School Radio

KS2 Resource Pack

The Tempest by William Shakespeare
Teacher’s Notes by Stuart Rathe

1. Rock the ship

3
2. Set me free
5
3. Full fathom five
6
4. Toledo steel
8
5. Barracuda
9
6. Love song
10
7. Spellbound
12
8. Sea change
13
9. Resource Sheets
15
This Resource Pack provides a scheme of work to accompany The Tempest - an animated adaptation from BBC Teach.

Text in blue is hyper-linked: click on the text to be taken to the relevant online page (if you are connected online).

Home-learning. Some of the activities in this Resource Pack will work as KS2 home-learning activities. These are presented in green shading.

www.bbc.co.uk/teach/school-radio © BBC 2020

 The Tempest

1: Rock the ship • After a while ask them to silently move into character groups. They
must not speak to anyone, but they should look for character move-
This is a tale of wizards, magic, murder and monsters. It takes place long ment clues and move into categories with others that they think are
ago on an island with no name. Prospero and his beautiful daughter, moving the same way!
Miranda, live in a cave on the island, but they weren’t born there. Twelve • When pupils have moved into their groups, ask them to check that all
years ago they were cast out to sea in a boat full of holes. the Calibans are together, all the Mirandas together, etc.
• One person from each group should now read out the biography for
They were meant to die, but who would want to murder them..? It so their character.
happens that the people responsible are on a ship sailing past the island • Now ask each pupil group to consult. Which card category do they
on their way home to Italy. Prospero intends to teach them a lesson by think they can beat the others with?
way of punishment. He calls on Ariel - his helper sprite - and conjures up • Each group should take it in turn to challenge the other groups with
a storm so tempestuous it will change all their lives forever. what they think is their ‘top category’ (Teachers: the cards are organ-
ised in such a way that each character has a winning category so this
should work!)
Lesson activities: exploring the characters and ship- • Once this activity is done, pupils should feel confident that they know
wreck of The Tempest through drama what the relationships between these characters is.
• Now ask the groups to mix. Ask pupils to move into new groups with
This is a drama-based lesson and a large cleared space will be neces- one of each character per group.
sary: the school hall, drama studio or a cleared classroom. • Each group should now contain a Prospero, Miranda, Ariel and
Caliban.
Activity 1: Exploring characters and relationships • Give each group a few minutes to share the picture of their character
and further information about their character and their role in the play
The Resource Sheets contain four character ‘Top Trump’ style cards from the card with the rest of the group.
for the four inhabitants of the ‘island with no name’: Prospero, Miranda, • Now ask each group to create a tableau that shows the relationship
Caliban and Ariel. The cards contain a brief biography, a character quote, between the different characters. Where will Caliban stand relative to
a ‘movement style’ and a score out of 100 for each of the following cate- Prospero? Where will Miranda stand relative to Prospero, etc?
gories: Magical Factor; Fairness Factor; Fear Factor; Freedom Factor. • Students should show via gesture, facial expression and pose how
they feel about other characters in the space.
• Print off enough of the cards to give a card to each member of your • Look at each frozen tableau as a class. Tap individual characters on
class. the shoulder and ask them to explain who they are and how they feel
• Ask pupils to read their character card. about their place in the story
• Ask students to move around the space silently using the movement
style on their cards and muttering their character line under their
breaths.

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 The Tempest

Activity 2: Creating a shipwreck • Finally, have the whole class play back their Tempest freezes /
conversations simultaneously to create a storm soundscape. You
Before the lesson find some ‘Shipwreck sounds’ or ‘Stormy sea sounds’ could also split the class into two and have half as audience and half
on YouTube or Spotify or similar. as participants. In this way, encourage discussion about what pupils
notice and like about other participants’ contributions.
• Ask your pupils to close their eyes and listen to the sounds. What
do they hear? Mind-map with the class. Suggestions might include Follow-up written task:
thunder and lightning, crashing waves, driving rain, creaking timbers, Watch the opening 30 seconds of the trailer for the film version of The
etc. Collect the suggestions on the whiteboard. Tempest on YouTube starring Helen Mirren as Prospero. It contains
• Now ask pupils to think about what additional human sounds there many jump cut scenes of the storm. Ask children to discuss the atmo-
might be: people praying, wailing and screaming, shouting instruc- sphere evoked, especially with Elliot Goldenthal’s industrial, clanging
tions, helping others out of difficulty, etc. soundtrack in the background. Now children could write their own
• Put pupils into pairs and spread around the space. Ask pupils to version of the shipwreck, chanelling some of the energy from their drama
decide on a different, relevant ‘shipwreck’ human sound each (eg a performances, the YouTube clip and using some of the language from
sob, a pleading, a prayer, an instruction). the original script resource.
• In their pairs ask pupils to start a sea storm sounds ‘conversation’ with
their perfected sound. On a ship at sea: a tempestuous noise of thunder and lightning heard.
• One pupil makes his sound and the other responds with hers. A ‘wail’
might be answered with a prayer, etc. Stop and listen to a couple of BOATSWAIN
examples. Down with the topmast! yare! lower, lower! Lay her a-hold, a-hold! set
• Now ask pupils to add a further one or two human sounds into each her two courses off to sea again; lay her off.
of their conversations. To assist them, add in the storm dialogue sheet
Enter Mariners wet
which contains some Tempest dialogue from Shakespeare’s play text.
• Next, ask pupils to add a freeze-framed action to go with each sound MARINERS
(eg sinking to the ground in prayer, shielding oneself from a breaking All lost! to prayers, to prayers! all lost!
wave, adjusting a sail, or climbing the rigging, etc). Add the actions to A confused noise within
the sounds and dialogue and replay the ‘conversation’ with one sound VOICES
per freeze. Again, show back a couple of examples.
‘Mercy on us!’ - ‘We split, we split!’ - ’Farewell, my wife and children!’ -
• Encourage pupils to hold each pose for a short period so that there
are two or three clear sounds, matched with poses, per participant. ‘Farewell, brother!’ - ’We split, we split, we split!’
• Remind them that this is a conversation. One person makes their ANTONIO
sound and poses, then freezes whilst the next person responds. Let’s all sink with the king.
GONZALO
The wills above be done! but I would fain die a dry death.

