Warming up

William Shakespeare

Comedies

The King Henry IV 亨利四世 A Midsummer Night’s Dream 仲夏之夜 The Merchant of Venice 威尼斯商人 Twelfth Night (What You Will) 第十二夜All’s Well That Ends Well 皆大欢喜

Romeo and Juliet 罗密欧与朱丽叶 Hamlet 哈姆莱特Othello 奥赛罗King Lear 李尔王Macbeth 麦克白

Tragedies

Match the meaning with the quotation

and the play.

Warming-up

“To be or not to be: that is the question.”“To be or not to be: that is the question.”

Meaning: To live or to die?

“Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.”“Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.”

Meaning: The life of leaders isn’t easy.

Having many responsibilities, leaders

often can’t help sleep very well.

Meaning: The life of leaders isn’t easy.

Having many responsibilities, leaders

often can’t help sleep very well.

“Neither a borrower nor a lender be.”“Neither a borrower nor a lender be.”

Meaning: Be careful to take or give

money to others. You’d better be careful.

Meaning: Be careful to take or give

money to others. You’d better be careful.

“Romeo, Romeo, why are you Romeo ? Deny

your father, and refuse your name…”

“Romeo, Romeo, why are you Romeo ? Deny

your father, and refuse your name…”

Meaning: If only you had a different

name, we would not have this problem.

“Words, words, only words, no matter

from the heart”

“Words, words, only words, no matter

from the heart”

Meaning: It’s all empty words, and

there isn’t any truth in them. You just

talk, but you don’t mean it.

Meaning: It’s all empty words, and

there isn’t any truth in them. You just

talk, but you don’t mean it.

Which plays of Shakespeare do you know?

Can you explain what they are about？

Quotation Play Meaning

Every inch

a king

King

Lear

A real king. (Better

known as Every

inch a gentleman,

meaning a real

gentleman)

Quotation Play Meaning

Breathe life

into a stone

For goodness’

sake

All’s Well

That Ends

Well

Henry VIII

A very good

medicine

“Oh Please”

or “For God

sake”

Quotation Play Meaning

All the

world’s a

stage

A dish fit

for the

gods

As You Like

It

Julius

Caesar

Life should

not be taken

too seriously

Very good

food

Quotation Play Meaning

Good

riddance

A pound

of flesh

Troilus and

Cressida

It is good to get

rid of (you)

A harsh demand

or terrible

punishment

The

Merchant

of Venice

Quotation Play Meaning

It smells

to heaven

My salad

days

Hamlet

Anthony

and

Cleopatra

Something that is

very bad or

corrupt (=It

stinks).

When I was young.

Quotation Play Meaning

What’s

done is

done

Macbeth

There is no

changing the past,

so forget about it.

Speaking

Shylock:

A cruel

businessman. He

lends Antonio

3,000 ducats.

Antonio:

A rich businessman who likes to help othe

r people. He helps his friend Bassanio, but

because of that gets into trouble with Shyl

ock.

Portia:

A rich and beautiful woman. She will

marry Bassanio. She also acts the role

of the lawyer.

Bassanio:

Antonio’s best friend.

He gets married wit

h Portia after financi

al help from Antonio.

Mercy VS Revenge

Shylock(vengeful)

Antonio(merciful)

Create a chance to kill Antonio.

He used the chance.

Has a chance to punish Shylock.

He forgave him.

It happens everywhere around the

world: two young people love each

other, but when the boy is poor or

doesn't have a good job, often the

parents of the girl don’t allow them

to get married.

Love VS Money

Correct me if I’m wrong, but …

You shouldn’t forget that …

What shouldn’t be forgotten is …

One of the most important facts is …

You could, for example …

Useful expressions

The way I would go about it …

As far as I know …

After all, …

But in this particular case …