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Unit 2 Drama Lesson 1: Prologue

Unit 2 Drama Lesson 1

Introduction: In this first lesson of the unit, students will build their close reading skills as they work carefully through the fourteen-line prologue of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. This lesson serves as the initial exposure to Shakespearean language and the entry point to comprehension of the text. This fluency is crucial to establish early on, as students will be exploring Romeo and Juliet through a series of excerpted close readings. At the end of class, students should be able to navigate the language to derive meaning and complete an open-ended Quick Write that challenges students to begin grappling with the complexity of this iconic text.

Standards

Assessed Standard(s)
RL.9-10.4 Determine the meanings of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language evokes a sense of time and place; how it sets a formal or informal tone).
Addressed Standard(s)
RL.9-10.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

Assessment

Assessment(s)
Quick Write: In the Prologue, what relationship does Shakespeare establish between love and hate? How do his specific word choices illustrate this relationship? Use evidence from the text to support your answer.

 

Vocabulary

Vocabulary to provide directly (will not include extended instruction)
  • dignity (n.) – honorable status
  • loins (n.) – reproductive organs
  • fatal (adj.) – causing death
  • overthrows (n.) – ruins, downfalls
  • doth (v.) – (archaic) does
  • strife (n.) – angry fight
Vocabulary to teach (may include direct word work and/or text-dependent questions)
  • prologue (n.) – an introduction
  • civil (adj.) – relating to ordinary citizens; polite or courteous
  • misadventured (adj.) – misfortunate or ill-fated
  • piteous (adj.) – deserving of pity; sad

 

Agenda

  • Standards: RL.9-10.1, RL.9-10.4
  • Text: Act 1.Prol.1–14
  • Homework Accountability: AIR LOG
  • Opening Activity
  • Masterful Reading and Prologue Handout
  • Text-Dependent Questions and Activities
  • Quick Write

Learning Sequence:

  1. Share the standards for this lesson: RL.9-10.1, RL.9-10.4.
  2. Clarify what goes in the AIR Log
  3. What do these words have in common? What does this similarity reveal about the meaning of these words -progressive, prototype, proactive, and prologue
  4. Distribute a copy of the Prologue to each student. You will listen to a masterful reading of the Prologue(http://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/201/romeo-and-juliet/4314/prologue/) before you begin reading it on your own.
  5. In small groups ( change the grouping), discuss the text in more depth and record insights. A) Read the first four lines aloud; Find and circle repeating words in lines 1–4; share the repetitions that you identified.
  6. Discuss in the whole class the use of “civil”- as in “where civil blood makes civil hands unclean” (1.Prol.4). a)Used as an adjective, civil is generally defined as “polite.” Replace the first appearance of the word civil in line 4 with the word polite. How does this substitution change your understanding of the sentence? B) Civil can also be defined as something that relates to ordinary citizens (e.g., civilians). Replace the first appearance of civil with the word civilian. How does this substitution change your understanding of this sentence?
  7. Pay attention to the second use of the word civil in the Prologue, “where civil blood makes civil hands unclean” (line 4). Whose hands are being made “unclean”? What words and phrases can you find in lines 1–3 to support your understanding of this second use of civil in line 4?
  8. Now consider both uses of the word civil. Question: What are two different ways you can mix and match the definitions in line 4? Paraphrase the meaning of each sentence you generate. Which meaning supports the claim you made in your answer to the question?
  9. Why do you think Shakespeare uses civil in two different ways in the same sentence?  ( in small groups)
  10. After the whole class discussion, we’ll reread lines 1–4. Respond: What is at stake in this ancient fight?
  11. In small groups, read lines 5–8. Take note of your observations in your groups and be prepared to share in a class discussion.  What happens to the lovers? What adjective in line 5 supports your answer?
  12. As a whole class, we’ll dissect lines 7 and 8: a) Look at the word misadventured in line 7. What familiar word can you find in misadventured? What does this word mean? How does the prefix mis- change your definition? B) What familiar word do you hear in piteous? How can this familiar word help you to understand what piteous means in this context? C) What tone or mood does Shakespeare create in this passage through these two words? D) What does the death of the “star-cross’d” lovers accomplish? Notes: overthrows in this context means “downfalls” or “ruins.”
  13. Read lines 9–11 and answer the following questions in your groups: a) How can you use lines 9–11 to support and strengthen the claim you made about what the death of the star-crossed lovers accomplishes?
    1. Read and annotate lines 12–14 and answer the following questions in groups: A)Who is “our” in line 12? Who is “you” in line 13? B) What does the CHORUS ask you to do in the final three lines?

Quick Write: In the Prologue, what relationship does Shakespeare establish between love and hate? How do his specific word choices illustrate this relationship? Use evidence from the text to support your answer.

Homework: The Prologue provides an overview of the “two hours’ traffic of our stage.”  In two well-constructed sentences, provide a brief summary of the events that the Prologue previews.