Year 5 - English
Identifying the features of a soliloquy
Shakespeare's 'Macbeth': narrative and soliloquy writing
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This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
In this unit, pupils have their first taste of Shakespearean play scripts. They analyse the witches' prologue of this iconic play as a starting point for writing a narrative opening. Pupils investigate the central character, writing a soliloquy based on Macbeth's famous dagger monologue.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to explain what a soliloquy is and identify its features.
Key Notes
- A soliloquy is a type of monologue that occurs when a character voices their thoughts and feelings aloud.
- Playwrights include soliloquies to give the audience an insight into characters' feelings.
- In Shakespeare's plays, high status characters' soliloquies follow iambic pentameter structure.
- Soliloquies are written in the first person.
- Other characters are silent during the speaker's soliloquy.
Vocabulary To Learn
- soliloquy: an act of speaking one's thoughts aloud when by oneself or regardless of any hearers, especially by a character in a play
- monologue: a long speech by one actor in a play or film
- blank verse: unrhymed poetry written in iambic pentameter
- iambic pentamenter: a style of writing poems in lines of ten syllables with emphasis on the second, fourth, sixth, eighth and tenth syllable
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- Pupils will find this lesson difficult if they do not have a secure understanding of what a syllable is.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain this English learning goal in two key points.
A soliloquy is a type of monologue that occurs when a character voices their thoughts and feelings aloud. Playwrights include soliloquies to give the audience an insight into characters' feelings.
2. Define this language term and use it in a sentence. 'soliloquy'
an act of speaking one's thoughts aloud when by oneself or regardless of any hearers, especially by a character in a play.
3. Correct this common English misunderstanding.
Mistake: Pupils will find this lesson difficult if they do not have a secure understanding of what a syllable is. Correction: Ahead of the lesson, ask pupils to show you how many syllables there are in three different words (using their hands to 'clap the syllables') so you can assess if there are any pupils who need support prior to the lesson.
More Lessons In This Unit
- Analysing a scene in the build-up of 'Macbeth' Study Guide
- Analysing the main character in 'Macbeth' Study Guide
- Exploring characters and setting in the opening scene of 'Macbeth' Study Guide
- Generating vocabulary for the opening of 'Macbeth' Study Guide
- Peer editing a soliloquy based on 'Macbeth' Study Guide
- Peer editing the opening of a narrative based on 'Macbeth' Study Guide
- Performing a soliloquy in character as Macbeth Study Guide
- Planning and writing the 'against' section of Macbeth's soliloquy Study Guide
- Planning and writing the 'for' section of Macbeth's soliloquy Study Guide
- Planning and writing the closing thoughts of Macbeth's soliloquy Study Guide
- Planning part one of the opening of 'Macbeth' Study Guide
- Planning part two of the opening of 'Macbeth' Study Guide
- Understanding the context of Shakespeare's 'Macbeth' Study Guide
- Understanding themes, characters and plot in Shakespeare's 'Macbeth' Study Guide
- Writing part one of the opening of 'Macbeth' Study Guide
- Writing part two of the opening of 'Macbeth' Study Guide
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