How does literature help us better understand ourselves

1
How does literature help us better understand
ourselves?

• What does Romeo and Juliet have to say to a
  teenager of today?

2
Why Do We Read/Write Stories, Poems, Books,
Plays?

• examples/partial list of student responses
• Authors Reasons
• Communicate feelings
• Pass on history
• Provide entertainment
• Share ideas

• Readers Reasons
• Validate own feelings
• Pass classes
• For fun (entertainment)
• Understand new ideas

3
Why do you think Shakespeare is still read today?

• examples/partial list of possible student
  responses
• It is required by teachers
• His plays have been around for a long time
• Action, plot is interesting
• Strong characters

4
Why do you think Shakespeare is still read today?

• Other ideas teacher response
• His plays talk about life and our ability to
  control our own destiny.
• Other writers and elements in our culture refer
  to his stories need understanding of them to
  understand our culture, storieseven newspaper
  articles/TV shows/movies.
• They help us see our own relationships in strong
  dramatic terms and help us to better understand
  ourselves and those around us.
• Shakespeare is a master at creating new words
  that we still use today.
• Quoting Shakespeare

5
What experience do you have with Shakespeare?

• Have read
• Midsummer Nights Dream
• Romeo and Juliet
• Hamlet
• Poems (Sonnets)
• Saw
• Live play
• Movie based on Shakespeares play

6
What Do You Think You Know about Romeo and Juliet?

• examples of student responses
• They die at the end.
• He shot himself and she stabs herself.
• Their families didnt like each other.
• They lived on the beach.
• Juliet was really young, like 16.

• She was really rich and he was poor.
• Romeo kills a guy.

7
Where did you hear it?
8
What Do You Want to Know?

• examples/partial list of possible student
• responses
• Why do they talk funny?
• How do you understand what theyre talking about?
• Do RJ both die in the play, too?
• Why is this play so famous? What is so good about
  it?