Props are very important in Shakespeare’s plays, for example knives or daggers in The Merchant of Venice, Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet. In Shakespeare’s time, to give the impression of blood and bleeding, sheep’s hearts would have been placed under the actors’ clothing!
List three props that would be needed to perform your studied Shakespeare play. In which scenes would those props be needed?
Do You Speak Shakespeare? Words and Phrases
Shakespeare had a way with words. The phrases, ‘Knock, knock, who’s there?’ and ‘What’s done is done’ both come from Shakespeare’s play Macbeth. ‘Good riddance’ comes from Troilus and Cressida. ‘Love is blind’ comes from The Merchant of Venice.
You may be surprised to learn that Shakespeare made up all of the following phrases, which then became part of the English language.
as dead as a doornail all’s well that ends well a foregone conclusion a laughing stock a sorry sight cruel to be kind eaten out of house and home fair play flesh and blood green-eyed monster high time I have not slept one wink in stitches what’s done is done
off with his head wear your heart on your sleeve heart of gold lie low more fool you neither here nor there vanish into thin air the game is up heart of gold wild goose chase brave new world break the ice for goodness’ sake
DRAMA PART 2 – SHAKESPEARE
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Fun FAct
Remnants of oyster shells, periwinkles, fruit and nuts have been found in excavations of the theatres of Shakespeare’s time. These were snacks that would have been eaten (no doubt noisily!) in the pit during performances.