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 The Tempest

2: Set me free Activity 2: The relationship between Prospero and Ariel

The storm rages and wakes Miranda. She’s not happy when she learns • In the animation Ariel seems a bit peeved that he isn’t going to be
what her father has done. She wants to know why he’s endangering the freed immediately, despite creating the storm for Prospero.
passengers of a passing ship. • In Shakespeare’s play the relationship between Prospero and Ariel is
complex. Is Ariel a servant of a loving master or the slave of a cruel
Prospero clicks his fingers and the storm stops. Then he tells Miranda the tyrant? We will explore this now.
whole story. How he’s not just a wizard; how he was once Duke of Milan; • Gather pupils together and tell them you have a secret to share.
how he was betrayed by his brother, Antonio, who threw him - and the Read Ariel’s story from the Resource Sheets. If you feel confident
young Miranda - into a boat with the intention of losing them both at sea; enough you can ‘play’ the part of Ariel as teacher in role. If not, you
how his old friend, Gonzalo, threw his science books into the boat with could say that this is a secret communication you have received
them as they were leaving and how after 12 years of study he has come from Ariel, who feels confused about his/her relationship with Pros-
to be a great magician. Prospero then explains that on the boat are all the pero. S/he wants you to listen to the story and decide for yourself
people responsible for his current situation, including his brother Antonio. what you think of Prospero.
• After performing / reading ask pupils for their views. Is Ariel a pris-
Ariel arrives with news that the passengers from the ship have landed oner and Prospero the bad guy, or is Prospero a kind master who
safely on the island, split up in various locations - just as Prospero had loves Ariel?
ordered. • The table below will help you to scaffold and guide your pupils’ views
with targeted questioning.
Activity 1: Prospero’s tale
Ariel is a prisoner! Ariel is not a prisoner!
• Prospero’s story is one of the most detailed backstories in Shake- Prospero is a bad guy Prospero is a good guy
speare.
Prospero describes Ariel as malig- Ariel was in a much worse situation
• In the original Shakespeare text he speaks beautifully about the life nant, a slave and a dull thing. That when he first met with Prospero. The
he led in Milan and his terrible overthrow. isn’t a very polite way to treat your witch Sycorax had imprisoned Ariel
• The Prospero’s tale resource breaks the story down into several friend and helper! in a pine tree, where Ariel had been
sections. for twelve years. Prospero freed Ariel
• Divide pupils into groups and divide the different parts of Prospero’s from this situation
tale resource between the different pupil groups.
Ariel refers to being set free from Prospero tells Ariel to do all sorts of
• Give each group a period of time to devise a freeze frame or short Prospero’s service as liberty. exciting and daring things (business
mimed sequence to show their portion of the story. Obviously Ariel feels that he is being in the veins of the earth). Sycorax
• Watch back the performances to get a sense of the entire story of imprisoned against his / her will. gave Ariel no liberty at all. Sycorax
Prospero and Miranda. imprisoned Ariel but Prospero lets
Ariel do all sorts of fun things!

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 The Tempest

Ariel is a prisoner! Ariel is not a prisoner! 3: Full fathom five

Prospero is a bad guy Prospero is a good guy
The survivors of the shipwreck crawl onto the beach. Prospero surveys
Sycorax and Prospero are both a Prospero does speak harshly to Ariel,
all from the secrecy of his invisibility cloak. First he inspects the courtiers,
type of wicked magician. They both but so do teachers and parents when
imprison Ariel. pupils are naughty. It should also who have been washed up together on one beach. They're all thoroughly
be remembered that Prospero says miserable and bickering about who should be in charge. King Alonso
many kind things to Ariel. He calls is particularly upset - he thinks his son, Ferdinand, has perished in the
Ariel My Brave Spirit and congratu- storm.
lates Ariel on creating the storm so
brilliantly. Prospero only scolds Ariel Then Ariel shows Prospero two more of the passengers - Trinculo and
when it is necessary to do so. Stephano - who have been washed up together on another part of the
Prospero is a born leader. He was a island. Trinculo is a jester and Stephano his friend.
high born Duke of Milan. Of course
he has power over Ariel. Prospero is Finally, Ariel shows Prospero Ferdinand, who hasn't drowned, but who is
ensuring that order and the rule of feeling upset because he assumes the other passengers - including his
law exist on a very strange island. father - have died. Prospero's plan is coming together nicely...

