1. Empathic writing
Year 9

2. CHECKLIST
Decide on your Act and Scene for your performance. Choose which characters you will embody.
Copy and paste your chosen scene into a word document (from Spark Notes) and edit out any unnecessary lines (show this to me for final approval in week 6).
Assign someone to print the scripts for each group member this week.
Decide on where you would like to place your step out/empathic response. Ensure there is ‘balance’ in your scene.
In your pairs/groups I would like you to achieve the following in the next 20 minutes:
For 2 characters
For 3 characters
For 4 characters
-Benvolio and Romeo discuss Rosaline (Act 1, Scene 1 – lines 130 onwards)
-Romeo and Mercutio (Act 1, Scene 4)
-The Balcony scene (Act 2, Scene 2)
-Friar Lawrence and Romeo (Act 2, Scene 3)
-Juliet and nurse discuss her new love (Act 2, Scene 5)
-Juliet and nurse discuss Romeo’s banishment (Act 3, Scene 2)
-Lady Capulet, Juliet and nurse discuss Paris (Act 1, Scene 3)
-Juliet must marry Paris (Act 3, Scene 5)
-Paris, Juliet and Friar Lawrence (Act 4, Scene 1)
-Capulet party (Act 1, Scene 5)
-Where is Romeo? (Act 2, Scene 4)
-Fight scene (Act 3, Scene 1)

5. Empathy vs. Sympathy
They are different!!

6. Empathic means Empathy
Empathy means being able ‘to put yourself in someone else’s shoes.’ To be able to understand what they are thinking, feeling and experiencing.
In a sense, empathic writing asks you to ‘be them’, to write as though you are that character/person.
Empathic writing means that you have to put yourself in the position of a character and write in their voice, while showcasing your knowledge of the text in your own words.

7. Starter task
Pretend you are your favourite pet. Write a first-person story through the eyes of your pet about a wild adventure he or she went on/a day in the life of your pet.
Try to make your pet come alive – what would they be thinking and feeling when you leave for the day? Try to convey their ‘easily distracted’ state of mind.
Example:
Has she left me already? I wonder, if I eat my breakfast really quickly, will I be able to catch her by the time she leaves? She beats me every – single – morning! This time I’ll eat as fast as anything and catch her right before she leaves! Then I’ll bat my big brown eyes (my secret weapon), wag my tail as fast as I can, and she will just have to stay with me today. But oh this kangaroo is so delicious this morning…

8. Write an empathic response from the point of view of Simba after his father is killed. (10 mins)
This is all my fault! Father can’t truly be dead! He’ll wake up soon, right? I should have listened to him, but I thought I knew better!
Copyright © 2009 englishteaching.co.uk

9. Complex emotions Stereotypical assumptions
Complexity of emotions – unexpected thoughts
Desperation
Sorrow
Sadness
Confusion
Anguish
Lost
Hopelessness
Fear/Anxiety
Emotionally Unstable
Guilt
Shame
Survival instinct – fighter response
Anger

10. You must… Write in the first person Refer to events they took part in
Root your answer in the text
Include some authentic touches where possible using the character’s way of speaking, such as R&J using religious or celestial imagery, Mercutio’s bawdy humour or Tybalt’s violent language.

11. To quote or not to quote?
It can be difficult to incorporate quotations, although it is sometimes appropriate.
However, you should ‘echo’ the text or closely refer to quotations.
Do not use quotation marks
For example: He shall be endured? What nonsense is this! I refuse to endure this foul being, this Romeo, this Montague…
Copyright © 2009 englishteaching.co.uk

12. Injecting your response with emotion
Aim to try and explore different types of emotion your character is experiencing. Can you demonstrate contrast?
Can you demonstrate insight by considering the complexity of thought they might be experiencing.
Copyright © 2009 englishteaching.co.uk

13. Romeo and Juliet tips
Find and highlight 5-6 really vivid quotations from the text you are studying which have to do with important character traits or important ideas.
If you are struggling to expand on what you have already written, take these quotations and write some sentences in relation to them. You may have already addressed them somewhere in your answer but if they are important quotes then perhaps not enough.
Proofread your work carefully. Check you have used a range of appropriate vocabulary, as well as different sentence types (complex, compound and simple) and that your writing is organised into paragraphs.

14. Writing Tips
You show that you know the author’s style by writing in that style and in the language of the character.
Does the character use slang and if so, of what era/time?
Is the character’s language formal and educated or informal and colloquial?
What does the character feel about the events and other characters?
Are there special words or ideas which are repeated by the character?
The style adopted must be suitable to the character. For example, an aristocratic character would not use colloquial language. Try and think of any phrases a particular character might use.
You must write as the character, therefore using the first person narrative – not ‘If I were Hari, I would....’ but ‘I feel homesick and want to return to my family in Thul...’
Copyright © 2009 englishteaching.co.uk

16. Create your own Quote Search for the character you are embodying in your assignment.
Write down at least 5 quotes which you believe are important for your character – write questions you have, and expand on these ideas.

17. Using your own character emotion wheel, fill in each section with either a character, theme or emotion that is relevant to your character in this scene.
Expand on your ideas in the emotion wheel.

18. Empathic Writing
The ability to understand and share the feelings of another
To write an empathic response:
You must write from the point of view of the character
Must be in first person. i.e. “I woke up this morning with a splitting headache. As I opened my eyes, I felt like the world was closing in on me, and I was becoming smaller and smaller, shrinking in the folds of my bedsheets. Little did I know, this horrible morning would turn into the best day of my life…”
Don’t just ‘tell the story’ – write about their thoughts, feelings, etc.
Write about a specific moment or situation and stick to it
You must sound like the character in your style and tone
You must empathise with the character – side with them!

19. E.g: Friar Lawrence (3 paragraphs in 45 minutes – drafting does not mean it is perfect)
End the long held grudge – the wonder of religion/ marriage to bring communities together – healing imagery? Such a wonderful opportunity to bring peace to a broken city…spirit revived
Dangers of being blamed? Excommunicated?
Considers his ability to influence the feud by marrying the couple and the dangers of getting into trouble himself.
Speed – wildfire – nature imagery
Love – unable to be squashed – life and its forcefulness – nature’s power/power of love
Thinks about how quickly this “love” has overcome them – speed, truth to this love
Romeo as overdramatic – show knowledge of their relationship – his knowledge of Romeo’s other girls (Rosaline)
The virtuousness and passion he admires in Romeo – genuine affection for him
Romeo as a young man he wants to see him happy after all the misery
1. Hopes to end the feud.
2. Thinks about their love. Worries about Romeo
Motivations
3. Reflects on the man Romeo has become and his hopes for him

20. Empathic Response Feedback
Critique:
evaluate (a theory or practice) in a detailed and analytical way.
Empathic Response Feedback
General feedback
Some were wonderful, very creative, engaging imagery!!
Too many were too short.
Areas for improvement
Who? When?
Fluency/expression/clarity – your idea is not clear, good but not clear, the way you’ve phrased something is not good…
Communication: punctuation/ grammar or spelling needs attention.
Voice: authentic/not appropriate? Likely to say…
Use paragraphs to your advantage…
Creativity – reference to quotes has been good – add to the creativity by being inspired by the lines coming up with something similar yet new…
Struggling with creativity? How can you improve this? READ. GET TO KNOW THE CHARACTER IN GREATER DETAIL.