The Tempest: Prospero's Magic and Shakespeare's Last Play, Study notes of Theatre

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FIRST FOLIO:

TEACHER AND STUDENT RESOURCE GUIDE

Consistent with the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s central mission to be the leading force in producing and preserving the highest quality classic theatre, the Education Department challenges learners of all ages to explore the ideas, emotions and principles contained in classic texts and to discover the connection between classic theatre and our modern perceptions. We hope that this First Folio: Teacher and Student Resource Guide will prove useful to you while preparing to attend The Tempest.

First Folio provides information and activities to help students form a personal connection to the play before attending the production. First Folio contains material about the playwrights, their world and their works. Also included are approaches to explore the plays and productions in the classroom before and after the performance.

First Folio is designed as a resource both for teachers and students. All Folio activities meet the “Vocabulary Acquisition and Use” and “Knowledge of Language” requirements for the grades 8-12 Common Core English Language Arts Standards. We encourage you to photocopy these articles and activities and use them as supplemental material to the text.

Enjoy the show!

Table of Contents

Synopsis 3

Who’s Who 4

Questions for Discussion 6

Inspiring Prospero: Elizabethans and Magic

The Art of Prospero (and Shakespeare)

The Island’s Inhabitants 10

Shakespeare’s Language 12

Classroom Activities 16

Resource List 19

Theatre Etiquette 20

For more information on how you can

participate in other

Shakespeare Theatre Company programs,

please call the Education Hotline at

202.547.5688 or visit ShakespeareTheatre.org.

The First Folio Teacher and Student Resource Guide for the 2014-2015 Season was developed by the Shakespeare Theatre Company Education Department:

Director of Education Samantha K. Wyer Associate Director of Education Dat Ngo Audience Enrichment Manager Hannah Hessel Ratner Community Engagement Manager Laura Henry Buda School Programs Manager Vanessa Hope Training Programs Manager Brent Stansell Education Coordinator Emily Marcello Education Intern Sarah Kate Patterson

Founding Sponsors Miles Gilburne and Nina Zolt

Presenting Education Sponsor

Leadership Support The Beech Street Foundation The D.C. Commission on the Arts & Humanities, an agency supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts City Fund Mr. Jerry Knoll Shakespeare for a New Generation, a national program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest

Additional Support Marshall B. Coyne Foundation Mark & Carol Hyman Fund The George Preston Marshall Foundation Ms. Toni Ritzenberg Nora Roberts Foundation Hattie M. Strong Foundation Solon E. Summerfield Foundation Washington Forrest Foundation

Prospero’s daughter. Falls in love with Ferdinand.

The former Duke of Milan, now a powerful sorcerer.

King of Naples and father of Ferdinand. He aided Antonio in unseating Prospero as Duke of Milan twelve years before.

An old lord who helped Prospero and Miranda escape when they were exiled by Antonio.

WHO’S WHO in The Tempest

PROSPERO

MIRANDA

ALONSO

GONZALO

A spirit of the island and servant to Prospero.

ARIEL

Son and heir of Alonso, King of Naples. Falls in love with Miranda.

A native of the island and servant to Prospero. Son of the witch Sycorax.

FERDINAND

CALIBAN

Prospero’s brother. He exiled Prospero and took over as Duke of Milan twelve years before the play begins.

ANTONIO

A drunken servant of the King.

STEPHANO

Alonso’s brother.

SEBASTIAN

Geraint Wyn Davies Gregory Linington

Rachel Mewbron Avery Glymph

Sofia Jean Gomez Clifton Duncan

C. David Johnson David Bishins

Ted van Griethuysen (^) Liam Craig

The King’s jester.

TRINCULO

David Quay

WHO’S WHO in The Tempest

PROSPERO

MIRANDA

ALONSO

GONZALO

ARIEL

FERDINAND

CALIBAN

ANTONIO

STEPHANO

SEBASTIAN

TRINCULO

Family

In Love

Servant & Master

Friends

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

ACT THREE

1) Ferdinand and Miranda fall in love at first sight. Do you believe in love at

first sight?

2) What does Ferdinand say he loves about Miranda?

3) Do you think Miranda would still be in love with Ferdinand if she met other

men from the world?

4) Antonio overthrew Prospero, Antonio & Sebastian plot to murder Alonso,

and Caliban plots to murder Prospero. What is Shakespeare saying about

human nature? Does the character of Gonzalo complicate your interpretation?

ACT FOUR

1) Why do you think the Masque is in the play? What is the message about

the sanctity of marriage?

2) How are Stephano and Trinculo distracted from their plot? What does it

show about their natures?

ACT FIVE

1) Why does Prospero show mercy to his enemies? Do you think

Prospero had planned to forgive them from the beginning?

2) Why does Prospero give up magic?

3) What do you think Prospero has learned? Has he changed? If so,

how as he changed? Did he change during the play or did the change

occur before the action of the play started?

4) Are Caliban and Prospero reconciled at the end of the play?

5) Do you think Alonso and Antonio are truly sorry for their plot against

Prospero? Has their experience on the island changed them?

Costume sketches for Miranda and Stephano by Costume Designer Jennifer Moeller.

Shakespeare’s audiences, regardless of social class, believed in

magic. The three main forms of magic that were practiced were

astrology, alchemy and sorcery. They also believed in mythical

creatures like ghosts and fairies and they deeply feared witchcraft.

These beliefs are reflected in many of Shakespeare’s plays, but are

especially prevalent in The Tempest. Prospero is a sorcerer who

commands the spirit Ariel and the spawn of an evil witch, Caliban.

Many scholars believe that the character of Prospero is based on a

famous astronomer, John Dee, who was a friend and advisor to

Queen Elizabeth. John Dee was an accomplished mathematician,

astronomer and navigator who trained many captains in the English

Navy. John Dee went on to study astrology and alchemy and

eventually believed he had discovered the language of angels.

According to the book Visions and Prophesies , John Dee described

how, as he knelt in prayer late one autumn, “there suddenly glowed

a dazzling light, in the midst of which, in all his glory, stood the

great angel, Uriel.” The spirit reportedly handed Dee a crystal “most

bright, most clear and glorious, of the bigness of an egg” and

informed him that by gazing at it he could communicate with otherworldly spirits.

Astrology was the most widely practiced form of magic by Elizabethans. According to Joseph Papp

and Elizabeth Kirkland, in Superstition, Folklore, and Astrology in Shakespeare's Time , “Consulting

the stars—courtesy of the local stargazer in a village or a fancier private practitioner in London—

helped confused Elizabethans determine what specific course of action to take. An astrologer who

knew the position of the stars and planets at the exact moment a crucial question was asked could

then provide answers to all sorts of personal queries—when to get married, when to look for a job,

and even that rare dilemma of when to take a bath. Failing to act at the moment dictated by the

heavens was invariably catastrophic. As Prospero acknowledges in The Tempest , "my zenith doth

depend upon / A most auspicious star, whose influence If now I court not, but omit, my fortunes / Will

ever after droop." Many of Queen Elizabeth's courtiers shared Prospero's affinity for stargazing; it had

a huge following at Court. High-ranking government officials and famous men were avid enthusiasts:

Sir Walter Raleigh, the Earl of Essex and the Earl of Leicester conferred at length with the well-known

astrologer John Dee to ascertain the most auspicious day—and hour—for Queen Elizabeth's

coronation.

Alchemy was the practice of turning lead and other metals into silver or gold. Some alchemists also

sought to find a potion for immortality. Lord Burleigh, Elizabeth's right-hand minister, even invested

some money in a corporation run by an astrologer-alchemist who promised to turn iron into copper,

generating huge profits to the investors.

Sorcery , which was the more controversial practice of the times, sought to raise and control spirits

through spells, charms and rituals.

Inspiring Prospero:

Elizabethans and Magic

Our revels now are ended. These our actors,

As I foretold you, were all spirits and

Are melted into air, into thin air… (Act 4, Scene 1)

The speech enables Shakespeare the chance to blur the lines between the magical “spirits” of the

play and the stage-magic that the “actors” bring to the performance. The audience is reminded that

the spirits onstage are in fact living actors. We see Prospero not only as a magician but also as an

artist.

After bringing the story to his desired end, Prospero willingly gives up his powers. Many scholars see

Prospero’s act as a kind of goodbye from Shakespeare himself. After a long career, the writer was

laying down his pen and giving up his powers, too.

Shakespeare gives Prospero a chance to speak directly to the audience. His magic is gone and he

needs the audience to release him from the story. Prospero surrenders control to the audience: “As

you from crimes would pardon’d be / Let your indulgence set me free.” Connecting with his audience

through this final speech, Shakespeare and Prospero bring their stories to an end.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. Do you agree that the “charms [that] are o’erthrown” represent both Prospero’s magic and

Shakespeare’s storytelling? What connections can you make throughout the play between

Prospero’s magic and Shakespeare’s magic as a playwright?

2. Look at the Epilogue. Why do you think Prospero gives up his power? Do you interpret Prospero’s

final speech as Shakespeare’s final farewell to the stage? Use text as evidence for your ideas.

3. Think about the themes of The Tempest. If it is Shakespeare’s final play, what ideas do you think

he intended to leave us with? What does he ultimately say about human relationships?

The Island’s Inhabitants

Ariel is an “airy spirit” or “sprite,” a magical creature with the ability to make himself invisible. Ariel’s

gender is not specific in the text, and has often been changed throughout the play’s production

history. Shakespeare’s inspiration to have Ariel transform into a harpy—a creature with the head and

breasts of a woman and the wings and talons of a bird—was most likely taken from famous literature

about ancient battles between harpies and sea voyagers (like the ancient Greek epic poem

Argonautica where Jason and the Argonauts defeat harpies on their journey to retrieve the Golden

Fleece). Harpies are servants to the gods sent to punish men who anger them by eating or spoiling

food. Shakespeare is reminding his audience both of a long history of fictional sea voyages and of

Londoners traveling abroad who told tales of strange real-life creatures like crocodiles and

hippopotami, and imaginary creatures like unicorns and griffins.

Discussion Questions:

1. Is Ariel indebted to Prospero for saving him from imprisonment? Is Prospero right to make Ariel his

servant?

2. What is magical today? What creatures or places are we still awed by? What are the contemporary

literary influences that define what is magical or fantastical today?

Ariel

Caliban

There are multiple historical and literary contexts through which to understand the character of

Caliban, but no single interpretation can be verified as Shakespeare’s definitive inspiration. Caliban

may have been inspired by a cave-dwelling cyclops from ancient poems like Homer’s Odyssey or

Virgil’s Aeneid. Caliban might also come from any number of wild men or monsters depicted in

English literature.

Although Caliban is described as “a savage and deformed slave,” in Shakespeare’s day, “savage”

meant wild and uncivilized by upper-class standards. “Savage” was a term used by Shakespeare to

describe many of his characters and does not tell us anything about Caliban’s physical appearance or

moral character. The Tempest details that Caliban is enslaved to Prospero, but is not specific about

his “deformity.” The many animal names and images given to Caliban have led many to misinterpret

him, but the text reveals that he is clearly human.

Shakespeare writes that Caliban is the son of Sycorax (a woman with some magical power from

Algiers, a city on the coast of Northern Africa), the last inhabitant of the island before Prospero and

Miranda arrive, but Shakespeare also conflates many geographical locations throughout the play.

Most likely, the name “Caliban” means he is a native of the New World (the Americas and

Caribbean), which had recently been discovered and written about by English travelers facing actual

shipwrecks in the early 1600s (leading some critics to believe that Caliban is potentially Native

American). Whatever his actual ethnicity, Stephano and Trinculo’s response to Caliban is typical of an

Elizabethan response to anything foreign; Elizabethans were interested in capturing and taming

unknown creatures to put them on display and make a profit from them.

Shakespeare was English - scholars view The Tempest as being told from a European perspective.

Postcolonial theorists believe it is dangerous today to interpret texts without understanding the

inherent bias against native peoples and their long history of oppression. These theorists assert that

we must remember that many stories are told from the conqueror’s perspective, which for us is mostly

Western or European. Prospero colonizes and takes ownership of an island, even though Ariel,

Caliban and others were living there first.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. How does our postcolonial understanding of the world influence our interpretation of the

relationship between Prospero and Caliban? Is Prospero justified in enslaving Caliban? Does

Prospero have a right to be on the island?

2. How does this affect our understanding of the relationship between Trinculo, Stephano, and

Caliban?

3. What are the differences and similarities between Ariel and Caliban? How are they similar in

character? How do they function differently within the plot? What might Shakespeare be trying to say

by including these two enslaved characters?

4. What happens to Caliban at the end of the play? What will Caliban’s life be like on the island after

the play is over?

The Island’s Inhabitants

When and Why do Shakespeare’s characters switch from verse to prose?

ACTIVITY

Caliban is a unique character in Shakespeare. He is a native creature on an enchanted island and he

is also a servant to Prospero, so we might not expect him to speak in verse. However, when we

encounter him in Act II Scene 1, he does. How is that explained in the text? Continue to follow

Caliban through the play. He switches between verse and prose depending on his circumstances.

Make a note each time he switches and write down why his language changes in each circumstance.

Shakespeare’s Language

SUMMARY VS. PARAPHRASE

Paraphrasing is an important tool that actors use to understand what their lines mean and how their character feels. Using this passage, explore the difference between summarizing and paraphrasing:

Summarizing – Concisely stating what a passage

says. A summary is usually stated in third person.

Paraphrasing – Restating each line in your own

words. Paraphrasing should be done in first person.

Summary

He’s saying he loves Miranda and would do

anything for her, even work as a slave.

Paraphrase

I am a Prince, Miranda, and normally wouldn’t put

up with being treated like a slave any more than

I’d led a fly lay eggs in my mouth. But listen to me!

The second I saw you my heart became a slave

to you and for you I patiently chop these logs.

FERDINAND

I am in my condition A prince, Miranda and would no more endure This wooden slavery than to suffer The flesh-fly blow my mouth. Hear my soul speak! The very instant that I saw you did My heart fly to your service, there resides To make me a slave to it, and for your sake Am I this patient log-man.

Public = Verse

Noble characters in public situations must present their most formal self and speak in verse as a means to do so. Prince Hal in Henry IV, Part 1 speaks prose when he’s hanging out with his fellow soldiers at the pub, but uses verse at court and when speaking to his father, the King.

Private = Prose

Upper-class characters use verse in public settings, but may use prose in private settings when they are talking to family or close friends.

Love = Verse Shakespeare always uses verse when characters fall in love, regardless of their status. For example, in As You Like It , Silvius and Phoebe are both shepherds who live in the forest of Arden. However, even though they are lower class, both of these characters are in love and they express it through verse.

Respect = Verse UpperDuke or parent would be disrespectful. For example, Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark,-class characters use verse as a form of respect. To use prose with a King or has very eloquent verse for his soliloquies. But because he is angry at his mother Gertrude and his uncle Claudius, the new king, Hamlet often speaks to them in prose.

Disguise = Prose Uppersomeone else. They are usually disguised as a lower-class characters use prose as part of their disguises, when pretending to be-class character. King Henry V disguises himself as a common foot soldier the night before the battle of Agincourt to find out the true thoughts and feelings of his men. In disguise he speaks in prose, the language of the common men.

Madness = Prose If a character descends into madness, then they have literally “lost their wits” and nolonger have the capacity to speak in verse. Both Lady Macbeth and Ophelia speak in verse until they go mad. Once madness sets in, all their lines are in prose.

Iambic pentameter is the main rhythmic structure of Shakespeare’s verse, meaning the majority of Shakespeare’s verse is written in this rhythm. One line of iambic pentameter has 10 syllables, which we divide up into five units of meter called feet. Each foot of the verse contains two syllables. Illustrate this on the board:

Iambic refers to the rhythm of the line. When the first syllable is unstressed and the second syllable is stressed, as in the word Hello, it is called an iamb. Iambic means push, persistency or determination. The prefix penta means five, as in pentagon, a five sided shape. Therefore, iambic pentameter is one line of poetry consisting of five forward-moving feet.

Identifying the rhythm of a line is called scansion. Actors scan their lines so we know how Shakespeare wanted us to say them. We mark unstressed syllables with this symbol͝ and stressed syllables with a slash /

When learning iambic pentameter, many students make the mistake of unstressing & stressing every other word instead of every other syllable. To address this, you need to get the students saying all of the lines out loud, with energy and feeling the rhythm. You can explore having them say their names out loud and figure out what syllable is stressed. You can also explore saying the lines giving every syllable the same stress so they discover how slow & robotic it feels or have them say it with the opposite rhythm to see how unnatural it feels. Have students say this rhythm out loud several times. They should clap lightly on da and clap harder on DUM.

The rhythm of Iambic pentameter is similar to the human heartbeat, a horse gallop, or the beat underneath a piece of music. Iambic pentameter drives and supports Shakespeare’s verse, moving the language along in a forward flow that imitates natural speech patterns.

Shakespeare’s Language

Iambic Pentameter

A foot = 2 syllables Pentameter = a line with 10 syllables which we divide into 5 feet But soft! / What light / through yon / der win / dow breaks?

Iambic = unstressed stressed rhythm

But soft! What light through yonder window breaks?

Clap the rhythm of iambic pentameter. Without specific words, the rhythm of iambic pentameter is: da DUM da DUM da DUM da DUM da DUM

SCANSION Actors scan the verse for a few different reasons. First, we want to see if it’s a regular line of iambic pentameter. (Sometimes, Shakespeare writes in different rhythms.) Second, we want to make sure we are pronouncing the words correctly. Third, we want to determine which words Shakespeare wants us to put emphasis on. To scan a piece of text mark the unstressed syllables with a ͝ symbol and the stressed syllables with a / symbol. Here are examples of regular iambic pentameter from The Tempest that you can do together as a class. Miranda: How many goodly creatures are there here!

Prospero: Sit still, and hear the last of our sea-sorrow.

Ariel: Remember I have done thee worthy service,

Miranda: I am your wife if you will marry me.

Step 1: Share the definition of a Superstition with your class.

A Superstition is an irrational belief. While it’s irrational, it is usually a deep-seated belief in the magical effects of a specific action or ritual, especially in the likelihood that good or bad luck will result from performing it.

Step 2: Individually or in small groups, have students brainstorm superstitions they have heard of or believe in. For example, good luck charms, palm reading, tarot cards or “Don’t let a black cat cross your path.”

Step 3: Have students compare their list with the list of superstitions that Elizabethans believed in.

Elizabethan Superstitions

It’s unlucky for a black cat to cross your path. You have to say god bless you after a sneeze. It’s unlucky to keep a peacock feather. It’s unlucky to walk under ladders. It’s unlucky to put shoes on a table. You will bring bad luck if you stir a pot counter clockwise, spill salt or leave the door open behind you. You must touch wood to ward guard against bad luck. (“Knock on wood”) Hang a horseshoe over your door to ward off evil spirits. Leave a bowl of cream out overnight for the fairies. Eclipses were a sign of evil. You should pin bay leaves to your pillow on the eve of St. Valentine. If your right ear itches or tingles, someone is saying something nice about you or your Mom is thinking of you. If your left ear itches or tingles, someone is bad mouthing you or your lover is thinking of you. If your right eye itches or twitches you will be pleasantly surprised. If your left eye itches or twitches you will be disappointed. If your cheeks are burning, someone is talking ill of you behind your back. If the palm of your right hand itches, money is coming to you. If the palm of your left hand itches, you will have to pay money. An itching nose means you will be kissed, cursed, run against a gate post or shake hands with a fool.

Classroom Activities

Do You Believe in Magic?

Twelve Years Since...

Imagine that like Miranda, you have lived on an uninhabited island with one parent for your entire childhood. You have never seen any technology made in the last 12 years. You do not have electricity or batteries. You have nothing made of metal or plastic. Write a message in a bottle describing what your life has been like. Write a paragraph detailing what your average day is like: What chores do you do? What do you like to do for fun? What do you eat and how do you cook it? Where do you sleep? What is your relationship like with your parent? What few small things did your parent bring with you 12 years ago? What have you had to invent to survive?

Exchange your message in a bottle with another classmate. Now, imagine you live in America today and have just found this message in a bottle. Read about this other person’s life on an island. Write a message in a bottle in return: What are all of the scientific developments that would make their life easier? If they write about specific problems, what recent technology would help them? Is there anything about their life that sounds better to you than the way you live your life? What events have happened recently that they would never believe?

Adapted from popular roleplaying games Werewolf and Mafia, play this fun game to familiarize students with characters and themes of deception and revenge in The Tempest. The game needs at least 8 players but is best when played with a large group.

1. Direct everyone to sit in a circle. Tell everyone to shut their eyes and put their heads down. Explain to students that you are Prospero and you have used your magic to cause a great tempest that has brought them all to this island. You have brought them here to test their character. The Traitors Antonio and Sebastian are trying to kill the king. The group needs to figure out who they are and cast them off the island.
2. Walk around the circle and decide on one person to be King Alonso. Tap them on the head to secretly let him/her know. Next, pick two people to be the Traitors Antonio and Sebastian. Tap them on the head to let them know they are Antonio and Sebastian. The host then says "traitors heads up." The Traitors should silently look up and acknowledge each other, then decide which person to cast off the island first, trying to guess who is King Alonso. They silently agree, then put their heads back down.
3. Select someone to be Gonzalo. This person looks up and silently guesses whether someone is a traitor. You indicate yes or no. Gonzalo then puts his or her head down.
4. Select someone to be Ariel. Ariel looks up and can choose someone to cast off (or not). S/he can pick whoever she wants, for whatever reason. Maybe she is working to defeat the Traitors, or maybe not. After s/he makes a choice, head goes down.
5. Select someone to be Trinculo. Trinculo looks up and chooses someone to save in this round, with the goal of saving King Alonso from being eliminated. After the choice, head goes down.
6. Select two people to be Ferdinand and Miranda. Have them lift their heads and silently acknowledge one another. If one of them gets cast off the island, the other must go as well.
7. Tell everyone to raise their heads and announce only who has been cast off the island. These players have to leave the circle and cannot speak for the rest of the game. (If Trinculo saved someone who was about to be eliminated, only one person is cast off and announced.)
8. Begin the discussion and debate. Everyone in the group debates and accuses who they think are Traitors. Everyone must try to keep their own identities hidden.
9. Take a vote and select one person to cast off the island as a Traitor. The majority of votes decide who gets eliminated. Sometimes inhabitants guess someone from the Traitors, sometimes they guess wrong and an innocent is eliminated.
10. Tell everyone to put their heads down and begin the pattern again:
    • Antonio & Sebastian choose who they think is King Alonso and cast him off.
    • Gonzalo takes a guess at who the traitors are, and you tell him yes or no.
    • Ariel casts another person off the island (or not).
    • Trinculo chooses someone to save for this round.
    • King Alonso wakes up and chooses whether to save himself during this round. He can only save himself one time.
11. Tell everyone to raise their heads and announce who has been eliminated. Deliberations start again. This pattern continues until either King Alonso is cast off (Antonio and Sebastian win!!) or both Antonio and Sebastian are cast off (the remaining inhabitants win!!).

Additional characters:

Caliban is revealed by Prospero to all inhabitants at the beginning of the game. Caliban does not get to vote. Stephano can choose to reveal himself in game play if he chooses. Because Caliban wants his liquor, Stephano can count Caliban’s vote toward whoever he wants to cast off the island.

Classroom Activities

By Accident Most Strange

Shakespeare Dictionaries

 Schmidt, Alexander. Shakespeare Lexicon and Quotation Dictionary. Dover, 1971.

 Onion, C.T. A Shakespeare Glossary. Oxford University Press, 1986.

Books on Shakespeare

 Asimov, Isaac. Asimov’s Guide to Shakespeare. Doubleday, 1978.

 Cahn, Victor L. The Plays of Shakespeare: A Thematic Guide. Greenwood Press, 2001.

 Epstein, Norrie. The Friendly Shakespeare. Penguin Books, 1993.

