Shakespeare was a Black Woman |
April 2007
Beth Dewhurst teaches Social Studies at Stuart-Hobson Middle School in Washington, DC.
Plays/Scenes Covered:
Sonnet 29; also applicable to various works
What’s On for Today and Why
This is an introductory lesson for students first encountering a Shakespeare play or sonnet and/or in conjunction with Civil Rights studies.
This lesson will take one class period.
What To Do
1. Ask students to list “outsider” examples in popular culture. Possibilities include film characters, professional athletes, music industry artists, or characters from books they have read. Discuss several examples and generate a definition of what it means to be an “outcast” or to be considered outside a mainstream culture. Remind students of previous discussions on culture as what a society values, cultural differences, and so on.
2. Introduce the audio clip and Maya Angelou, if students are not aware of her. Note that Maya Angelou has often told this story of her reaction to Shakespeare’s Sonnet 29. Ask students to listen for the “outsider” in the clip. Discuss with students why they think Angelou feels she is an outsider in America.
3. Ask students to select a partner or small group. Hand out copies of Sonnet 29, drawing attention to the first 4 lines (those that Angelou quotes). Each group will write and perform a 3-5 minute scene that includes the four lines, as performed in character for their scene. Scenes will be set in a contemporary context; students can draw initial ideas from the examples just discussed as a class. Alternatively, if a student wishes to perform a monologue, that’s fine, too.
4. Allow time for students to write and rehearse their scenes.
5. Have the students perform their scenes and have a discussion. Possible questions may include: What makes this person an outsider? How is this outside unique from others we have seen today? Is it inevitable that we will have “outsiders” in our school community and our American society according to our definition (class, gender, race, education level, and so on)? Why or why not? If you desire change, what actions will you take as a citizen at school? In society? What can we conclude about Shakespeare’s writing—did you sense a connection to its description of being an outsider?
6. (Good for team teaching with an English teacher): Read the rest of the sonnet. What different moods does Shakespeare create in different parts of the poem? How does the contrast of emotions strengthen the poem? How is it different to read the first four lines as part of the whole poem? What words later in the poem remind you of the start of the poem? (Students may suggest “Featur’d like him” or “myself almost despising”.)
Extension Activity: This framework could be used with any emotion found in Shakespeare’s works and American culture: love, revenge, hope...
What You Need
Folger edition of The Sonnets, or handout of Sonnet 29
Link:
Online audio clip from Shakespeare in American Life
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How Did It Go?
Were students able to use the lines from the sonnet in their scenes? Did they resonate with Shakespeare’s words personally? Did this activity draw them into Shakespeare’s writing and establish an introductory point of mutual connection?
