Lesson video

Hi, everyone.

It's Mr. Dyke here.

Welcome to your first lesson on "The Tempest." Let's make sure we've got all the equipment and things we need.

So just make sure you've got a black or blue pen ready.

Maybe another coloured pen so you can mark your work.

And also clear away any distractions that you might have around you.

Do that now.

Once you're ready, just write down today's title, which is on the screen, and that is The Context of "The Tempest." Okay.

We need to start by thinking about Shakespeare's world.

So you might be really confident and have lots of previous knowledge on Shakespeare's world, the world in which he was writing, some information about different plays that he's already produced, or you might want to really refresh that, and this is an opportunity to do that.

So just spend one or two minutes now, so pausing the video, spend one or two minutes just writing down everything you can remember or everything that you know about Shakespeare's world.

So you could consider what was life like at the time, what different plays did he write, how were his plays performed on stage? So any information to do with that context, you can just write that onto your page.

You might want to do it as a bullet point list or you could do it as a mind map.

Pause now, just spend one to two minutes doing that.

Okay.

So I'm now going to give you some knowledge.

So what you all need to do is to add anything that you learned from these slides to your mind map, okay? So it might be things that you didn't write down previously, or maybe you can add extra detail to the ideas you already have.

So basically you're recording the key information here.

So after each slide what I would do is pause for a moment and write down anything you really need to write down from that slide.

I'll also explain some of the key words and concepts behind them.

Feel free to pause at any point to add that information.

So, let's begin.

So between the late 1580s and 1613, Shakespeare wrote 37 plays and contributed to many more.

He was also a very popular poet, writing many sonnets, which are a traditional type of love poems. He was not just a playwright, he was also a poet.

So it's definitely some information that you need to make sure you've got written down in terms of your Shakespeare revision.

A quip note on our centuries.

So whilst he started to write in the late 1580s, we would say that is the 16th century, okay? So making sure we getting that accurate.

And 1613 would be the 17th century.

So it's just making sure that we are really accurate with our historical dates there.

Shakespeare's plays were performed on stage and became a very popular attraction for the people of London.

The Globe Theatre was carefully structured so that people from across society came to watch.

The aristocracy and the upper classes would sit high up in boxes, whereas peasants would have to stand in the yard, open to all of the elements.

So maybe you wrote down, some of the different people that came to see his plays previously.

Maybe you thought about the structure that you know about the Globe, and how it has different stages.

And the people who are the slightly lesser off and the power of people, peasants, they would stand for hours in the yard and that wouldn't be covered and it wouldn't be sheltered.

So writing down any key points there.

Shakespeare's plays served several purposes.

They were the central form of entertainment for many people.

Just think, television and cinema did not exist.

So one thing I want you to really think about in terms of Shakespeare, is that he's not just this poet who existed a long, long time ago, and is for studying at school, in Shakespeare's context, he provided much of society's entertainment, he drew many people in.

Think about modern day soap operas, which bring in huge audiences and everybody watches them on TV, TV dramas, Shakespeare was that for those people.

So Shakespeare's plays were meant for everyone and everyone found something in them.

Therefore, everyday people would come to watch his plays so that they could experience the drama, the love of humour, conflict and mystery.

However, Shakespeare was also excellent at making his plays comment on the important aspects of human life.

Even the most educated people, including the King and the Queen, for example, would come and see his place because of the important messages that they contained.

There's two really key points that I want you to make sure you've got down.

Everyday people could relate to his plays.

So for example, through love and humour and basic emotions, human emotions, but also I want you to make a note that they also contained really deep, important messages, so other people who wants to think about other things slightly more political topics, for example, they could really get things from his plays.

Shakespeare wrote three different types of play, tragedy, usually involving flawed characters, that means they've got weaknesses and lots of death, comedy, usually involving magic, love and marriage, and history, usually involving war and real life events.

So making sure you've written down three types of play that Shakespeare wrote.

Okay.

Pausing here, and I want you to write down and try and condense your information into four key things that you've learnt already that maybe you didn't have previously.

So these could just be four sentences with new things that you've either learned, or things that you'd forgotten and that you've been reminded of.

So pause now, just spend two minutes doing that.

Okay.