Written follow-up: Activity: Song and poetry analysis using visualisation

Pupils write a diary entry as Ariel explaining his story and why he feels techniques
that Prospero is treating him so meanly!
The Tempest is a play full of song and spectacle because it was written
for the indoor Blackfriars Theatre towards the end of Shakespeare’s
life. Many of Shakespeare’s earlier plays had been written for outdoor
theatres, where lighting was provided by natural daylight and where
props, costume, music and special effects were minimal. The develop-
ment of the Blackfriars Theatre allowed Shakespeare to use more music
and magic in his plays.

Ariel sings two songs to Ferdinand as he arrives on the island.

The first is a song welcoming Ferdinand to the strange island, and the
second is a mournful song about Ferdinand‘s father, who Ferdinand
assumes is dead.

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 The Tempest

We are going to try a visualisation technique to see whether pupils can turning into a strange coral-like creature in the sea. You might also
create mental images in their minds helping them understand the content discuss that this is very mean and manipulative of Ariel. After all, Ariel
of the two songs. knows that the different passengers of the ship (including Ferdinand’s
father) have been safely placed on the island. Why is Ariel allowing
• Put pupils into pairs. Ferdinand to think of his dead father at the bottom of the sea?
• Print off the Resource Sheet of the two songs.
• Give one song to Pupil A and one to Pupil B. Follow-up written work
• Tell Pupil A that they will be reading their song to Pupil B in a very
special way. • Write an analysis of the ‘Full Fathom Five’ song - including details of
• Pupil A should read the song one line at a time. At the end of each who sings it and the context in which it is sung - and a description of
line they must pause. what the song is about and the images that it creates in your mind.
• Pupil B must wait until an image forms in his or her mind that matches • How many syllables in each line?
the words. • Are there any rhyming words, or half rhymes? (lies / eyes; made /
• Eg ‘Come unto these yellow sands’ might conjure up an image of a fade; change / strange; knell / bell.)
deserted and peaceful beach on a tropical paradise. The pupil may • The pattern of the rhyme scheme is ABAB CCDD.
imagine sand between their toes and the feel of the sun on their back. • Is there any alliteration? (Full fathom five / father; suffer / sea /
• When Pupil B has an image in their mind that matches the line they strange - it’s interesting that these alliterative words actually convey
should nod. This is a signal for Pupil A to read the next line. the meaning of the whole song: a father in the depths of the ocean
• If Pupil B needs to hear the line again, they can say ‘Repeat’ and who is suffering a strange transformation).
Pupil A will repeat the line. When Pupil B finally forms the image, • Is there any onomatopoeia? (Ding Dong).
Pupil A can continue with the next line.
• Pupil B should not feel censored in their image formation. Whatever Follow-up written work 2
enters their head is entirely valid.
• The entire song is read in this way. Write a diary entry in role as Ferdinand, washed ashore on the island.
• At the end of the song Pupil A and Pupil B should discuss what Describe the shipwreck, your escape and your arrival on the strange
images were formed and what the song was about. island, with all its peculiar noises and magical songs. Use all your
senses to make your audience feel that they are really on the island with
• Repeat with Song 2. This time Pupil B reads and Pupil A visualises you.
images.
• Bring the whole class back together to discuss the songs and the Follow-up research work
images formed. What did pupils see? What did they think each song
was about? Ask pupils to research the Blackfriars Theatre and report back to you
• Agree that the tone of each song is quite different. The first is with information about music, lighting, special effects and with specific
welcoming and warm. The second is more sinister and disturbing as comparisons between the outdoor Globe theatre and Blackfriars.
it conveys the idea that Ferdinand’s father will - in death - slowly be

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 The Tempest

4: Toledo steel Follow-up written work

Read Caliban’s monologue describing the strangeness of the island.
King Alonso and the courtiers continue arguing so Prospero casts a Either:
sleeping spell over them, but allows Antonio and Sebastian stay awake. • Write a narrative description of the island and its different parts or
And, within minutes, Antonio’s up to his evil ways again: while King Alon- • Create a pamphlet or brochure advertising the island to visitors or
so and Gonzalo are asleep, Antonio convinces Sebastian that he could • Create a ‘government warning’ document, warning travellers to stay
become King of Naples if he will kill Alonso. away from the island.

Caliban’s monologue - ‘The isle is full of noises’

Sebastian is not sure, but on reflection thinks that killing Prospero hasn’t
done Antonio any harm. So, Antonio draws a blade from his pocket: it’s
Be not afeard; the isle is full of noises,
Toledo steel...
Sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not.
Activity: Creating an island - different interpretations Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
Will hum about mine ears; and sometime voices,
The mysterious island is very different for all its visitors. The animation That, if I then had waked after long sleep,
voiceover suggests that it brings out the true character of whoever visits Will make me sleep again: and then, in dreaming,
it. If you are evil, your evil will be amplified. If you are foolish, you will be The clouds methought would open, and show riches
even more foolish. In this lesson, we will create different versions of the Ready to drop upon me; that, when I waked,
island to match the different personalities of its visitors. I cried to dream again.

