UNIT 4 A Man from Stratford—William Shakespeare I. General Understanding of the text This text is another form of narration. After the first paragraph, it is organized in the usual chronological order. The writer classifies William Shakespeare’s life into chronological periods, the division of which his based on a time order. One way to begin a narrative is to use the flashback technique, for example, a film may start with the main character dying on a battlefield and then relates for 110 minutes how he changed from an ordinary young man into a staunch revolutionary. This technique is to a certain extent used in the text, which begins with the signing of the will and then turns back to the beginning, the middle, and the end. Moreover, the writer uses the key word—signature—in the beginning paragraph and ends the final paragraph with the same word signaling “the end”. This technique is called the “cyclic return”. By using the two techniques, the writer tries to inform the reader about the life of Shakespeare in the most effective way possible. The tone of this text can be described as “emotional”. Examples of specific words that are used to achieve the tone: 1. the most interesting part of the will… 2. there is something fascination about a man… 3. … that have been written about this amazing writer. 4. …had made a thriving business out of its most famous citizen… 5. exactly what happened…during those seven years has puzzled scholars… 6. …were proof that the greatest literary career of all time… 7. …more than thirty plays as well as marvelous verse… 8. …What was the source of Shakespeare’s amazingly detailed knowledge… 9. …it seems astonishing that nothing remains… Examples of sentence patterns that are used to achieve the tone: 1. The is no country where Shakespeare’s work is not read with something very like awe because there is something fascinating about a man whose work was so much better than that of anyone else. 2. Nobody even knows the exact date of his birth… Nor can it be proved that he went to the excellent local grammar school… 3. it can never be proved, but it seems… Examples of sentences using superlatives to achieve the tone: 1. …out of its most famous citizen… 2. …would have the greatest of difficulty… 3. …but of all the probabilities the most likely one is that he traveled abroad… 4. were proof that the greatest literary career of all time… The above words in italics and emphatic sentences patterns are likely to arouse the strong feelings in readers. They are also used to develop the central idea—it is astonishing that nothing remains of the greatest and the most famous and the busiest writer’s own handwriting but his signature. Furthermore, this narrative has no plot in the usual sense of the word but appropriate temporal reference points are used to enable the readers to trace the flow of events. Examples of the temporal reference points that are used in the text: 1….William Shakespeare was baptized there on April 26th, 1564. 2. At the age of 18, he married… 3. Then in 1585, this young married man… 4. exactly what happened to William Shakespeare during those seven years has puzzled… 5. …he can next be traced in 1592 in London… 6. During his fifteen years as a working man… 7. After his death on April 23rd, 1616, Shakespeare II. Duration of Time: Six periods III. Objectives On completion of the unit, students are expected to understand the technique of narration in chronological order (temporal reference points), the development of central idea, and to analyze the devices of negative structure and superlatives to achieve writer’s emphatic tone. The students are expected to make use of these narrative devices. IV. Difficult Points 1. how the central idea is achieved through one word—signature 2. narrative devices: Chronological (temporal) order Negative structure to achieve emphatic tone Superlatives to achieve emphatic tone V. Teaching Procedures A. Bring out the topic of William Shakespeare. Shakespeare in the Park  Globe Theatre Interior  Ask students some general questions about Shakespeare as follows: a. How is Shakespeare related to Stratford? Is Stratford the place where he wrote most of his plays? b. Is the text about Shakespeare’s life and career? If so, what do you expect to be told? c. Is the text about Shakespeare’s personality? d. Is the text about Shakespeare’s works? With the help of these questions, the teacher takes over the topic, naturally shit the topic and draw students’ attention to the text. B. Ask students to guess the main idea of the text, then tell them to go over the text rapidly once without worrying about the new words and phrases. The suggested time limit is 5 minutes. C. Questions for the students. (1) Why was Shakespeare’s will the will of a comfortably off man? (2) How would you define a literary genius? (3) Why did the writer say “Historically speaking, Shakespeare lived only yesterday”? (4) What is meant by the sentence: “To plot Shakespeare’s life is to become involved in a kind of detective story where there are plenty of clues but very little else”? (5) What is meant by “…(he) realized in a flash that this was the life for him and talked one of the managers into giving him a job? (6) What is the implied meaning of the sentence “We know that as well as working on old plays he rapidly made a name for himself as an author of entirely new ones and also performed as an actor at court? Then do comprehension exercise in Workbook. D. Do the vocabulary exercise on page 30. Key: Section A: g. a. f. h. b. e. d. c. Section B: 1. money or property left to someone by a will; 2. privately owned piece of land with a large house; 3. talented man; 4. mixed feeling of respect, fear and wonder; 5. prosperous, successful; 6. work out an outline for…; 7. become engaged in something; 8. something that helps to find an answer to a question; 9. clearly, obviously; 10. very firm belief; 11. enough E. Details of the text. (1) legacy: property (2)comfortably off: having enough money, with enough money to live in comfort Cf. well-off, badly-off Off: adj. having the stated amount of something, especially money (3) amount to: reach (a certain number, amount or degree) (4) thriving: profitable, prosperous thrive: vi. (5) swan: (literal meaning)a large graceful aquatic bird with webbed feet and a long slender neck and usually with white plumage In the text, swan is a nickname for Shakespeare (6) plot (Shakespeare’s life): draw an outline of something (7) register: record (8) well: to a considerable extent, much, quite (9) baptize: dip / immerse in water during baptism (10) confirm: verify, prove to be true confirmation (11) apparently: clearly (12) in a flash: instantly, quickly (13) talk the manager into giving him a job: persuade the manager to give him a job (14) refer to him in writing: mention (15) working on old plays: improve, revise (16) made a name for himself: made himself famous (17) bundle: package, a number of objects bound, wrapped, held together (18) inspire: stimulate to creativity or action VI. Oral Work A. Role-play: Theatre and Cinema Situation: John and Tom are god friends. Tom has got two tickets for the film, Hamlet, while John has got two tickets for the play Twelfth Night. The tickets are for the same night. Each is trying to persuade the other to go with him. B. Interaction Activities: The Best Play / Film I have seen Pair up with your partner. Tell him / her about the best play / film you have seen. Your partner may ask you what it is about and why you like it so much. VII. Exercises in Workbook.