His Lordship
Dr. Stephen Marino
Announces
The Renaissance Festival
Celebrating
The Birth and Death
Of Master William Shakespeare
April 23, 2012
Subjects are commanded to dress in finest apparel
befitting your station and status
in the kingdom
of drama, comedy, history, or romance
Subjects are required to research in the royal library or internet and report back to his Eminence no later than April 16 on your findings in manuscript format which will please his Grace.
We will be doing many exciting activities as part of our preparation for reading William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet: reading and discussing The Shakespeare Stealer, learning about the life and times of Shakespeare, and holding the Renaissance Festival.
As part of learning about Shakespeare’s life and times and planning for the Renaissance Festival, you will be required over the Easter vacation to do research on the English Renaissance. You want to discover what life was like living in England, particularly in Shakespeare’s country birthplace in Stratford and in the huge city of London where he wrote and performed his play. You must explore the social classes and how each lives, what daily life was life, the clothes they wore, the food they ate, their education, their manners, their customs, their music. You must select one area of interest that particularly fascinates you; for example, methods of transportation, military life, public executions, residences. For the Renaissance Festival, you are required to dress as an historical figure, a member of a particular social class ( a lord, a lady, a peasant , or a character from a Shakespeare. Your garment must be historically accurate. You also must provide Elizabethan food or drink for the festival, so also must research this.
The SFP library website contains many links to Shakespeare’s life and times, so you can do the research using only the internet. I will show you this in class.
On April 16, you must submit to me a paper of no less than three pages which reports on your research. The paper must include the costume you are wearing and the food and/or drink which you are bringing to the festival. You may also include photos, maps and diagrams. The paper must follow MLA format, including a “Works Cited.” I will review this in class.