New
New
Year 7

Constructing a debate on the presentation of Caliban in 'The Tempest'

I can use persuasive language to effectively debate the perceptions of Caliban.

New
New
Year 7

Constructing a debate on the presentation of Caliban in 'The Tempest'

I can use persuasive language to effectively debate the perceptions of Caliban.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. While we may not know Shakespeare’s intentions, we can make an educated guess through looking at the language used.
  2. The audience might interpret Caliban as a threatening figure or a sympathetic figure.
  3. Persuasive devices can be used to convince the audience that your argument is correct.
  4. A debate is where two teams offer their arguments either for or against a debate statement.

Keywords

  • Intention - An intention is an aim - something you want and plan for.

  • Powerless - Someone who is powerless cannot control events or others.

  • Concisely - Expressing something concisely is expressing something in a short and clear way.

  • Construct - A construct is an idea or character that has been deliberately created, in a certain way, by a writer.

Common misconception

That we know for certain how Shakespeare intended his characters to be seen.

We don't know how Shakespeare intended the audience to perceive his characters - we can just look at the language and decide from that.

Once the pupils have written their debates, they could have a go at performing them. Pupils could even plan their debates, in learning cycle 2, in teams, challenging students to come up with different arguments from each other.
Teacher tip

Equipment

You may want a copy of Shakespeare's 'The Tempest' for this lesson.

Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of peer pressure or bullying

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
What does being 'powerless' mean?
to have great influence
Correct answer: to have no influence
Correct answer: to be thought of as inferior by others
Q2.
Language that is designed to convince you of something is called .
Correct answer: persuasive
descriptive
creative
Q3.
Which two of the following are persuasive techniques?
caesuras
Correct answer: rhetorical questions
Correct answer: emotive language
enjambment
Q4.
Throughout Shakespeare's 'The Tempest', Caliban is described using negative language by the other characters. Which two emotions might that make us feel towards Caliban?
jealousy
Correct answer: fear
Correct answer: pity
frustration
Q5.
A debate is ...
where one person speaks.
Correct answer: where two teams argue a statement.
the only appropriate place to use rhetorical questions.
Q6.
In Shakespeare's 'The Tempest', Caliban is called a 'thing'. How might that make us feel sorry for Caliban?
Correct answer: It suggests other people think of him as nothing.
It suggests he has no emotions.
Correct answer: It suggests he's not human.

6 Questions

Q1.
What is persuasive writing designed to do?
summarise the information
Correct answer: convince the audience
describe a scene
Q2.
Which of the following are personal pronouns?
Correct answer: I
Correct answer: you
the
a
Q3.
In Shakespeare's 'The Tempest', which of the following are reasons why we as the audience should feel threatened by Caliban?
Caliban is mocked by the other characters.
Correct answer: Caliban wishes death upon other characters.
Correct answer: Caliban uses animalistic language.
Caliban is enslaved by Prospero.
Q4.
What is hyperbole?
Correct answer: exaggerated writing
concise writing
a comparison using like or as
emotive writing
Q5.
What does writing concisely mean?
Correct answer: expressing something in a short and clear way
exaggerating something for effect
expressing something dramatically
using emotive language
Q6.
In 'The Tempest', how did Shakespeare want the audience to feel towards Caliban?
He wanted them to be afraid of him.
He wanted them to feel sorry for him.
Correct answer: We don't know for certain how he wanted the audience to feel.