Appendix 1 – Student Handout
Shakespeare's Characters: A Visual Analysis
The purpose of this activity is to bring your analysis out of the paragraph structure and into a deeper meaning and interpretation of character. The end result will be a character analysis essay. To that end we will create visual analyses of some of the main characters of the texts we will be reading. This project will be done mostly for homework with minimal time in the classroom save for clarification of ideas and strategies. The final essay will be a timed writing done in class.
Shakespeare's plays, whether tragedy or comedy, introduce characters that are complex, calculating and, on any account, three-dimensional. These characters drive the action and the plot of the play, and a grasp of characterization is in any case necessary to the understanding of the play. Write an essay in which you analyze three characters from each of the plays we have read. Be sure to emphasize the most important of these attributes of character: physical, symbolic, motivational, language, perspective, and psychological shift. Interpret these attributes to explain how they relate to the meaning of the work as a whole.
Materials: You will need large pieces of butcher paper or posterboard, markers, the texts of Macbeth, Othello, and The Taming of the Shrew, and your imagination.
Process: Choose two main characters – at least two male and two female - from each play to analyze. (If you are unsure whether the character you choose is a main character, talk to me.) Draw a portrait of the character using colors and symbols to reveal their personalities.
Portrait: You will be graded on the following information.
- Physical: How does your character look? What colors best represent his/her appearance?
- Symbolic: What symbols and colors best represent this character? Where will you place these symbols and colors to represent your character?
- Motivational: What are your character's motives and how can you represent them in your portrait?
- Language: What type of speech does this character use? What are his/her three most important lines or speeches in the play? Where will you write this information on your portrait?
- Perspective: How does the character perceive him/herself? How do others perceive this character? How can you show this difference in your portrait?
- *Bonus* Psychological Shift: Does your character change significantly during the course of the play? Can you show this shift visually? (This is a bonus because it may not be a change that can be represented visually.)
Defense Paragraphs: A paragraph or two in defense of the choices made in the process of creating these portraits is required for each character.
- What textual evidence was used to draw the particular images you chose?
- What textual evidence was used in the selection of colors and placement of objects and words on your character?
- Be sure to include act, scene, and line numbers in these paragraphs.
Due Date: (This will be determined at a later date.)
Points: 200 points per character – total 600 points – Preparation and Participation Grade
200 points - Timed Writing Grade
Comments: