Activities

Monday

Today we have gone over Skaspeare’s Sonnet 18. Now you will look at sonnets 18, 29, and 130. Click on this linkto view the sonnets.

Search the web for the definition of a Shakespearean sonnet, then write it down in your notes. Also, mark the iambic pentameter in the sonnets like this:

Shall I/ compare/ thee to/ a sum/ mer's day Thou art/ more lov/ly and/ more temp/orate

Lastly, take part in the discussion Why should I care? Here you will be paraphrasing what you have gathered from your reading.

*** Paraphrase : A paraphrase takes difficult language and explains it in easier, more understandable, language. It is usually as long as and often longer than the original piece. It does not contain any of the original language.

Tuesday

Today you will turn to the first meeting between Romeo and Juliet at the Capulet ball, in Act I, Scene 5. (This is the link for Romeo and Juliet reading) Count the lines and examine the rhyme scheme; does it look familiar?

Research the forms of different sonnets at the EDSITEment-reviewed Academy of American Poets.

After completing the handouts, answer these questions;

Wednesday
 * Why is a sonnet an appropriate poetic form with which to bring the two lovers together in Shakespeare's play?
 * What did poets typically use sonnets for at the time when Shakespeare was writing Romeo and Juliet, in the early 1590s?

Find other moments in //Romeo and Juliet// where Shakespeare spotlights the action through poetic form and language.

balcony scene (Act II, Scene 2), the bedroom scene (Act III, Scene 5) the tomb scene (Act V, Scene 3),

Have students prepare production notes for their chosen scene, explaining how they would direct the action, with special attention to how they would have their actors perform the richly poetic language Shakespeare gives them.

Should the characters seem exalted by this language? Should they always seem not quite able to measure up to their high-flown words? Should they seem, like Juliet leaving Romeo at the ball, somehow independent of this poetic language, as if endowed with a life of their own?

Post your answers in the Discussion area and comment on other students results.

Thursday

Answer these questions.

1. Specific comparisons between Romeo and Juliet and West Side Story. Be as specific as possible and give lots of detail. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">2. Discuss the musical numbers from West Side Story. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">3. Discuss the various special effects, lighting, camera shots, etc. that were used in the movie. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">4. Discuss the acting in the movie. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">5. Discuss how well or poorly the movie has held up in the nearly 40 years since it was made. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">6. Give your personal reactions to the movie beyond what you may have already mentioned. <span style="color: #ff0045; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">Friday <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Click on the document to read the steps that you will need to complete before writing your comparison contrast paper. You will be in groups so communicate with one another to answer the questions and talk with one another on different opinions. <span style="color: #ff0045; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">