 Fallon, Robert Thomas. A Theatregoer’s Guide to Shakespeare. Ivan M. Dee, 2001.

 Gibson, Janet and Rex Gibson. Discovering Shakespeare’s Language. Cambridge University Press, 1999.

 Greenblatt, Stephen. Will in the World. W.W. Norton, 2004.

 Holmes, Martin. Shakespeare and His Players. Charles Scribner's Sons, 1972.

 Kermode, Frank. Shakespeare’s Language. Allen Lane, The Penguin Press, 2000.

 Linklater, Kristin. Freeing Shakespeare’s Voice. Theatre Communications Group, 1992.

 McDonald, Russ. The Bedford Companion to Shakespeare: An Introduction with Documents.

Bedford Books of St. Martin’s Press,1996.

 Pritchard, R. E. Shakespeare’s England. Sutton Publishing Limited, 1999.

 Papp, Joseph and Elizabeth Kirkland. Shakespeare Alive. Bantam Books, 1988.

Books on Teaching Shakespeare

 Gibson, Rex. Teaching Shakespeare. Cambridge University Press, 1998.

 Reynolds, P. Teaching Shakespeare. Oxford University Press, 1992.

 Rosenblum, Joseph. A Reader's Guide to Shakespeare. Salem Press, Inc., 1998.

 Toropov, Brandon. Shakespeare for Beginners. Writers and Readers Publishing Inc., 1997.

Websites

 Shakespeare Theatre Company —http://www.shakespearetheatre.org/education

ON SHAKESPEARE: Articles and information about Shakespeare’s life and world

 In Search of Shakespeare : Shakespeare in the Classroom —http://www.pbs.org/shakespeare/educators/

The companion website to Michael Wood’s four-part PBS series In Search of Shakespeare , this site includes extensive research about Shakespeare’s life and works, as well as interactive features.

 Folger Shakespeare Library —http://www.folger.edu

Includes excellent resources for further reading about Shakespeare, as well as fun games and information designed specifically for students and teachers.

Resource List

The activities and question sequences found in the Folio supports grade 8-12 Common Core standards in English Language Arts. Primary content areas addressed include but are not limited to:

Standards of Learning

READING LITERATURE

 Key Ideas and Details  Craft and Structure  Integration of Knowledge and Ideas  Range of Reading and Complexity

WRITING (CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.9-12.2 )

SPEAKING AND LISTENING (CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.8-12.1 )

LANGUAGE (CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.9-12.3,4, 4 )

The phrase “theatre etiquette” refers to the special rules of behavior that are called for when attending a theatre performance.

Above all, it is important to remember that the actors on stage can see and hear you at the same time you can see and hear them. Be respectful of the actors and your fellow audience members by being attentive and observing the general guidelines below:

Before you go:

 The Tempest takes place before cell phones and other fun technology existed. Please help us create the environment by turning off your cell phone and other electronic devices (music, games, etc.). Not only will it be historically inaccurate, but it can be very distracting, not to mention embarrassing, when a cell phone goes off during a performance. The lights from cell phones and other electronic devices are also a big distraction, so please no text messaging.

 We’re sure that you would never stick your gum underneath your chair or spill food and drinks, but we ask that you spit out your gum before entering the theatre and leave all food and drinks in the lobby or the coat check.

 We don’t want you to miss out on any of the action of the play, so please visit the restroom before the performance begins.

During the performance:

 Please feel free to have honest reactions to what is happening on stage. You can laugh, applaud and enjoy the performance. However, please don’t talk during the performance; it is extremely distracting to other audience members and the actors. Save discussions for intermission and after the performance.

Thoughts about the importance of being an audience member from Shakespeare Theatre Company Artistic Director Michael Kahn

“When you go to the theatre, you are engaging with other living, breathing human beings, having an immediate human response. In the theatre you sense that all of this may never happen again in this particular way.

As a member of the audience, you are actually part of how that’s developing—you have a hand in it … You are part of a community where you are asked to be compassionate, perhaps to laugh with or grieve as well as to understand people, lives and cultures different from your own.”

Theatre Etiquette

Students at a SHAKESPEARIENCE production of Cymbeline_. Photo by Nicole Geldart._