Unit 19
How much do you know about William Shakespeare? William Shakespeare
About William Shakespeare ：
William Shakespeare was born in 1564 in Stratford on the river Avon and died there in 1616. His father was a prosperous businessman. He was brought up in a comfortable house on Henley Street along with several small brothers and sisters.
Shakespeare’s Birth place: Stratford 斯特拉特福德
Introduction The play The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare, was probably written around 1596. William Shakespeare first came to notice in 1592 as a playwright(剧作家) in London.As a playwright he wrote tragedies, comedies and historical plays, and as a poet he wrote narrative poems (叙事诗) and sonnets(十四行诗).His famous plays include the following:
His plays Comedies (喜剧） Tragedies (悲剧） Historical plays (历史剧）
Comedies The King Henry IV 亨利四世 A Midsummer Night’s Dream 仲夏梦之夜 The Merchant of Venice 威尼斯商人 Twelfth Night(What You Will) 第十二夜 All’s Well That Ends Well 皆大欢喜
Tragedies Romeo and Juliet 罗密欧与朱丽叶 Hamlet 哈姆莱特 Othello 奥赛罗 King Lear 李尔王 Macbeth 麦克白
Historical plays Henry IV King John Henry VIII …… 《亨利四世》 《约翰王》 《亨利八世》
Warming-up Match the meaning with the quotation and the play.
“ To be or not to be; that is a question. ” Hamlet “ Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown王冠” King Henry Ⅳ “ Neither a borrower nor a lender be. ” Romeo and Juliet “Romeo, Romeo, why are you Romeo? Deny your father, and refuse your name…” Troilus and Cressida “ Words, words, only words, no matter from heart.”
To be or not to be: that is the question. Hamlet
Meaning: That is a question whether to live on in this world or to die, that is, to take action or to do nothing. Hamlet “To be or not to be: that is the question”
“Neither a borrower nor a lender be” Meaning: It is best not to lend (money) to others and not to borrow from others. When we lend sth, we risk losing both the thing we lend and the friendship with the other person. Hamlet “Neither a borrower nor a lender be”
Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown. King Henry IV
Meaning: A person who has great responsibility, such as a king, is constantly经常地 worried and therefore doesn’t sleep soundly非常好. King Henry IV “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.”
Romeo, Romeo, why are you Romeo Romeo, Romeo, why are you Romeo? Deny your father, and refuse your name… Romeo & Juliet
Meaning: Why must you be the son of my family’s greatest enemy Meaning: Why must you be the son of my family’s greatest enemy? Refuse your family for my love.. Romeo and Juliet “Romeo, Romeo, why are you Romeo ? Deny your father, and refuse your name…”
Troilus & Cressida 特洛伊罗斯 &克雷西达 Words, words, only words, no matter from the heart. Troilus & Cressida 特洛伊罗斯 &克雷西达
“Words, words, only words, no matter from the heart” Meaning: It is all empty words, and there isn’t any truth in them. You just talk, but you don’t mean it. Troilus and Cressida “Words, words, only words, no matter from the heart”
Why must you be the son of my family’s greatest enemy Why must you be the son of my family’s greatest enemy? Refuse your family for my love. If only you had a different name , we would not have this problem.
Further discussion: ---We all know the story of Romeo & Juliet, in the play the lovers didn't have a happy ending because of revenge报仇, 复仇. If you were Juliet’s father, in order to let your daughter live a happy life, do you want to give up the revenge? Do you want to have mercy on Romeo? After you forgive Romeo, there is another man who loves Juliet very much. What’s more, he is richer than Romeo, but Juliet doesn’t love him, will you marry your daughter to him instead of Romeo?
VS Love versus Money It happens everywhere around the world: two young people love each other, but when the boy is poor or doesn't have a good job, often the parents of the girl don’t allow them to get married.
Discussion: Maybe you even know some examples in your hometown. Are the parents right? If not, what do you think about the situation like that? What should be done?