1 10 2 https://atmospherictheatre.exeter.ac.uk/files/original/e8e82b53ca93239a415eea1fdfac8073.jpg b15a94c7cd895e6f60986565667b3153 https://atmospherictheatre.exeter.ac.uk/files/original/dc65e205538d0c30f2763018391fcf08.pdf 8e5e65c557d152aff9681758065f7667 https://atmospherictheatre.exeter.ac.uk/files/original/79ae386825f94a8a73c917ca57f32a8d.ppt 83bba8c8dfca8b79f2e7d991497ca58d Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Educational Resources (14-16 years) Description An account of the resource These educational resources are designed to introduce secondary-school pupils studying the plays of William Shakespeare to the significance that questions of air quality and aerial resources acquire within his drama. In this section, you will be able to access and download lesson plans and associated resources for teaching pupils about the significance of air pollution in Macbeth, ghosts and polluted air in Hamlet, or storms in The Tempest and/or Pericles. We have designed these education packs for use with pupils aged approximately 14-16 years old, in accordance with the UK National Curriculum learning objectives for KS4 English. In addition, each session comes with individual learning objectives that indicate how the session will promote learning about performed drama and/or environmental history. Each lesson plan is presented as an hour-long session, but we have included suggestions for potential extension activities. These resources could also be adapted for use with older children or within alternative curricula. If you have any feedback on or suggestions for improving these resources, please email the project team at: atmospherictheatre@exeter.ac.uk. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sarah Sharp Type The nature or genre of the resource Educational Resources Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Evelyn O'Malley, Chloe Preedy, and Courtney Priday. The suggested activities are informed by work undertaken with Queen Elizabeth’s School, Crediton, and the Minack Theatre Academy. Lesson Plan A resource that gives a detailed description of a course of instruction. Lesson Plan Text In Hamlet, the contagious vapours that pollute the atmosphere allow the ghost of a dead king to manifest and induce melancholy in Prince Hamlet. Included in this education pack is a lesson plan to explore the historical context linking ghosts to atmospheric conditions in Hamlet, theories about the ghost’s origin within the play, and theatrical techniques to create the ghost on stage. It is designed for pupils aged 14-16 years, although it could be adapted for use with older pupils. Starter Activity: (10 minutes) The characters in Hamlet suggest five theories about what the ghost is, and Hamlet spends a large portion of the play trying to work out what to believe. 1. Students can use the “Ghost Theories” worksheet (Resource 1) to match up the different theories with which character suggests them and evidence to support this theory from the script. (Slide 2) For more able students, ask them to decide for themselves which character or characters suggest(s) each theory and to find their own evidence. If students already have a basic understanding of the role of the ghost, they could be asked to write about the theories, characters, and evidence without the prompts provided on the worksheet. Main Activity: (25 – 30 minutes) From the moment Prince Hamlet sees the ghost until he is convinced of his uncle’s guilt in Act 3 Scene 2, he wrestles with himself, trying to decide whether the ghost is being truthful or whether it is a demonic spirit sent to tempt him to damnation: Hamlet [to ghost]: ‘Be thou a spirit of health or goblin damned, / Bring with thee airs from heaven or blasts from hell, / Be thy intents wicked or charitable, / Thou com’st in such a questionable shape / That I will speak to thee.’ (1.4.40-4) (Slide 3) Despite his uncertainty on these issues, Hamlet seems certain that the ghost has manifested from the air. Hamlet’s assumption would have been shared by most, if not all, members of Shakespeare’s original audiences. Many people living in early modern England believed that devils fashioned their visible earthly forms out of bad air; likewise, ghostly manifestations were identified with poor air quality and corruption, with these spirits being supposedly formed from the last breath of the dying (Slide 4). Night air was considered particularly unwholesome, allowing ghosts to manifest, whereas they were forced to disappear once the rising of the sun led to improved air quality: Ghost: ‘But soft, methinks I scent the morning air. / Brief let me be.’ (1.5.58-9) Hamlet [alone]: ‘'Tis now the very witching time of night / When churchyards yawn and hell itself breaks out / Contagion to this world’ (3.2.378-80) (Slide 5) As ghostly manifestation is linked with contagious air, there are hints that the atmosphere of Denmark itself is polluted. Melancholy was also associated with poor air quality so this context may help to explain Hamlet’s state of mind. Hamlet [to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern]: ‘I have of late, but wherefore I know not, lost all my mirth, forgone all custom of exercises and, indeed, it goes so heavily with my disposition that this goodly frame the earth seems to me a sterile promontory, this most excellent canopy the air, look you, this brave o'erhanging firmament, this majestical roof fretted with golden fire, why it appeareth nothing to me but a foul and pestilent congregation of vapours.’ (2.2.261-9) (Slide 6) When staging Hamlet, a decision must be made about how to represent the ghost, which can be understood as a manifestation of this foul air. 1. As a class, discuss initial ideas about how to represent a ghost character on stage. 2. You might want to share examples of how previous productions presented the ghost (see Resource 2). 