UNIT 5
SHAKESPEARE
Translating Shakespeare Below is the prologue (the beginning) of Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet. Alongside it is the modern translation or version. No Fear version
Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. From forth the fatal loins of these two foes A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life; Whose misadventured piteous overthrows Do with their death bury their parents’ strife. The fearful passage of their death-mark’d love, And the continuance of their parents’ rage, Which, but their children’s end, nought could remove, Is now the two hours’ traffic of our stage; The which if you with patient ears attend, What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend.
In the beautiful city of Verona, where our story takes place, a long-standing hatred between two families erupts into new violence, and citizens stain their hands with the blood of their fellow citizens. Two unlucky children of these enemy families become lovers and commit suicide. Their unfortunate deaths put an end to their parents’ feud. For the next two hours, we will watch the story of their doomed love and their parents’ anger, which nothing but the children’s deaths could stop. If you listen to us patiently, we’ll make up for everything we’ve left out in this prologue onstage.
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Shakespeare’s original text
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COMMUNICATING: GROUP DISCUSSION
Turn to your activity book to complete the translation task (see pages 121–222).
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ACTIVITY
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READING
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Divide into small groups to discuss the main differences between the two versions of the prologue in the box above.
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WRITING
Write a short scene for a play using Shakespearean language. Use all of the knowledge and skills you have gathered so far in this unit to help you with your writing. Remember that this is a scene for a play, so it should involve stage directions for the action and dialogue for the speech. Choose from the scene ideas in the box below. Two brave knights have fallen in love with the same woman
A young man is visited by the ghost of his father and told to avenge his death
A king decides to divide up his kingdom between his three daughters, based on who loves and adores him the most
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