Hate
WillPlay: Learning Resources
These Learning Resources are designed for both teacher and student use, in the classroom and at home. They are tied into learning objectives for GCSE English study of the play. Drawing on the student's experience of the completed WillPlay chat, each resource includes a task, an example student answer and an extension.
Hate Task: Genre
'you shall find me a grave man'
Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet is a play that mixes Comedy and Tragedy. The third act is full of both humour and violence. The jokes offer some relief from the intensity of the drama as well as making the hate and the suffering powerful by contrast.
Identify 1 funny and 1 sad message from the WillPlay chat you have just had. Which character sent the message? Were they speaking in words from the original play? What was it about this message that made it effective and did your role in the chat change how you responded to it?
Student Example:
The Puss-in-Boots screen shot was a funny message sent by Romeo. It is not in Shakespeare's play but references the way Mercutio calls Tybalt 'King of Cats'. It was effective because it was unexpected, it made me think that even a violent character like Tybalt might have a soft, loveable side and so I stopped being rude to him.
Extension: Is there a moment in the play where a line that is funny is also sad or horrifying? Can you explain why this is? Did you say anything in the chat that was funny, or sad? Why do you think you wrote that message?