Here's some of the different things that you could have perhaps included in your list of four.

So what I'm doing here is condensing the information down further, so your notes are more likely to look like this.

So I'm trying to really show you what the key bits to recall.

So firstly, the dates there of Shakespeare's approximate timeline, perhaps you wrote that down, so I put them in bold,, remembering that fall on stage and that they were a popular attraction.

So those are two key pieces of information about Shakespeare's plays they're all sectors of society came to watch.

So we've got peasants and nobility.

So that upper classes and those linked to aristocratic people.

Central form of everyday and cultural entertainment for many.

So the words in bold there are words that you can have written down for you to remember some of these important facts from.

So check-in, maybe you can tick off the ones that you've included.

They contained everyday themes, which reflected on the human condition.

The human condition is just how we exist.

What are our lives like, and what kind of things do we have to deal with, and what do we feel.

And obviously the three types of plays.

So maybe you wrote down tragedy, comedy and history.

So the words in bold, a little link, secure information.

So tick if you've got your four that you wrote down, and if you've got any of the notes that you need to write down, now is your time.

Okay.

Let's have a look at some quick questions to check that again.

So we need to constantly go back over that information to check that it's going to end well.

So first question, why did many people come to watch Shakespeare's plays? Your answer, I've given you a little bit to get you going here.

So people from all walks of life came to watch Shakespeare's plays, for example, who and because why? So pause now.

Just spend three minutes answering that question in full sentences.

Okay.

Here is an answer.

So what you can do is take a different coloured pen and you can take the information that is accurate, you might not have it worded exactly the same as mine, and anything different or anything that you've missed, add than in your second colour.

So people from all walks of life came to watch Shakespeare's plays.

For example, an everyday citizen would come to see a play for it's everyday portrayal of human themes.

For example, love or conflict.

Others, such as the aristocracy might be interested in some of the more political and intellectual themes present.

So can you check for me that you've written down an example of someone, sort of a citizen, or maybe someone from the aristocracy.

And then maybe at least one explanation as to why.

So I've included two.

I've included an explanation for why the citizen would come, but then also for the aristocracy to come.

So just check, you've got those details please.

Your next question.

What issues can you imagine arose staging the theatre in a time period without modern inventions and technology? So you've got to have this in mind when we think about his plays.

So you start of your answer is here, without the modern style of theatre, Shakespeare's plays, players Were.

So I want you to write down any details and any issues that would come with staging a play in this particular context.

Pause the video, just spend three minutes doing that.

Okay.

Here is your answer.

So again, ticking anything you've got accurate here, Shakespeare's plays were performed outside.

So give yourself a mark if you've included that detail.

Meaning the weather would have impacted upon performances as well as the audience.

So if you mentioned anything to do with the audience experience or how the performance would go on, give yourself a mark.

Plays would have to be performed in the daytime and scenes set during the night would have to be elaborately created.

That means that there would have to be very carefully constructed in a really smart way.

So for example, many of Shakespeare's plays use props to say to the audience it's nighttime now.

So for example, a moon which was shining.

So give yourself a mark if you've mentioned an example of what they might have had to do to his plays in order to deal with the fact they were open air and have to be performed during the daytime in particular.

Okay.

I'm going to introduce a word which I have touched upon already, but now I'm going to explain it to you in a bit more detail.

So in terms of Shakespeare's audience, I've used the word aristocracy quite a few times.

Maybe you want to just repeat that word back to the screen after me now, aristocracy.

And that word is a noun.

And that simply means the highest class in certain societies, in a society members, just a group of people typically composed of certain people of noble heritage.

So that means it's the upper classes, but they're often made up of people of heritage, which is more noble.

So that means people who are linked to kings and queens, it has been passed down and maybe they're related to Kings and Queens.

So that's what the aristocracy means.

So my question for you is about the aristocratic audience.

So the aristocratic audience, this audience would be educated and they would be upper class.

What might they get out of a Shakespeare play? So I want you to really think about that.

So we need to do two things, write down the definition of aristocracy, and if you want to practise using that word, now is a good time to do that.

So you might want to write down your own example of the word in use.

And then secondly, you're going to write an answer to the question there.

Pause now, spend about three or four minutes on this one, of you go.

Okay.

