Home     /     King Alfred INFO     /     King Alfred STUDENT PAGE    /   TEACHER PAGE  

 

 Student  ______________________________

Date      ____________________

 

 

Chapter 14        Shakespeare

 

  1. Shakespeare is said by some scholars to be, not just the greatest writer in English, but also
    a. The greatest English poet.
    b. The greatest writer in any language.
    c. The most entertaining English author.
  2. Elizabethan English was more free in that there were very few spelling or grammar _________________ yet.
  3. Think of an adjective that describes a friend or sibling. Now apply it to him/her as a verb just to see the flexibility English enjoyed at this time. (example: I have a crazy sister > I'm going to crazy my sister). Write your sentence below and circle the adjective you are using as a verb.

    ____________________________________________________________________________
  4. Shakespeare employed a vocabulary of around ____________________ words, many of which he invented.
  5. In comparison, the King James Bible used a vocabulary of only around _______________  words.
  6. Look up the word cliché. What does it mean? _________________________________________________
  7. List three phrases which Shakespeare invented that you recognized as clichés:
    1. ________________________________________________
    2. ________________________________________________
    3. ________________________________________________
  8. What is one of the main reasons a few scholars have questioned the authorship of some of Shakespeare's plays--
    1. They say Shakespeare could not have visited all the locations which form the setting for his plays and which he describes in detail.
    2. They claim that no one person could have written the vast number of plays and sonnets that are ascribed to Shakespeare.
    3. They say the author obviously had so much knowledge and understanding that the plays could not possibly have been written by someone who only made it through grammar school.
  9. List four of the specific subject areas in which Shakespeare seemed to have expert knowledge:  (1____________________,  (2)___________________,  (3)___________________,  (4)___________________.
  10. In Shakespeare's school he would have been in class for _______ hours a day in summer and ______ hours a day in the winter.
  11. In great literature, characters are never simplistic, but rather we may at times see____________  ___________in the hero, and we may see sympathize with the ___________________ .
  12. Shakespeare consistently illustrates that ____________ leads to suffering.

 

Back to worksheet selections           

www.theshorterword.com