KS3 / KS4 English Literature - Shakespeare's sources and influences

This film is from the series Shakespeare Themes available on BBC Teach.

An exploration of the sources and influences in Shakespeare’s plays.

Shakespeare pulled in influences from many sources. In Julius Caesar he borrows phrases and words from other writers.

In Macbeth we find him using his knowledge of the Bible as a reference.

While in Romeo and Juliet he uses elements of nature to reflect emotion.

Teacher Notes

This film could be used to look in more detail at what influenced Shakespeare’s writing and the influence his work has had on others.

Students could take one of his plays and find examples of influences and sources in his storytelling process.

Students could explore the different kinds of sources Shakespeare takes inspiration from and how best to stage his plays when trying to add the influence of modern society.

Curriculum Notes

This clip will be relevant for teaching English Literature at KS3 and KS4/GCSE in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Also 3rd and 4th level in Scotland.

This topic appears in OCR, Edexcel, AQA, WJEC, CCEA and SQA.

The purpose of BBC’s content is to inform, educate and entertain. As such, students, teachers, schools, and other established educational bodies may utilise such content for educational purposes via an ERA Licence.

Without an ERA Licence, reasonable use of the content (for the purposes set out above) may still be possible, however; any such use must be in line with the BBC’s Terms of Use.
Whilst this is not an exhaustive list, when using and or sharing BBC Education content, you must comply with the BBC’s Terms of Use and where relevant, YouTube’s terms and conditions, ensuring that:

a) there aren’t any advertisements on or around the BBC content;
b) there aren’t any charges for access and or charges associated with the content (clearly stating that the content is free to
access); and
c) you do not state or imply (in any way) that there is a relationship and or any endorsement from the BBC to you.

We ask that you read the said terms before using any of BBC’s services. When you use BBC’s services and content, you’re agreeing to the BBC’s terms of use.