespeare's plays, and it was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's company called "The Lord Chamberlain's Men".

You can see in the photo, it is a large, open-air structure with a circular shape, and the stage is surrounded by a seated area or a standing area.

What is the Globe Theatre? Is it the place where William Shakespeare was born? Is it an iconic or famous playhouse, or is it a venue for parties? Pause the video and have a think.

Okay, so it isn't where he was born, and it isn't a venue for parties.

It is an iconic playhouse.

Let's look back at some key dates.

And it's really important to understand the period of time in which William Shakespeare lived in order to understand his plays.

So let's start with Henry VIII.

Henry VIII reigned from 1509 to 1547, so that makes it 38 years he reigned.

But after the death of Henry VIII in 1547, it was his son, Edward VI, that ascended to the throne at the age of nine.

Now, Edward VI was the son of Henry and his third wife, Jane Seymour.

But his reign was relatively short, lasting from 1547 until his death in 1553, at only at the age of 15.

So after he died, Mary I reigned from 1553 until her death in 1558.

But after her death, her half sister Elizabeth I, who was the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, ascended to the throne, starting that period of history, which is called the Elizabethan era.

And she reigned for 45 years.

After her death in 1603, the English throne was actually passed on to James VI of Scotland, who then became James I of England.

Now James VI, or James I, was actually the son of Mary, Queen of Scots.

He was the great grandson of Henry VIII of England through his maternal lineage, who James I's reign marked the beginning of the Stuart dynasty in England, and he ruled from 1603 to 1625, which is when he died.

Ultimately, James I united the crowns of England and Scotland, establishing the concept of a single monarch ruling over both realms. William Shakespeare was born in the Elizabethan era in 1564.

"Romeo and Juliet" was written in 1595, almost toward the end of that period of history.

And then "Macbeth" was actually written in the time that James I ruled England in 1606.

Shakespeare unfortunately died in 1616, and then after a long period after him was "The Great Fire of London", which is a significant time in history in 1666.

I'd like you to put these events in order of chronology, that means in time order.

"The Great Fire of London" occurred in 1666.

William Shakespeare was born in 1564.

"Macbeth" was written in 1606, and William Shakespeare died in 1616.

So which one of these would come first, second, third, and fourth, the last thing.

So in time order, starting the earliest point.

Pause the video and have a go at doing this.

Okay, shall we check? So you should have said that the first thing was that William Shakespeare was born 1564.

He wrote "Macbeth" in 1606.

He died in 1616.

And then the final significant event that happened was "The Great Fire of London," which occurred in 1666.

We are now onto task A.

Fill in the blanks with the words in the box below.

I'm going to have a go at saying them and then you can have a go at saying them.

"Macbeth", writers, Globe Theatre, language, and this one's a little bit long, but we can break it up, Stratford-Upon-Avon.

Let's put it together, Stratford-Upon-Avon.

Well done.

I'm gonna read out this paragraph to you.

And whilst I'm reading, I would like you to think about what words would best fit those blanks.

Are you ready? William Shakespeare was born in 1564 in, mm, England and is regarded as one of the greatest, mm, of the English language.

His plays were performed at the, mm, in London.

He wrote many famous plays like "Romeo and Juliet", "Twelfth Night", and, mm.

His impact on the English, mm, was so profound that the phrases and words he created are still in use today.

Pause the video and have a go at filling in the blanks.

Okay, let's have a check to see if we've got the same words in our blanks.

William Shakespeare was born in 1564 in Stratford-Upon-Avon, well done, it's a place, and is regarded as one of the greatest writers of the English language.

Yes, his plays were performed at the, think of another place.

So we're looking for capital letters here, Globe Theatre in London.

He wrote many famous plays like "Romeo and Juliet", "Twelfth Night", and what was the third really important play, "Macbeth".

His impact on the English language was so profound that the phrases and words he created are still in use today.

Let's now look at the types of Shakespeare plays.

Plays in Shakespeare's time were different to the ones we have today.

There were no female actors.

It was against social norms, that means what's normal, for women to appear on the public stage.

Shocking, I know.

Women's parts in the plays were normally portrayed by young boys or men with high-pitched voices who were really good, who were adept at playing both male and female roles.

It wasn't until much later, in the 17th century and the 18th centuries, that women started appearing on the English stage.

True or false? Women were sometimes allowed to portray men's roles in plays during Shakespeare's time.

Were they allowed? Think about this.

Pause the video.

Yeah, it is false.

They weren't allowed to portray men's roles.

It was against social norms for women to be out of the house during the day.

Were they allowed to leave the house, or was it against social norms for women to appear on the public stage? Well, they were allowed out of the house.

So it is B that it was against social norms. It was against what was accepted socially for women to appear on the public stage.

Now, many of Shakespeare's plays have become iconic, that means famous and well-known, and are widely celebrated for their impact on literature and culture.

Some of his most famous plays include these: "Romeo and Juliet", "Twelfth Night", and "Macbeth".

Remember, at the beginning of this lesson, we looked at the three images related to the three plays.

Let's now have a look at what they're about.

So "Romeo and Juliet" is a tragic love story of two young lovers from feuding families in Verona.

Feuding means fighting.

So two families that were fighting each other.

So "Twelfth Night" is a comedy, so it's a funny play, filled with mistaken identities, love triangles, and witty wordplay.

I'm just going to explain what each of those things mean.

So mistaken identity is when someone thinks that you are someone you are not.

A love triangle, so if you imagine the shape of a triangle, is a relationship that sort of involves three people.

So someone might be in love with that person, but that person's in love with them.

And then so it's all a bit muddled.

And witty, witty means funny.

So witty wordplay means that he uses words to create humour.

