Alex's Blog

Video Clip April 11, 2010

Student Sheet

Shakespeare in Pop Culture

Shakespeare’s works, although written in the 16th century still remain relevant today. For example, this Klondike commercial uses Shakespeare to entice people to buy ice cream bars.

Write a one page essay on why you think the company used Shakespeare in this commercial. What does it represent? Is Shakespeare still relevant in today’s society?

If you noticed in the commercial, the narrator asks Shakespeare to write a sitcom for the Klondike bar. Along those lines, I would like a sonnet (14 lines, using iambic pentameter) about some product you think Shakespeare could market (and yes, you can do a Klondike bar if you would like.)

Be creative!

You will be graded on the structure of the sonnet, and the argument of your essay, but don’t forget to check your grammar!

Both assignments will be due one week from today, and don’t hesitate to come see me if you have questions or concerns.

Rational

This is for a 9th grade literature class. This is usually a students first experience with Shakespeare, and I want the students to realize how Shakespeare’s works and his persona are still relevant in culture today.

The essay will demonstrate how the students view Shakespeare in Pop Culture and their opinion of his relevance. The sonnet gives the students an opportunity to be creative and use the medium of Shakespeare’s sonnets as a media tool.

In this lesson, along with the video clip, I will give students examples of Shakespeare in other pop culture references. Such as, Twilight and the theme of forbidden love, and Taylor Swift’s song Love Story, which makes references to Romeo and Juliette. This will lead to a discussion as to whether their understanding of Shakespeare’s works help enrich their understanding of pop culture, why does it do so.

Standards:

ELA9RL3 The student deepens understanding of literary works by relating them to contemporary context or historical background. The student
a. Relates a literary work to non-literary documents and/or other texts from its literary period.

ELA9RL4 The student employs a variety of writing genres to demonstrate a comprehensive grasp of significant ideas in selected literary works. The student composes essays, narratives, poems, or technical documents. The student
a. Demonstrates understanding of significant themes in specific literary works.

ELA9RC4 The student establishes a context for information acquired by reading across subject areas. The student
a. Explores life experiences related to subject area content.