A fully-resourced one hour lesson to support students in exploring the question of ‘to what extent was Shakespeare Anti-Semitic in his writing of The Merchant of Venice?’ Students will be guided through a class discussion and then work in pairs to unpack the language in act 2 scene 8.
Learning Objective: Consider to what extent Shakespeare’s portrayal of Shylock is anti-Semitic.
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will learn key vocabulary such as cultural context, stereotype etc.
- Students will be introduced to the cultural context of anti-Semitism in Elizabethan England and in Venice.
- Students will work in pairs to analyse the language in act 2 scene 8.
- Students will write a PEE question on Shakespeare and anti-Semitism.
Lesson Outline:
Do it now: Match the key terms to the definition.
Starter: Cultural context of anti-Semitism in Jacobean society.
Activity one: Reading Act 2 Scene 8 and discussion questions.
Activity two: Students work individually or in pairs to complete the worksheet.
Plenary: Write a PEE paragraph to answer the question ‘to what extent do you think Shakespeare was anti-Semitic?’
More Resources for The Merchant of Venice
Freebies:
- For character revision posters for your classroom, click here.
- For an English/Drama lesson based on Portia’s choice in Act 1 Scene 2, click here.
- For a Scheme of Work overview for the unit, click here.
Leave a review and choose any other resource for free from the LikeAnExpert shop.
Something went wrong, please try again later.
This resource hasn't been reviewed yet
To ensure quality for our reviews, only customers who have purchased this resource can review it
Report this resourceto let us know if it violates our terms and conditions.
Our customer service team will review your report and will be in touch.
£3.50