• Ask pupils to work in groups (or individually) to create a map of the

island.
• Zones to be created include:
- Caliban’s lair
- Prospero’s cell
- The bay containing the wrecked ship
- The woods where Ariel was trapped
• What type of island is the island in The Tempest? Imagine how it
might be different for the various characters in the play?
• Is the island a paradise (‘Utopia’) or hell (‘Dystopia’)?
• Encourage pupils to be creative with their designs. This could
become a DT or Art project and pupil groups could present their
islands to the rest of the class, with a class vote for the favourite. The
islands could become part of a display based on The Tempest.

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 The Tempest

5: Barracuda • Ask pupils to put character description words into the Venn diagram.
One circle represents Caliban and one represents Prospero.
Sebastian and Antonio step forward intending to kill King Alonso but Ariel • Some of the words they suggest might describe both Prospero and
whooshes down and wakes Gonzalo and, realising what’s happening, he Caliban. They should go in the overlap section.
wakes the king. A startled King Alonso asks Antonio and Sebastian why • After pupils have completed this activity, ask them to work with a
they have their knives drawn. But, ever-cunning Antonio has an explana- partner.
tion, which the king and Gonzalo accept without question. • Tell them to concentrate on the words that appear in the ‘overlap’
sections of the Venn diagram.
On the other side of the island Prospero’s slave-monster, Caliban, meets • Each pupil should explain to his or her partner why the chosen
up with comic duo Stephano and Trinculo, who have come ashore with a ‘overlap’ word is applicable to both Prospero and Caliban.
barrel of wine. It’s not long before the barrel is empty and the intoxicated
trio are planning to kill Prospero and take over the island. Prospero, still in Activity 3: Role on the wall for Caliban
his invisibility cloak, sees it all...
Divide pupils into an even number of groups. Half the groups should
Activity 1: Caliban’s story create a role on the wall showing evidence of a good and benevolent
Caliban. The other groups should create a role on the wall demonstrating
• In Shakespeare’s play the relationship between Prospero and Caliban an evil or dangerous Caliban. The Simplified Caliban quotes assist in
is as complex as the relationship between Prospero and Ariel. identifying his good and bad characteristics. The instructions for the role
• Gather pupils together and tell them you have a secret to share. on the wall activity appear below.
Read Caliban’s story from the Resource Sheets. If you feel confi-
dent enough you can ‘play’ the part of Caliban as teacher in role. • Explain that we are going to examine what we know about Caliban by
If not, you could say that this is a secret communication you have looking at how he behaves, what he says and what others say about
received from Caliban, who feels confused about his relationship with him.
Prospero. He wants you to listen to the story and decide for yourself • Hand out the Role on the wall Resource Sheet for Caliban.
what you think of Prospero. • Hand out the Simplified Caliban quotes.
• After performing / reading ask pupils for their views. Is Caliban a good • Pupils should try to complete their role on the wall as follows:
guy who is just a victim, or is he a monstrous villain? Or does the - ON the INSIDE: write down Caliban’s inner feelings and fears.
truth lie somewhere in between? - ON the OUTSIDE: write down how Caliban presents himself to the
outside world
Activity 2: Venn diagram activity • Use the quotes to support pupils’ interpretations of the character of
Caliban.
• Hand out the Venn diagram resource. • As an extension, pupils could choose words from inside and outside
• You may need to provide teaching input to remind pupils how a Venn their roles on the wall to create Caliban statues, showing one of
diagram works: each circle represents one category of information his characteristics. Divide the class into two. One half of the class
and the overlap(s) represent the intersection of the two categories. becomes a museum of different Calibans showing his good and bad

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 The Tempest

side. After a tour of the museum led by the teacher, the other half of
the class can now become a museum of Calibans with their frozen
6: Love song
statue poses. Can pupils guess which words from the Roles on the Ariel leads Ferdinand to the cave where he meets Miranda...and they fall
wall are represented by the statues?” hopelessly in love. Miranda is the most beautiful woman Ferdinand has
ever seen...Ferdinand is the only man Miranda has ever seen (apart from
Activity 3: A letter from Caliban to Prospero her father, of course) and their falling in love is all part of Prospero’s plan.
Prospero gives Ferdinand Caliban’s job of cutting wood...and Ferdinand
Ask pupils to write a letter to Prospero, explaining how his treatment is rather enjoys the chore, so long as he has Miranda with him to watch.
unfair. Remember that:
• Caliban showed Prospero all the parts of the island.
Starter activity: Tempest family portraits
• Prospero was initially kind and taught him how to speak.
• Caliban hates Prospero now. At one point he says that he is glad that
• Explain to pupils that they are going to create Tempest portraits.
Prospero taught him how to speak, because now he can curse!
• Divide the class into groups of 9.
• The characters will be made up of the following: Caliban, Ariel,
Caliban will be angry that he is being repaid in such a cruel and heart-
Trinculo, Stephano, Prospero, Miranda, Ferdinand, Alonso, King of
less way and treated as a slave.
Naples (see the Main characters Resource Sheet as a reference).
• Tell each family group that they are about to have their photos taken
Use the work that children have done on creating their Roles on the
for a glossy magazine.
wall and Caliban physicalisations, together with the Simplified Caliban
• Give them a few minutes to work out what their ‘happy family’ pose
quotes Resource Sheet to mindmap some ideas about Caliban’s plight
or poses will be (clue - there will probably be a number of disparate
and to develop some emotive language for the letter.
groups within the tableau).
• Look at the happy family poses that each group has created.
Plenary • Now tell the group that the photo shoot has ended.
• Give each group two minutes to work out where the group members
• Look for different images of Caliban from stage and film productions would move to and how they would look at and interact with each
and paintings over the years. Distribute them to the class. Some- other when the shoot was finished (eg Caliban may react very differ-
times Caliban is shown as a comical monster, sometimes he is a ently to Prospero and Miranda, Alonso and the King may be suspi-
noble and dignified man who has been displaced from the island by cious of each other rather than happy family members).
Prospero. • Allow the pupils to create a short segue from the ‘happy family’ pose
• Discuss the features of the paintings and portrayals in small groups. to the candid pose.
What kind of Caliban has been created? Is it a sympathetic creation • Watch the two freeze frames segue from one to the other.
or a monstrous one? Which is your favourite? • Discuss the relationships that this has revealed as a whole class. Has
this affected anyone’s perception of the relationships at the heart of
The Tempest? Has it raised any new questions worthy of investiga-
tion?
10

