Shakespeare in our World

Where in the world is....William Shakespeare? (sung with the same rhythm as Carmen Sandiego)

Have you ever thought of these connections?

Um...Romeo and Juliet much? Pyramus and Thisbe is a complete rip-off. Oh wait, how many stories have the forbidden love that turns into run-aways? So many!

So let's look at Theseus and Hippolyta for a second. He is a short, dominating man that rules the relationship with a clenched fist. And despite her Amazonian size, Hippolyta is the subservient counterpart. Have we seen this somewhere else?

Of Mice and Men perhaps:

What about Pinky and The Brain?

Leonard and Sheldon?

Lord Farquaad and Fiona?

How about that line from 3.2.106 -

Sink in apple of his eye.

Does it remind you of the line from the King James Bible?

“Keep me as the apple of Your eye; Hide me under the shadow of Your wings.” Psalm 17:8

How about the love potion in our story and the one used in Harry Potter?

Or the premise of "The Bachelorette", does that sound a little familiar?

What about the love mess that always present in the "Archie" comics?

I wonder if any of these authors are familiar with Shakespeare.

Do we think that Puck is the long lost ancestor of Tinker Bell?

What about the classic dreams of n overconfident character getting defeated? Hey Virginia.

What about the first scene from a short lived sitcom called "Joey" that aired in 2004. Think Nick Bottom is stupid, check out how Joey Tribbiani has been performing Romeo for years.

Or did you ever see that having the play in a play can be very similar to the process a DI team can work through in their competitions?

Have you ever thought that your love was being mocked? That what you deem to be true is not appreciated by others? Today's groups thought that Shakespeare was mocking the concept of "love at first sight" with his use of love potions. We even discussed how that concept has been written and written throughout history.

Some students noticed a connection between Nick Bottom and Kevin Hart. There arrogance runs deep.

After learning about satire in social studies and having several students try their hand at it in the multi-genre unit, we talked about how Shakespeare incorporated it into this play.

One group reported that a local church who also performs plays, occasionally has a person play the role of an object. I wonder if the motivation is the same?

-The answer coming to a future connections meeting near you.

Middle School Drama = A Midsummer Night's Dream

Even television shows we watch today reference Shakespeare. "The Fosters" and "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody" are just a couple.