Here is a possible answer.

So they would be interested in more intellectual or philosophical themes.

So that means slightly deeper thoughts than just the humour, for example.

So they might be more interested in looking at some of the different comments that Shakespeare makes on how people behave or the decisions they make.

And those would be more philosophical things going on.

Maybe even political storylines.

So as a King or queen watching Shakespeare's plays, you'd be very interested to see how the King or queen is portrayed in the play itself.

So that could be something you look for, which are reflected in that old society in Britain or abroad.

So can you just add in any detail you may have missed there.

Okay.

Here is another question for you.

The peasants and the uneducated audience, so kind of polar opposite of the aristocracy.

This audience would be unable to read or write.

And they would stand in the yard.

What might they get out of a Shakespeare play? So bearing in mind that they wouldn't have the levels of literacy to understand as much as now, two minutes, write your response.

Okay.

Here is your possible answer.

They would have to focus less on the more poetic and extended dialogue, so they wouldn't be as able to engage with some of the more complex language that Shakespeare might have the characters use, but they would focus more on the acting and maybe the physical parts of the play, 'cause there was a lot of physical action in Shakespeare still, and they might draw entertainment from the drama, the conflict and the boisterous humour.

So Shakespeare does include lots of humour in his plays, about everyone would have understood, and that might be physical humour, the way characters stand and act to move, but also jokes.

So they would have certainly got something from that aspect of Shakespeare.

Okay.

Now's the time just to pause and consolidate everything that we've done so far.

So what I would do is I would cover up all of your notes and all of your answers and do a brain dump.

And a brain dump is where you just write down everything you can remember about a particular topic.

So I want you to have a way of doing a brain dump from Shakespeare's context.

What can you remember about everything we've covered so far? Just spend three minutes completing that.

Okay.

Now let's be more specific.

The play we are going to be exploring is a play called "The Tempest".

And who are you going to think about the context of "The Tempest" specifically.

Because there's different themes and ideas that appear in this play.

We need to kind of understand where they come from.

So what are the issues in society and in the world were going on that allows us to understand this play even more.

It's worth knowing that this stage, that tempest also means a violent and particularly windy storm.

That may be worth considering under the meaning to the title of "The Tempest", as we start to look at some of these different contextual elements, and obviously when we start to read the play and we will also learn a little bit about why it's called "The Tempest".

So it is a comedy play.

So out of his three types of plays, "The Tempest" is a comedy.

Meaning Shakespeare comedy plays, characters often face confusing and strange situations, they fall in love and they get married.

So don't mistake a comedy, a Shakespearean one, for being like comedy is in the modern day.

It wouldn't all be just jokes and laughs all the time.

There would be some fun and there'd be some lightheartedness.

But the main definition of comedy is the fact that there is a love storyline and it ends in a marriage, ends in a wedding.

So making sure we've written down a couple of key points from this slide please, about Shakespearean comedy plays.

Also in comedies, we would have the presence of magic, and in particular we see some in "The Tempest".

During this period, many people were intrigued by the idea of fairies.

Mystical creatures, who were connected to nature and witches, toxic beings, who use their powers for wrongdoing.

So the linking of magic ideas and these mystical characters often appear in Shakespeare's comedies to add to the fun and add to the confusion.

Shakespeare's comedies often reflect this obsession and play on the audiences' intrigue and excitement.

Not everyone would have believed in fairies, but some might have, some might found them quite intriguing concepts.

Just like we still have intriguing and things like ghosts and the supernatural.

It's still something that as we are fascinated by.

Okay, we've got the issue of colonialism and exploration of the world.

So during this time, many parts of the world were being explored.

So we were discovering lots of countries though.

When powerful and aggressive nations took over other lands, the indigenous people were often oppressed and enslaved.

So suddenly that's part of human history, British history.

So by indigenous people, we mean people who existed in these particular, in these native lands.

The people who already exist in a certain place, when a more powerful nation comes along, essentially, okay? And what often happened to these indigenous peoples, is that they were oppressed, which means that they were kind of held back by the more powerful aggressive nation, and the more powerful aggressive nation would take over.

So Britain did this many, many times.

And they would take over and tell these people what to do and kind of dictate how they act, and how they will help.

And in many cases, they enslaved those people and got them to do lots of work for them in an unpleasant way.

So that was a historical reality of what was certainly going on during Shakespeare's time of writing, and it's something which kind of comes through this play a little bit.

We've got the issue of hierarchy.

So in society we have lots of hierarchies, and this was certainly one which existed during the writing of this play.

So people believe that God was the most important being.

It was very, very typical that everyone believed in that.

And the rest of humankind could be placed into an order based on that power and status.

So underneath God, you'd have things like Kings and Queens and other nobility and aristocrats, all the way down to animals at the bottom rank, okay? So when in Shakespeare you see language being used to refer to people as being animals, that would be a very offensive term to use because an animal would imply low status, and at that bottom of the food chain, bottom of the hierarchy.

Okay.

So again, pausing now and just writing down everything you can remember from what we've covered in terms of the context of "The Tempest".

Or there's only a few key features there that I want you to remember.

It's also an opportunity to go back if you need, if you'd missed anything or you want to hear anything else explained again.

Just pause now and do that.

Okay.

Now we're going to do some practise around what we've learned, but we're going to be doing some grammar practise at the same time.

So we're going to be writing because, but, so, sentences, okay? And these sentences practise expressing what we've read in writing.

, okay? So let's take the first one as an example before you have a go.

People from all walks of society came to the globe theatre because.

So what that first question is asking of you, is that you explain why people from all walks of society came to the glove theatre.

So that word because is instructing you to explain afterwards why.

So you need to use the beginning of the sentence, write out in full, and then finish it off.

If you've got a sentence which has got the word but in it, you're looking for an alternative view, you're looking for a view that conflicts, if you got so, you're looking for cause and effect.

So if something happens, so what happens is the result.

So you got to think really carefully about those three words, because, but, and so.

And then you got to use your knowledge of Shakespeare in context and "The Tempest" context in order to finish the sentence.

So for these three, I'm going to give you around six minutes.

So pause now and have a go.

And here are another fall for you to have a go to.

So I'm going to give you around eight minutes to complete these.

Okay.

Let's look at some possible answers.

Don't worry if yours aren't exactly the same as mine, but if you're along the right lines, that's fine, give yourself a tick.

And if you're missing anything, make sure you add it in in a different colour.

So number one, people from all walks of society came to the globe theatre because Shakespeare's plays contained entertaining, universal themes.

I think it's important we use that phrase, universal themes, which means they apply to everyone, they're universal, such as love, humour and conflict.

Number two, members of the aristocracy would come and see plays, but many peasants and lower class citizens were also in attendance.

So you're bringing in that conflict to view, oh, it just wasn't just the aristocracy, and there are many other classes of citizens too.

Number three three, many people at the time were intrigued, but fearful about the existence of magic and mysticism.

So Shakespeare made sure to include these concepts within his comedy plays.

So what happened as a result of that intrigue that Shakespeare included these concepts in his plays.

Number four, comedy plays were popular for many because they featured humour, love and ended in marriage.

Number five, colonial exploration involved aggressive nations exploring and taking off others so many indigenous people were exploited and enslaved.

So we're looking at the cause and effect there.

Number six, now these two was asking you just to write a sentence from the top of your head.

So it's a bit more challenging, wasn't it? Let's see if you've done a good job.

So write a 'but' sentence about Shakespeare's world and context.

So my example here, Shakespeare plays featured poetic language and intelligent themes, but also ensured that an uneducated and illiterate audience could enjoy them.

So if you've just written a 'but' sentence which is really clear and that the first part of the sentence contrasts with the second part.

So you've got two different kind of sides to a particular view or a bit of information, then that will probably make sense.

So you can check that against mine.

Write a 'so' sentence about the peasants non-educated members of the audience.

So what we're looking for here is a cause and effect in your sentence.

Shakespeare's plays contained clear universal themes and emotions, as well as physical comedy.

So that's a fact.

So.

So what happened as a result? Everyone could enjoy them.

So again, check that you've got a cause or a fact, and then what is the end product of that, what is the result, what comes after the 'so'? Make sure you've got your answers there.

If you need to add anything from mine, you can do that too.

Okay.

Thank you very much for your focus today, and I look forward to our next lesson.