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 The Tempest

Activity 1: Exploring Shakespearean love sonnets Activity

Ferdinand falls hopelessly in love with Miranda the moment he sees her. • Read ‘The Amorous Teacher’s Sonnet to his Love’ together.
In this lesson, we will look at one of the ways that Shakespeare writes • Count the lines in the poem and ask pupils to make a note of the
about love in his writing - using a poem form called the Elizabethan number.
sonnet or Shakespearean sonnet. • Count the number of verses (pupils should spot four verses - three
of four lines each, and a final rhyming couplet).
Extra information for teachers • Count the number of lines per verse. Is there any variation?
• How many beats or syllables are there in each line of the poem?
Keep this secret from your class until they have performed the sonnet Clap the rhythms together and check.
investigation. • What is the rhyming scheme? Look for the rhyming words, noticing
• A sonnet is a special type of love poem and Shakespeare is famous the final rhyming couplet.
for writing them! • Explain that this is a sonnet and follows very fixed rules. Can any of
• An Elizabethan sonnet is made up of 14 lines. the pupils have a go at defining a sonnet based on what we have
• The first 12 lines are divided into verses of stanzas of four lines found?
(called quatrains). • Hand out the Sonnet definition resource.
• Each quatrain has a rhyming scheme ABAB. • After discussing the sonnet, choose another Shakespearean sonnet
• The last two lines form a rhyming couplet. - eg ‘Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?’ from the Resource
• Each line of the sonnet must have ten syllables or beats - a pattern Sheets.
called iambic pentameter. • Read the Shakespearean sonnet together.
• Does it follow the same pattern?
A good entry point to Shakespearean sonnets is the gloriously silly
modern sonnet ‘The Amorous Teacher’s Sonnet to his Love’, which can Follow-up written work
be found via an internet search of the title or here: Can pupils produce an annotated definition of a sonnnet in their books,
using either of the sonnets studied today?
http://www.windowsproject.net/downlds/bigbunch.pdf
Extension for able students
This comical sonnet from Dave Calder imagines a male teacher, Can students write their own sonnet following the pattern? It could be
desperate to get through the morning in order that he can see the apple based on the story of The Tempest - eg:
of his eye - a young dinner lady. He dreams of whisking her away to run • Miranda’s sonnet to Prospero
a Lake District cafe together, but his dreams are shattered when a child • Caliban’s sonnet to the island
spills custard on his shoe. • Ferdinand’s sonnet to Miranda

As this poem fits the Elizabethan sonnet pattern perfectly, it can be used
to explore how a sonnet works.

