Pupil outcome: I can spell words using the suffix -ing. Key learning points: - A suffix is a letter or group of letters at the end of a word which creates another word. - Adding '-ing' creates an extra syllable to the word. - If the root...

Pupil outcome: I can spell words using the suffix -ly. Key learning points: - A suffix is a letter or group of letters at the end of a word which creates another word. - If the suffix starts with a consonant letter, it is usually added...

Pupil outcome: I can spell words using the suffix -ful. Key learning points: - A suffix is a letter or group of letters at the end of a word which creates another word. - If the suffix starts with a consonant letter, it is usually added...

Pupil outcome: I can explore attitudes towards teenagers over time and write my own article title that reflects current day teenagers. Key learning points: - The role of the teenager was first established around the 1940s and the term...

You are truly fluent in English if you can understand English humour. In this lesson we will look at wordplay (puns), one-liners, satire, knock knock jokes, and sarcasm. If you have any jokes you would like to share, please write it in...

This video unpacks a complex verbal exchange between Romeo and Mercutio from Act 2, Scene 4 of "Romeo and Juliet," focusing on their intricate wordplay and puns. It highlights how Mercutio's jests play with the concept of "solely...

In this video, a French woman criticizes Americans for being vulgar, clarifying that this was not about the use of crude language but rather about a lack of refinement and commonness in tastes and behaviors. This view aligns with the...

From epic battles to romantic encounters or political alliances, Greek mythology includes multiple narratives regarding the union of Theseus, the founder and first ruler of Athens, and Hippolyta, the Amazon queen. Shakespeare, drawing...

To Hippolyta the waning moon resembles a silver bow bent back to fire an arrow. According to Greek mythology, the moon and the bow and arrow go together. Since Diana is the goddess of both the moon and hunting and she's often pictured...

In his remark, Quince uses the expression “French crown” to refer, not to a French coin, but to the top of the head of an everyday Frenchman. Quince says that some of these heads “have no hair at all.” His remark alludes to the fact...

During a performance, Demetrius humorously interprets Bottom's delivery of Pyramus's declaration of death as a pun, suggesting Pyramus is saying he's a "die" (singular of dice) that rolled an ace (one), playing on the notion of being one...

Theseus and Demetrius engage in a complex and somewhat confusing game of wits involving animal metaphors. The dialogue revolves around Snug's assurance that he won't scare the audience with his lion roar, leading to exchanges comparing...

The word "innocent" originates from the Latin prefix "in-" (not) and the verb "nocere" (to do harm), initially meaning someone who does no harm. By the time of Shakespeare, "innocent" had evolved to describe someone naive due to youth....

Helen of Troy, famed as the most beautiful woman on Earth, was married to King Menelaus of Sparta before being abducted (or, according to some versions, eloping willingly) with Paris, a prince from Troy. This act led to the Greek kings...

Quince's prologue may seem clumsily written at first but is a masterfully crafted speech by Shakespeare. Ambiguity and word choice, allows for dual meanings, at times earnest or humorous. The speech, asking for the audience's forgiveness...

The term "eunuch" refers to a castrated man. It was originally used in ancient kingdoms where eunuchs served as guards for the ruler's harem, ensuring they would not engage with the women they protected. Additionally, there was a...

Titania places a flowery wreath on Bottom's head, and Oberon remarks that the dewdrops on the flowers, resembling tears, suggest the flowers are lamenting their dishonor in adorning Bottom's donkey head. He compares these to pearls,...

The term "monstrous" initially referred to mythological creatures that were part one thing and part another, like a lion with wings or a person with a bull's head, deriving from the Latin verb "monere," which means to warn, indicating...

In A Midsummer Night's Dream, Helena uses wordplay and heraldry to symbolize the deep connection between herself and Hermia, likening them to "two seeming bodies but one heart," indicating their close friendship. She references heraldry,...

The word "conjure" comes from the Latin words for "with" and "oath," initially meaning to accomplish something through a sacred oath. By Shakespeare's era, it evolved to refer specifically to summoning devils or spirits by using a sacred...

The cuckoo bird is named after the sound it makes. Its behavior of the female laying eggs in the nests of males other than her partner has led to the term "cuckold," referring to a man whose wife has been unfaithful. In A Midsummer...

In A Midsummer Night's Dream, Lysander suggests to Hermia that they should sleep together, justifying it by their united hearts and their betrothal ("a truth"). A betrothal was as legally binding as an engagement but could not be easily...

In A Midsumer Night's Dream, Titania describes her quarrel with Oberon as disrupting the natural world, causing mists to pull water from the sea and flood rivers, which she personifies as becoming "proud and arrogant." This video...

Before the advent of modern chemistry in the 19th century, one of the most unusual natural coloring agents was a red dye made by grinding up the bodies of insects living on cacti in Central America. This dye was known as "purple in...