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Shakespeare (Romeo and Juliet or Macbeth) Language Paper 2​​​​​​​

Overview

Pupils will be introduced to their final GCSE Literature text: Romeo and Juliet or Macbeth. Alongside this comprehensive study, their skills in critical analysis will be interweaved with the core assessment objectives found in their English Language GCSE. Themes will be interwoven with current topics prevalent today while incorporating significant historical value and the context needed to propel their understanding and the construction of these texts.

Unit aims:

  • Read and study a whole Shakespeare play
  • Explore plot, characterisation, themes and symbols within the genre
  • Make links between ideas and contextual influences
  • Evaluate writer’s use of methods to impact the reader/audience
  • Exploring unseen non-fiction texts thematically linked to the play

Example Key Words

Couplet

Two lines of a verse usually rhymed. Heroic couplet: a rhymed iambic pentameter couplet.

Dramatic Irony

This occurs when the audience know more about what is happening that some of the characters themselves know

Elegy

Usually denotes a reflective poem that laments the loss of something or someone.

Enjambment

A “run-on” line that carries over into the next to complete its meaning.

Foot

The basic unit of accentual-syllabic and quantitative meter, usually combining a stress with one or more unstressed syllables.

Free Verse

Poetry in which the rhythm does not repeat regularly.

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