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 The Tempest

7: Spellbound The magic and mystery of The Tempest was perfectly suited to the Black-
friars theatre in London, where Shakespeare first produced the show.
Prospero has his enemies in his power and takes his plan to the next But it was also perfectly suited to the very first filmmakers - silent movie-
level. He puts on his invisibility cloak and joins Ariel in the jungle, ready makers who were tempted to recreate The Tempest because it allowed
for the mayhem to begin. First, King Alonso and the courtiers. Wild them to show cinematic trickery and special effects.
animals roar and crash through the trees while the courtiers panic and
Show pupils a clip or clips from Percy Stow’s silent film The Tempest
run about. Before they have time to recover, Prospero clicks his fingers
(1908). You can search for the film on YouTube.
and a massive banquet appears. The starving courtiers rush for the food
but Ariel appears as a monster and the courtiers are terrified. Then Ariel
• Explain to pupils that the very first filmed adaptation of Shakespeare
floats above Alonso, Antonio and Sebastian and tells them they are being
was a production of The Tempest in 1908, directed by Percy Stow.
punished for all the terrible things they have done.
• Can pupils identify who they think the main characters are? Which is
Prospero? Ariel? Caliban? Miranda? What clues do they have that
Next, Caliban and his new friends. Prospero and Ariel find them up at
they are the characters from the play? What clues are there as to
the cave where they’re stealing the magician’s robes. Ariel conjures up a
which characters are good and which are evil, etc?
pack of demon dogs, which chase them in to the jungle too.
• Watch the Percy Stow production - it is 10 minutes
• Focus in on two particular special effects: the creation of the storm
Alone later, Prospero questions the right course of action: punishment or
and the transformation of Ariel into a monkey.
forgiveness? Has he himself become spellbound by the magic and the
• Ask pupils to discuss how they think these effects were created and
mayhem? Could it be time to move on and return home..?
feedback as a class.
Starter activity: creating a ‘harpy’
Teacher background information about the special effects
• Put pupils into groups of four or five and ask them to create a trans-
• In a few places in the movie, jump shots are used.
formation from light and delicate Ariel into a monstrous harpy.
• A ‘jump shot’ is the term for when the camera is stopped and then
• They could start individually, moving lightly and indirectly around the
restarted after a change has been made to the picture being filmed.
space in their group, then form together to create a monstrous winged
• This is used in a few places such as where Ariel changes into a
creature.How will they use their bodies to create the wings and
monkey. The actor playing Caliban would have stayed still in the same
convey a sense of terror?
place while Ariel was replaced with the monkey. This way, when the
• Watch back examples.
camera is turned on again it seems that a magic transformation has
taken place.
Activity
• This was a new technique back in 1908 and would have seemed very
sophisticated.
This is the most magical and terrifying part of The Tempest. Ariel trans-
• Where Prospero creates the storm, the print of the film has been
forms into a harpy and Prospero creates a pack of hellish dogs to chase
scratched to make lightning. The film has also been rewound and
Caliban, Stephano and Trinculo.
filmed over to superimpose one image on top of another.
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 The Tempest

Script writing exercise 8: Sea change

• Ask pupils to write their own narration and dialogue for the 1908 It’s time for the finale of Prospero’s plan. He sits wearing his invisibility
movie (or a short extract of it). cloak watching the miserable courtiers. He decides that no matter how
• Note that this could be done either in small groups or independently, evil they once were, they have repented and he must forgive them.
but each group or individual will need to have access to a computer He removes his cloak, throws it away, and destroys his magic staff.
screen to view the Percy Stow Tempest. Then, with a crack of lightening, he steps forward, no longer Prospero the
• Model creating a short script for part of the silent movie, with narra- magician, but once again Prospero, Duke of Milan.
tion, stage directions/instructions for sound effects and dialogue for
the characters represented on the screen. The courtiers are amazed and beg for his forgiveness...at which point
• Pupils could then rehearse and record their finished scripts, incorpo- Ferdinand and Miranda emerge on to the beach. They’re not just alive,
rating their own sound effects. they have Prospero’s permission to marry.
• These could then be played back simultaneously with the part of The
Tempest movie they are intended to accompany. With everyone now on the beach, the lost ship appears, its crew fit and
healthy. Soon the ship is ready to leave, but before it does, Prospero
Link: The Tempest on film - a history of The Tempest on film from the finally sets Ariel free. The island now belongs to him and Caliban once
British Film Institute. You can register with the BFI to watch the clips from more. The wind fills the sails and the island with no name grows smaller
their site. on the horizon...they’re going home.

Story summary activities

Freeze frames

Now that pupils know the whole story of The Tempest create a whole-
class freeze-frame adaptation using the ten point summary of the story
from the Resource Sheets.
• Split pupils into groups of, say, four and distribute the ten point strips
evenly between groups.
• Each group then creates a freeze-frame for their part or parts of the
story.
• The freeze-frames are shown back to the whole class in order,
with one pupil (or all pupils in unison) reading out their strip before
showing their freeze-frame.
• There is also a simple pictorial Sequencing activity in the Resource
Sheets.
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 The Tempest

Newspaper reports Additional resources

Write your own newspaper article about the events of The Tempest.
Macbeth
Discuss the features as follows:
Animated in 8 episodes with comprehensive
• Headline: usually short and snappy, perhaps featuring alliteration or notes and follow-up activities.
a pun.
• By-line: the name of the author of the article. A Midsummer Night’s Dream
• Orientation paragraph: the first paragraph with details of the WHO, Another rich animation with comprehensive
WHAT, WHEN and WHERE of the story. teacher / home study notes.
• Main body: lots more detail about the story, clarifying HOW and
WHY things happened and usually including some quotes from key Shakespeare Retold
witnesses or people involved in the story. Audio stories based on Shakespeare’s works
• Reorientation: summarising the story at the end and perhaps written by famous children’s authors.
including some additional details of what the characters are up to
NOW.
Shakespeare on Trial!
• Past tense: this is something that has already happened.
A playscript exploring Shakespeare and his
Write down on the whiteboard the main characters that pupils want to works, including songs to learn.
interview for the newspaper report (anticipate that pupils will want to
interview Prospero, Miranda, Ariel, Caliban, Stephano, Trinculo). The Shakespeare Retold series includes a story called ‘The Isle of
• In pairs, ask pupils to role play as news reporters asking the charac- Noises’ by Frank Cottrell Boyce. It’s a fictionalised account of the writing
ters questions to generate quotes for their newspapers (eg ‘How did and staging of The Tempest at the Blackfriars Theatre, including some of
you feel when..? / ‘What did you think about..?’ / ‘Were you surprised the innovations in stagecraft adopted for the performance.
that...?’ Etc)
• For example, a reporter might ask Prospero: ‘Why did you not The resources for the musical play Shakespeare on Trial! includes a
release Ariel from captivity earlier than you did?’ song-setting of Ariel’s famous ‘Full fathom five’, which pupils may enjoy
• For the purposes of differentiation, some learners might focus on learning together.
just one aspect of the story (eg Caliban’s treatment at the hands of
Prospero). Other learners might try to incorporate multiple elements. Additional monlogue resource

Ask pupils to learn and perform monologues. One popular monologue is

contained in an earlier lesson: ‘The isle is full of noises’ (Caliban).
Prospero’s monologue, explaining that he is turning his back on being a
magician, is also included in the Resource Pack with a set of questions to
discuss with pupils.
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 STORM DIALOGUE VOICES
‘Mercy on us!’-- ‘We split, we split!’--’Farewell,
On a ship at sea: a tempestuous noise of my wife and children!’-- ‘Farewell, brother!’--
thunder and lightning heard. ’We split, we split, we split!’

BOATSWAIN ANTONIO
Down with the topmast! yare! lower, lower! Let’s all sink with the king.
Lay her a-hold, a-hold! set her two courses
off to sea again; lay her off. GONZALO
The wills above be done! but I would fain
Enter Mariners wet die a dry death.

MARINERS
All lost! to prayers, to prayers! all lost!

A confused noise within

© BBC Education 2020

 Prospero’s tale • Prospero and his daughter Miranda
were put out to sea in a rotten old
• Prospero explains that he is the Duke of boat in the middle of the night by the
Milan and Miranda is actually a princess. plotters.

• Prospero explains that his magic books • Gonzalo, a noble from Naples,
held more attraction than the business of provided Prospero and Miranda with
being the Duke. clothing, necessities and books.

• Prospero explains that he allowed his • Prospero and Miranda arrived on the
brother - Antonio - to rule in his place, island, where they have remained for
so that he, Prospero, could continue his the last twelve years, without seeing
studies. another soul.

• Prospero exlains that Antonio under-

mined him and plotted against him to
try to overthrow him, while he was busy
with his studies.

• Antonio teamed up with the King of

Naples to get rid of Prospero and seize
the Dukedom, giving the King of Naples
power of Milan.

© BBC Education 2020

 Ariel’s story Prospero sends me away to create magical storms,
to fulfil great missions in the very veins of the Earth,
My name is Ariel. and to create music to fill this strange and beautiful
island. When I conjured the great storm, Prospero
I want to tell you my story. called me his ‘Brave Spirit’.

My master is the great Prospero: the magician who But sometimes he screams and yells. He calls me a
rules this island. I have served him for twelve years. malignant slave and a dull thing, and he says I am
In many ways he is a kind and benevolent master. ungrateful for wanting my freedom. I suppose some
might say he used to be a great duke and he is used
My last mistress - the witch Sycorax - was cruel and to having servants.
evil. She captured me and enslaved me and trapped
me inside a pine tree for twelve whole years. I But spirits like I were not meant to be servants. We
couldn’t fly. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t speak. were born to sing on the wind. One day I hope I will
be free.
It was Prospero who defeated the
witch and set me free. I thank
him for that. He gave me some
liberty. But I still live to serve. I
simply serve a kinder master.
Am I still a slave and a prisoner?

© BBC Education 2020

 Song 1 Song 2

Come unto these yellow sands, Full fathom five thy father lies;
And then take hands. Of his bones are coral made;
Curtsied when you have, and kissed Those are pearls that were his eyes:
The wild waves whist. Nothing of him that doth fade
Foot it featly here and there, But doth suffer a sea-change
And, sweet sprites, bear Into something rich and strange.
The burden. Hark, hark! Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell:
Ding-dong.
Hark! now I hear them, ding-dong, bell.

© BBC Education 2020

 Caliban’s monologue - ‘The isle is full of noises’

Be not afeard; the isle is full of noises,

Sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not.
Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
Will hum about mine ears; and sometime voices,
That, if I then had waked after long sleep,
Will make me sleep again: and then, in dreaming,
The clouds methought would open, and show riches
Ready to drop upon me; that, when I waked,
I cried to dream again.

© BBC Education 2020

 Caliban’s story But then he accused me of attacking his precious
daughter, and since then he has banished me to this
My name is Caliban. cave, and ordered me to collect and carry wood for
him.
I want to tell you my story.
He calls me a slave and a brutish thing of darkness.
My master is the great Prospero: the magician who
rules this island. I have served him for twelve years. I hate him.

Let me tell you a secret. This island is mine! I am the I am glad that he taught me how to speak. Because
son of the witch, Sycorax, who owned this island long now I know how to curse him.
before Prospero arrived. Her sorcery was so strong
that she could control the moon!

Before HE arrived, my mother died. And when he

arrived he soon took over the island. I showed him all
over the island - from the fresh springs to the magical
woods.

Prospero stroked me and was kind to me.

He taught me how to speak his
language and the names of
the moon and the sun.

© BBC Education 2020

 Simplified Caliban quotes

This island’s MINE by my mother, Sycorax!

When first we met, you stroked me and gave me water with berries in it.

You taught me language.

I fetch you wood and pick your berries.

You keep me in this hard rock, away from the rest of the island.

You say I am a howling monster!

You say I am a thing most brutish!

You say I am a thing of darkness!

You say I am a poisonous slave!

© BBC Education 2020

© BBC Education 2020
 Prospero Caliban

© BBC Education 2020

© BBC Education 2020
 What is a sonnet?

• A sonnet is a special type of love poem and Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Shakespeare is famous for writing them!
• An Elizabethan sonnet is made up of 14 Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
lines. Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
• The first 12 lines are divided into verses of Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
stanzas of four lines (called quatrains). And summer’s lease hath all too short a date;
• Each quatrain has a rhyming scheme
ABAB. Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
• The last two lines form a rhyming couplet. And often is his gold complexion dimm’d;
• Each line of the sonnet must have ten And every fair from fair sometime declines,
syllables or ‘beats’ - a pattern called iambic By chance or nature’s changing course untrimm’d;
penatmeter.
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow’st;
Nor shall death brag thou wander’st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou grow’st:

So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,

So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

© BBC Education 2020

 The Tempest - freeze frame
"• The magician Prospero asks his magical spirit, Ariel, to create a great storm (or ‘tempest’). Prospero used to be Duke
of Milan and he wants to shipwreck his brother Antonio and the other men who sent him away from Milan. The ship
is apparently destroyed in the storm but all of the crew are saved. They are washed up on the shore of Prospero’s
magical island.
"• Prospero tells his daughter, Miranda, how his wicked brother Antonio sent him from Milan 12 years earlier and
became duke in his place! Prospero and the very young Miranda had to escape by sailing away to the island.
"• After the shipwreck Miranda sees Ferdinand, who has been washed ashore. They fall instantly in love, but Prospero
is angry that Miranda has fallen in love and takes Ferdinand prisoner!
"• Caliban, a monster who is Prospero’s slave, meets some very silly characters - a drunken butler (Stephano) and
a jester (Trinculo) who are two more people from the shipwreck. He thinks they are gods and tells them to kill his
master Prospero!
"• Meanwhile, up to his old tricks, Prospero’s brother Antonio talks the brother of King Alonso into killing Alonso while he
is sleeping. Luckily Ariel wakes Alonso just before they attack. Phew!
"• Ariel plays tricks on the shipwrecked survivors by showing them a magical table of delicious food which he then trans-
forms into a terrifying image of a monster just as they are about to sit down to eat! The shipwreck survivors run away
in horror!
"• Prospero’s heart melts as he sees how much Miranda and Ferdinand love each other. He finally agrees to release
Ferdinand.
"• Ariel tells Prospero that Caliban is plotting to kill him! He and Ariel set up a trap - and Ariel sets a pack of magical
monstrous dogs on the silly trio. The two fools Trinculo and Stephano run away!
"• Ariel casts another spell and brings everyone to Prospero. Despite how they have all treated him, Prospero forgives
the shipwrecked survivors. They all agree that Prospero can become the duke again and it is agreed that Miranda
and Ferdinand should marry.
"• Ariel the spirit is set free by Prospero. Prospero and Miranda travel back to Milan on the rescued ship, which wasn’t
destroyed after all! Everyone lives happily ever after.

© BBC Education 2020

 Prospero’s monologue

Be cheerful, sir.
Our revels now are ended. These our actors,
As I foretold you, were all spirits and
Are melted into air, into thin air;
And, like the baseless fabric of this vision,
The cloud-capp’d towers, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples, the great globe itself,
Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve,
And, like this insubstantial pageant faded,
Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff
As dreams are made on, and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep.

© BBC Education 2020

 Ask pupils to work in groups and investigate the question • It comes at a point where Prospero is contemplating
‘What is Prospero / Shakespeare saying in these lines?’ giving up his daughter to her marriage - is there
a sense of sadness that life is transitory, and that
Contextualise this by explaining that it comes at the end different stages of life (including having a child with
of the masque celebration of Miranda and Ferdinand’s you) is transitory too.
marriage. Prospero is effectively telling Ferdinand that the
play he has just seen has been an illusion created by him • It is also close to the end of Shakespeare’s own career
and Ariel. However, there is more to it than this. as a playwright and theatre-maker. Some say that this
is Shakespeare’s own farewell to the theatre. Does this
What else can pupils discover? They might suggest (with sound right to your pupils?
varying degrees of support):

• It comes near the end of the play, when Prospero is

contemplating bringing his enemies to justice, but
ultimately forgiving them. The insubstantiality and
insignificance of the anger and feelings of revenge that
Prospero has been feeling, gives way to a desire for
resolution, restitution, and forgiveness.

• It comes at a point where Prospero is contemplating

leaving the island and his magic behind - are these the
words of a man saying goodbye to the home he has
lived in for the last twelve years, and the companions
he has had there?

© BBC Education 2020

 The main characters"

Prospero Miranda Alonso Sebastian Antonio

My words to describe the characters

© BBC Education 2020

 The main characters"

Gonzalo Ferdinand Ariel Stephano Caliban

My words to describe the characters

© BBC Education 2020

 Draw where the characters come ashore. Then add Prospero’s cave, the ship (now safe),
Ariel’s tree and other features.

© BBC Education 2020

© BBC Education 2020