Shakespeare Themes Teacher Resources

[Free Registration/Login Required] In this video, Adrian Lester (Othello) and Rory Kinnear (Iago) talk about their characters and their relationship in the National Theatre's 2013 production of Shakespeare's Othello. [4:51]

After a study of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, students working in small groups conduct research and create a slideshow presentation that emphasizes key aspects of the play and/or new ideas generated by the play.

[Free Registration/Login Required] This is a graphic handout "Examples of how Prospero's power is displayed by the language used in Act 1 Scene 2" which uses quotations to show Prospero's power.

The teacher edition of a textbook chapter on Act 4 of The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. Students will analyze the plot, make and verify predictions, and analyze characters. Includes explanations of vocabulary with accompanying text from the...

[Free Registration/Login Required] This is a comprehensive lesson for comparing parent/child relationships using poems by a variety of English Literary Heritage poets and Acts I-III of King Lear. It includes parent/child lessons and...

In this lesson unit, students investigate how justice is perceived and addressed in different cultures and times by examining literature from around the world. Texts examined include: The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, A Sport of Nature by...

In A Midsummer Night's Dream, Shakespeare explores and reflects upon Elizabethan debates around the nature of dreams. These activities revolve around how the structure, characters and themes in A Midsummer Night's Dream reflect this...

Lesson plan that uses online resources to provide fuller examination of "As You Like It."

This website, where you can get plot summary, character profiles, and theme analysis on the Shakespearean comedy, "All's Well that Ends Well," is a good resource to accompany a reading of the play. Included is a brief biography of...

This study guide for Shakespeare's "Measure for Measure," in addition to providing a summary of the text, gives character profiles and theme analyses. Also included is a brief biography of William Shakespeare.

Students will work in groups of two or three to produce two pages of a digital scrapbook covering a thematic element from Macbeth. The pages will then be assembled into a visual review of the play's themes and character motivations...

Ninth graders will read Act 3 of Romeo and Juliet. They will also answer questions in order to analyze how Shakespeare uses characters, conflict, pacing, and images to develop themes in the play.

In this Crash Course video, John Green returns to William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet to explore the themes of true love, lust, and whether Romeo and Juliet were truly, deeply in love, or they were just a pair of impetuous teens. How...

This curriculum unit guides students in a deep investigation of the characters in The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, and in developing an appreciation of Shakespeare's talent for language and his insightful understanding of human...

An introduction to the background of The Tragedy of Julius Caesar and a summary of each of the three scenes in Act 1.

This site is loaded with quotes from Romeo and Juliet based on the multiple themes in the play such as love, hate, and mortality.

[Free Registration/Login Required] This reference pack from the Royal Shakespeare Company provides a variety of activities based around themes in Shakespeare's Macbeth. These include the following: Macbeth's ambition; Malcolm, Banquo and...

A detailed synopsis and assessment of Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing", made specifically for students preparing for the GCSE test. Site includes links to context, plot, character, dramatic effect, themes and language. With sample...

These activities encourage young people to join the debate about how to stage and cast Othello. They will debate the pros and cons of different productions and plan how they would stage the play if they could do so themselves. Included...

This guide to Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream began as the From Stage to Screen: Shakespeare and the World Wide Web project with the Moscow Alternative School Center in Idaho. This guide will walk you through the steps we took at...

[Free Registration/Login Required] This is aVictoria and Albert Museum collection of images of Richard III and Henry V and artifacts used in the production of the plays. Ideas for discussion and activity accompany the collection.

Discover this comprehensive guide to teaching the interpretation of Shakespeare's "As You Like It."

[Free Registration/Login Required] This lesson focuses on a study of the Shakespearean Language in Romeo & Juliet's meeting scene in Act 1 Scene 5 with activites such as writing text messages between lovers and the difference between...

From Lear's breakdown to Ophelia's malady, examine how Shakespeare depicts ideas of 'madness'.