Year 8

How to speak Shakespeare

The Objective for this lesson is to learn and perform an extract of Shakespeare with nuanced understanding of how to use voice and movement to communicate comedy clearly to the audience.

Year 8

How to speak Shakespeare

The Objective for this lesson is to learn and perform an extract of Shakespeare with nuanced understanding of how to use voice and movement to communicate comedy clearly to the audience.

warning

These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.

Switch to our new teaching resources now - designed by teachers and leading subject experts, and tested in classrooms.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. How Shakespeare uses comedy of mistaken identity to shape Twelfth Night. Memorization tips to help learn and act out Viola's plan.

Content guidance

  • Physical activity required.

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

Licence

This content is made available by Oak National Academy Limited and its partners and licensed under Oak’s terms & conditions (Collection 1), except where otherwise stated.

Loading...

4 Questions

Q1.
What is a rhythm where each line has five beats.
Iambic hexameter
Correct answer: Iambic pentameter
Iambic tetrameter
Iambic trimeter
Q2.
What is the term we use to describe why a character does something on stage.
Given circumstances
Interpretation
Correct answer: Motivation
Q3.
What is the term for a long speech that an actor says on their own.
A dialogue
Correct answer: A monologue
A soliloquy
Q4.
Who was Orsino is love with at the beginning of Twelfth Night?
Charlotte
Hermia
Juliet
Correct answer: Olivia

5 Questions

Q1.
What key word do we use to describe deliberately adding a moment of silence to add meaning to your performance?
Pace
Correct answer: Pause
Projection
Q2.
What does the keyword motivation mean?
The term we use to describe how a character enters the stage.
The term we use to describe the relationships a character has on stage.
Correct answer: The term we use to describe why a character does something on stage.
Q3.
When do we take pauses when performing Shakespeare?
At the end of each line.
Follow the stage directions.
Correct answer: Where there is a piece of punctuation.
Where you want to.
Q4.
Could shrugging your shoulders be considered a gesture?
No
Correct answer: Yes
Q5.
Who does Viola fall in love with during the play Twelfth Night?
Olivia
Correct answer: Orsino
Sebastian
The Captain