Spring cleaning!
I have thrown out (read that, recycled) piles of files during the past two weeks. One I kept, though, was a Shakespeare file.
I take my discovery of this file as an invitation to play teacher once more. Actually, another good reason is that tomorrow, April 23, is reputedly Shakespeare’ s birthday as well as his day of death (1564-1616), and he gets all the “Purple Passage” space for notable quotes today. But first a verse, and then a quiz. (Fret not, answers provided on next post, April 25)
Reputedly, Shakespeare invented words by changing verbs to adjectives, adding syllables or even coining new words. Here is a short list. Add vowels only!
1. b__mp
2. __m__z__m__nt
3. __nch__vy
4. __ss__ss__n__t__ __n
5. c__ __rtsh__p
6. dw__ndl__
7. f__pp__sh
8. h__ __dw__nk__d
9. l__ __pfr__g
10. z__ny (Okay, so this was easy!)
Shakespeare’s plays contain so many memorable lines that many familiar with them may not know their origin. I am sure you have heard some of these, which need to be completed with one word:
Good night, good night! parting is such sweet sorrow, That I shall say good night till it be _____________. Romeo and Juliet
The course of true love never did run_________. A Midsummer Night’s Dream
The devil can cite Scripture for his _________. A Midsummer Night’s Dream
The better part of valour is __________. King Henry IV, Part I
Sweet are the uses of adversity:
Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous,
Wears yet a precious jewel in his head;
And this our life, exempt from public haunt,
Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, Sermons in ________, and good in every thing. As You Like It
Something is rotten in the state of _________. Hamlet
There is nothing either good or bad, but __________ makes it so. Hamlet
The play’s the thing / Wherein I’ll catch the _________ of the king. Hamlet
When sorrows come, they come not single _________, But in battalions. Hamlet
O brave new _________, / That has such people in ‘t! The Tempest
Want more Shakespeare? Last April I write about Shakespeare’s birthday in my classroom. Find the other link here.
Add some coined words I’ve missed, another Shakespearean quote, or even a thought about April and spring-cleaning. I love words. Share some of yours here!
Coming next: My Little Black Bookends Tell All
Plain and Fancy 