Lesson Plan: Shakespeare rap

RELATED SITES

Objectives

• Students will gain a better understanding of language and how it changes through the years as they translate Shakespeare's English into a modern style.
• Students will analyze how human situations and conflicts remain similar through the ages, though the ways of communicating them may change.

Standards

National Council of Teachers of English:
Stdrd; 2: Students read a wide range of literature from many periods in many genres to build an understanding of the many dimensions (e.g., philosophical, ethical, aesthetic) of human experience.
Stdrd. 3: Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts.
Stdrd. 4: Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
Stdrd. 11: Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.

Materials

CNNfyi story, "Shakespeare rap"
Internet access
Shakespeare plays
Movie versions of some Shakespeare plays
Pens and paper

Suggested time

Two to three classroom periods (45-50 minutes each)

Procedures

1. Discuss students' experiences with Shakespeare thus far (reading, seeing plays, watching movies based on Shakespeare or his plays). Ask for their opinions of the playwright and his work.
2. Direct students to read the CNNfyi article, "Shakespeare Rap." By way of review, ask the following questions:

• Why did the NYU students create a rap version of "A Comedy of Errors?" What did they call it? Besides earning them A grades, what else has happened with the students' play?
• Does it make sense to you to remake a Shakespeare play into rap? Why or why not? Why did the students and the off-Broadway producer like the approach? Would you like to see the play? Why or why not?
• What do you think of the group's advertising scheme? Do you think it would be effective? Why or why not?

3. Direct students to learn about other Shakespeare plays that have been modernized. View several movie versions of "Romeo and Juliet" ahead of time and cue them up to the same scene to play in class. Choose a scene in which there is a conflict present. Show the clips in class, and discuss similarities and differences, asking students to point out techniques that they feel are effective. Also discuss ways in which your students have experienced similar problems to those of the characters in the scenes. Ask students to list ways in which movie directors have modernized the plays. Have students analyze what is lost and what is gained in the new translations.

Assessment

Ask students to choose a soliloquy or short scene from an act of a Shakespeare play to transform into rap. Have them read their interpretations to the class. After the reading, have students tell why they chose this scene and the ways in which the content relates to present life situations. Discuss how this exercise may have helped them to better understand the original text.