Позакласна робота " Romeo and Juliet is the classical embodiment of eternal love"

Extra-curricular activity

Type of activity: quiz

Lesson Тheme: Romeo and Juliet is the classical embodiment of eternal love

By the end of the lesson students will be able to: talk about the plot of William Shakespeare’s play “Romeo and Juliet” (after reading it in the original); find the examples of oxymoron in the text; understand the original poetic language of Shakespearian times; discuss and compare the peculiarities of relations among young people in the 16^th -17^th century and nowadays; point out the value of genuine feelings in human relations.

Scenery: appropriate decoration of the hall, W. Shakespeare’s portrait, sketches of the scenes of the play. Students’ costumes are decorated with details reproducing the atmosphere of those times.

Preparation: students of the 10-11^th form should read William Shakespeare’s tragedy “Romeo and Juliet” in the original, and watch one of the screen versions of it to get a better understanding of the epoch. The class is decorated, the costumes are made. The class is divided in two teams, boys and girls separately. English teacher is to lead the action. Students’ answers are to be fixed by the jury.

Procedure

(Teacher appears on the stage). 

     T: My dearest friends, I am happy to see you today, at the holiday dedicated to honour one of the greatest poets of all times. William Shakespeare is regarded as one of the central figures of English literature, who portrayed an unforgettable gallery of characters. His richly dense language, with its striking imagery and musicality, is perhaps his greatest legacy.

     When speaking about Shakespeare we cannot help but mention the most popular tragedy of his own -“Romeo and Juliet.” Today we are going to deal with it, and the theme of our event is “Romeo and Juliet is the classical embodiment of eternal love.” To make it more interesting and unique we decided to make a short intellectual contest. You are supposed to be divided into two teams: one consisting of boys, and the other one – of girls.

(Teacher if forming two teams consisting of the equal number of boys and girls).

     T: You have already read the tragedy in the original, so, I do not think it will be difficult for you to answer some questions without addressing the text. Shall we start? You have to name all the characters of the play: one member of each team mentions one character, in turn. Are you ready?

(Participants name the characters of the play in turn; the jury fixes the results and gives 1 point for every correct answer)

     T: Good start! Let’s check your knowledge of the plot. I ask my first question to the team which got more points in the previous contest – you must answer and get 1 point. If you don’t - the other team has the chance to do it, and gets 2 points. Then you change. Clear? Listen attentively!

(Teacher announces the questions to check the students’ knowledge of the plot for the team that won the first contest. If its answer is correct, it gets 1 point, if no – the rival team has the chance to answer and get 2 points).

Questions on the plot of the play:

1.     When was the tragedy published? (1599)

2.     How many acts are there in it? (5)

3.     Where did the scene take place? (Verona)

4.     What were the names of the heads of two Houses at variance? (Montague and Capulet)

5.     Whose son was Romeo? (Montague)

6.     Where was the ball taking place? (at the Capulets’ House)

7.     How old was Juliet when she fell in love with Romeo? (13 years old)

8.     Who decided to help the young couple? (Friar Laurence)

9.     Who killed Tybalt? (Romeo)

10.                       What caused Romeo’s death? (poison)

     T: Good work! As you know, Shakespeare’s plays are filled with figures of speech, which make them unique and easy to recognize. One of those is oxymoron – the combination of contradictory terms, for example, open secret, living dead, etc. Using the texts you have to find as many of them as you can during 5 minutes.

(Students are given 5 minutes to find the examples of oxymoron in the text. The jury checks the answers and gives 1 point for every item).

Key words:"O heavy lightness! Serious vanity! Mis-shapen chaos of well-seeming forms!Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health!",etc.

     T: Now listen to the extract from the play!

(A student declares Pomeo’s monologue  -  Act 2 Scene 2 lines 1-25)

     T: What amazing words! The young man describes the beauty of his lady. You may say the standards of relations among lovers differ in all times. Unfortunately, I should agree… Though, I wonder, what could have been your words describing your beloved if you had lived in the times of Shakespeare? Put them on paper now. You have 5 to 10 minutes.

(Teams are given 5-10 minutes to put down words describing the appearance of beloved and act them out)

Summing-up

     T: It is time to finish our splendid event. In a few minutes our juries will summarize all the points and announce the results of the intellectual contest we witnessed today. I hope you were having a great time here, as I was. Be tender with your beloved and value your relations! Let your love story be happy! Not that one mentioned in the final words of the tragedy: “For never was a story of more woe Than this of Juliet and her Romeo.”

При підготовці даного конспекту уроку та презентації були використані матеріали Інтернет-ресурсів.