3. Split your class into small groups. Each group should create a presentation about how they would represent the ghost if they were to stage Hamlet (in any theatre, with any budget). They may wish to perform a dramatization of an excerpt from Act 1 Scene 1, Scene 4 or Scene 5. Encourage students to consider the following points (Slide 7): • How can you create a ghost-like being that could be interpreted as either a demonic spirit or as a hallucination within the same production? • How can the ghost appear to be made from contaminated air? • How might you use costume, make up, special effects, or projection? • Should the ghost clearly resemble the old king of Denmark, Hamlet’s father, and if so, how might that be suggested? • What performance skills should the actor use? 4. Share the presentations with the class and encourage a discussion of the ideas after each one. If group work is not viable for your class, or if you would like your pupils to practice their composition skills more extensively, this activity can be done as an individual writing task. Plenary Activity: (10 – 15 minutes) This can either be set as a reflective writing task or held as a group discussion at the end of the lesson (Slide 8). 1. What have you learnt about the context surrounding ghosts and atmospheric conditions in Elizabethan England? 2. How has thinking about air pollution in Hamlet affected your understanding of the ghost and his relationship with Hamlet? 3. What new ideas have you considered about how to stage a production of Hamlet? Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Education Pack - Ghosts and Polluted Air in Hamlet Description An account of the resource This education pack includes a lesson plan and associated resources that can be used to explore the ghost character and related themes of air pollution in William Shakespeare's Hamlet. The resources are designed for pupils aged approximately 14-16 years. but could be adapted for use with older pupils. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sarah Sharp Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Evelyn O'Malley and Chloe Preedy. The suggested activities are informed by work undertaken with Queen Elizabeth’s School, Crediton, and the Minack Theatre Academy. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource CC BY-NC 2.0 Contagion Hamlet Pollution Shakespeare https://atmospherictheatre.exeter.ac.uk/files/original/a11cf85fdcde7c010a20da7132124bfa.jpg d0465565005a696da770f7e4344d7d4f https://atmospherictheatre.exeter.ac.uk/files/original/a25646bb6d7dd98b1376724db6706dbd.pdf d75eedc793da65bf9116c3a85783c970 https://atmospherictheatre.exeter.ac.uk/files/original/bef273da1c5ff4641a6575fa0db666fa.ppt ecc789d1fe7ff3043708e34b58fbb244 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Educational Resources (11-14 years) Description An account of the resource These educational resources are designed to introduce secondary-school pupils studying the plays of William Shakespeare to the significance that questions of air quality and aerial resources acquire within his drama. In this section, you will be able to access and download lesson plans and associated resources for teaching pupils about the significance of airborne plague in Romeo and Juliet, wind power in The Merchant of Venice, fairy flight in A Midsummer Night's Dream, or the relationship between Shakespeare's fairies and the environment in the latter play. We have designed these education packs for use with pupils aged approximately 11-14 years old, in accordance with the UK National Curriculum learning objectives for KS3 English. In addition, each session comes with individual learning objectives that indicate how the session will promote learning about performed drama and/or environmental history. Each lesson plan is presented as an hour-long session, but we have included suggestions for potential extension activities. These resources could also be adapted for use with older children or within alternative curricula. If you have any feedback on or suggestions for improving these resources, please email the project team at: atmospherictheatre@exeter.ac.uk. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sarah Sharp Type The nature or genre of the resource Educational Resources Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Evelyn O'Malley, Chloe Preedy, and Courtney Priday. The suggested activities are informed by work undertaken with Queen Elizabeth’s School, Crediton, and the Minack Theatre Academy. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Education Pack - Plague and Perfume in Romeo and Juliet Description An account of the resource This education pack includes a lesson plan and associated resources that can be used to explore the significance of plague and perfume in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. The resources are designed for pupils aged approximately 11-14 years old, but could be adapted for use with older pupils. Please Note: This resource was originally developed prior to the outbreak of COVID-19. Since the material explores how a historical plague epidemic provided context for Shakespeare's play, some users may find the potential comparisons to the 2020 pandemic distressing and/or disturbing. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource CC BY-NC 2.0 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Sarah Sharp Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Evelyn O'Malley, Chloe Preedy, and Courtney Priday. The suggested activities are informed by work undertaken with Queen Elizabeth’s School, Crediton, and the Minack Theatre Academy. Relation A related resource Interview with Emma Gersch Emma Gersch is the Artistic Director of <a href="http://atmospherictheatre.exeter.ac.uk/items/show/90">Moving Stories</a>. Moving Stories creates inclusive and accessible theatre that engages and inspires its audiences. They have made large scale Shakespearean productions for the <a href="http://atmospherictheatre.exeter.ac.uk/items/show/10">Minack Theatre</a>, staged new writing across Europe and the UK, and created site specific events in bedrooms, offices, and castles. Moving Stories is also the home of <a href="https://www.movingstories.org.uk/bandofmothers" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Band of Mothers</a>, a group of artists who harness the creative power of motherhood and allow it to inform their creative work. In this video, Emma discusses her extensive experience of directing plays for performance in open-air contexts, including a touring production of Romeo and Juliet. Emma Gersch on Romeo and Juliet (edited start time): <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-zplOIFBc_E?start=493&rel=0" frameborder="0"></iframe> <a href="http://atmospherictheatre.exeter.ac.uk/items/show/142">Interview with Emma Gersch (full video and transcript)</a> Contagion Perfume Plague Romeo and Juliet Shakespeare