Year 5 - English
Understanding the context of Shakespeare's 'Macbeth'
Shakespeare's 'Macbeth': narrative and soliloquy writing
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Study Guides
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 understand who William Shakespeare was and know some of the key features of his literary style.
Key Notes
- William Shakespeare was a renowned English playwright, poet and actor.
- Shakespeare lived from 1564 to 1616.
- Shakespeare's plays were written at a time when the theatre was an important form of entertainment.
- Shakespeare wrote at least 39 plays that can broadly be grouped into tragedies, comedies and historical plays.
- Shakespeare's plays centre around complex themes and intricate plot structures.
Vocabulary To Learn
- playwright: a person who writes plays
- theatre: a form of art that involves live performances by actors on a stage in front of an audience
- play: a dramatic work originally intended for the stage
- monarch: a ruler who holds supreme and hereditary power over a state or territory, often referred to as a king or queen
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- Shakespeare's plays are too difficult to understand or inaccessible due to the language used.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain this English learning goal in two key points.
William Shakespeare was a renowned English playwright, poet and actor. Shakespeare lived from 1564 to 1616.
2. Define this language term and use it in a sentence. 'playwright'
a person who writes plays.
3. Correct this common English misunderstanding.
Mistake: Shakespeare's plays are too difficult to understand or inaccessible due to the language used. Correction: Many of Shakespeare's themes, emotions and characters resonate universally across time.
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
- Identifying the features of a soliloquy 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 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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