Shakespeare: Subject to Change

Name: _________________

Date: _________________

Shakespeare: Subject to Change

Directions: Open up the internet and go to Google. Type in the following web address into the search engine: http://broadband.ciconline.org/shakespeare/. Watch the introduction video and answer the following questions.

Introduction

1. Who were 3 possible people who could have changed Shakespeare’s writing?

2. What is an interesting fact about Shakespeare’s scripts?

Part 1: Click on “Pen to Print”. You will now explore different aspects of Shakespeare’s writing. You can do these following sections in any order, but make sure you answer all the questions that follow. The sections you will explore are Shakespeare’s Language, The Writing Process, The Printing Process, and Altered Texts.

Shakespeare’s Language

1. How big was Shakespeare’s vocabulary?

2. How big is the average person’s vocabulary?

3. How many words did Shakespeare invent?

4. Give some examples of his invented words. (At least 5)

5. What are some common expressions Shakespeare invented? List 8-10.

6. Play around with the “Creative Insults”. Pair together an exchange between the man and woman and write it below.

The Writing Process

1. What is one way Shakespeare’s play could have been changed?

2. What was the name of his play troupe?

3. What were the handwritten papers called?

4. What was the most valuable form of the text to the actors?

5. What year was Hamlet written?

6. What is the date of Shakespeare’s death?

The Printing Process

1. When were his plays usually printed?

2. Click on “Print House”.

3. Go through all of the numbers on this screen and summarize the process that took place here.

4. When done, click on “Tools of the Trade”. Pick 3 of 5 tools to learn more about. Describe what the tools are and what they do.

5. When finished, click on “Casting Off”. Click through the process here.

6. What was the most time efficient way to print a book?

7. What was the most interesting fact you learned about this process? Do not write “The most important fact I learned was that producing the play took a long time”.

Altered Texts

1. What is know as “the most important work of the English language”?

2. What is an example of how compositors saved room on the paper? (Look in Too Much Text)

3. What is a way to fill space? (Look in Too Little Text)

4. Enlarge the copy of Shakespeare’s text. What do you find interesting about it?

5. How many syllables are in each verse?

6. Why did they change from verse to prose?