And finally, "Macbeth" is a tragedy depicting the rise, that means someone who becomes successful, and the fall, so they go from being successful to being really unsuccessful of the Scottish general Macbeth after he encounters three witches who can look into the future.

Which of the following is a play about a tragic love story? Is that "Macbeth", "Romeo and Juliet", or "Twelfth Night"? Pause the video and point to the right answer when you've got there.

Okay, get ready to point.

It is "Romeo and Juliet".

You are right.

Now, William Shakespeare's plays fell into three categories.

We've sort of talked about two of them already.

So one is tragedy.

So tragedy is a play that follows or traces the main character's downfall.

So that's when they start being good people and then they become bad.

The other type of play is a comedy.

A comedy is a play that ends happily and usually has many sort of funny events in the play.

And then finally, the third type of play is historical play, history, a play about the life of an English monarch.

So a king or a queen.

How many categories do William Shakespeare's plays fall into? Is it three, four, or two? Pause the video and think about what the answer could be.

Okay, so the answer is, of course, it is three.

Yes.

What were they again? Tragedy, comedy, and history.

Shakespeare's comedies feature lighthearted and amusing, that means funny, storylines.

These plays include witty wordplay, clever dialogue, so that's what the characters say to each other, and humorous, so funny, situations.

They explore themes of love, mistaken identities and humour.

They usually have a happy ending, often with couples finding love or resolution.

Which of the following are themes in a comedy? Is it about humour, war, love, or ambition? Pause the video and have a think about which of these are themes in a comedy.

Okay, so we've got humour, definitely.

Comedy is funny, and it has an element of love, a love story in it as well.

Shakespeare's tragedies often revolve around protagonists.

Can you say protagonists? Protagonists.

A protagonist is the main character, the central character, in a story around who the plot, whom the plot revolves.

The protagonist, often of a high status, that means someone who is either a nobleman or he might be the king, or someone who is important in the play, faces a downfall due to their tragic flaws or circumstances.

These plays explore themes of fate, ambition, and betrayal.

Tragic endings characterise these plays, often involving the deaths of major characters.

Is this true or false? Shakespeare's tragedies feature lighthearted and amusing storylines.

Think about what a tragedy is and then pause the video and think about what the answer could be.

Okay, so the answer is obviously false because Shakespeare's tragedies often revolve around the downfall of the protagonist, ending in death.

Or Shakespeare's tragedies often revolve around the downfall of a minor character, someone that's not that important in the play, ending in death.

Well, it is about the main character ending in death.

Shakespeare's historical plays dramatise events and figures from England's history, particularly focusing on the lives of monarchs and politics.

These plays explore themes of power, loyalty, and war.

They often blend history with artistic licence.

That means that they're able to kind of use their own creativity, portraying historical events for dramatic effect.

What are the three types of Shakespeare plays? Geography, comedy, tragedy, or history? So we're thinking of three there.

Pause the video and think of what the three types of Shakespeare plays are.

Okay, so it's obviously comedy, tragedy, and what's the final one? History.

Well done.

Theatre masks, which are often associated with Greek drama, are symbolic elements used to represent the characters or emotions.

The two that you can see here, most iconic, so famous masks in theatre are the comedy mask and the tragedy mask.

I wonder if you can work out which one is the comedy mask and which ones the tragedy mask.

So the comedy mask typically portrays someone smiling, a smiling or a laughing face, because a comedy is usually funny, isn't it? So it symbolises joy, humour, and lightheartedness.

Now, the tragedy mask depicts mournful, sad expression, symbolising sadness or grief.

I'm going to discuss now how I would design a theatre mask for one of the three categories of plays using this oval template below.

Now, the category of play that I'm going to choose is going to be tragedy, and I'm going to split my mask in half, similarly to the image of the two iconic masks.

And on one side I'm going to have, because it's a tragedy and it's about the downfall of a character, I think I'm going to have on one side a downturn mouth to show his downfall and the sadness.

And then on the other side, I'm going to show a sort of like angry, or maybe not angry, but sinister and evil face.

So half of it will be sad and half of it will be sinister because I want to show you the evil side of the character, sort of his character flaw.

Now, it's your turn.

You are going to discuss with your partner how you would design a theatre mask for one of the three categories.

You can choose tragedy, comedy, or history.

And I want you to tell the person next to you how you would design your mask.

Pause the video and have a go.

Okay, for task B, you are actually going to design, you're gonna sketch and design a theatre mask for any of the three categories of plays using a blank template.

Refer to the themes of the play to help you with your design.

So you can choose tragedy.

So tragedy is about fate, ambition, or betrayal.

It's about the downfall of a character.

And comedy is about love, or mistaken identities, or humour, witty wordplay, and histories about power, war, loyalty.

Try and see if you can portray that in your mask.

Pause the video and have a go at doing that now.

Well done on designing a theatre mask for one of the three categories of plays.

Let's just check now, does your design refer to the themes of the plays? If you chose tragedy, did you somehow portray sort of the downfall of the character, a fate or ambition or betrayal? I guess they're quite hard to show, but there might be an element of that in your design.

If you chose comedy, did you bring across a theme of love or mistaken identity or humour? And then if you chose history, did you portray power, loyalty, or war? Check your designs now.

Wow, well done.

We are now at the end of our lesson of understanding the context of Shakespeare's "Macbeth".

William Shakespeare was a renowned English playwright and poet.

Shakespeare lived from 1564 to 1616.

Shakespeare's plays were written at a time when theatre was an important form of entertainment.

Shakespeare wrote at least 39 plays that can broadly be grouped into tragedies, comedies, and historical plays.

Shakespeare's plays centre around complex themes and intricate plot structures.

I hope you have learned a lot about the context of Shakespeare's "Macbeth", and I look forward to teaching you in the future again.