ADAPTED VERSION · B1 · dyslexia friendly

Session 1: The ghost on the walls

Question: Why is a ghost the perfect start for a tragedy?
Step 1

Goals

Step 2
Today's language goal

To present the play and its characters and describe a supernatural scene, we need the words of the plot (ghost, revenge, crown, poison, court, castle) and the modals of deduction (The ghost must be his father).

Warm-up

Lights off. Students hear the word ghost and list everything it suggests: fear, the past, unfinished business. Why do ghosts come back in stories?

Step 3

Read

Document: the play. Hamlet is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, written around 1600. Prince Hamlet of Denmark comes home after his father's death. His uncle Claudius is now king and has married Hamlet's mother, Gertrude. A ghost appears on the walls of the castle of Elsinore: it is Hamlet's father, who says Claudius poisoned him. Hamlet must decide whether to believe the ghost and take revenge. At the end, almost all the main characters die: Polonius, Ophelia, Laertes, Gertrude, Claudius and Hamlet himself. Only his friend Horatio survives to tell the story.

Character chart

CharacterWho?WantsFate
HamletPrince of Denmarktruth and revengedies, poisoned
Claudiushis uncle, new kingto keep the crownkilled by Hamlet
Gertrudehis mother, queenpeace at courtdrinks poison
The Ghostthe dead kingrevengereturns to the night
Poloniusadviser to the kingto spykilled behind a curtain
Opheliadaughter of Poloniuslovedrowns
Laertesson of Poloniusto avenge his fatherdies by his own poisoned sword
HoratioHamlet's friendto helpsurvives and tells
"Something is rotten in the state of Denmark."
William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act I, scene 4, Marcellus
"I am thy father's spirit, Doom'd for a certain term to walk the night"
William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act I, scene 5, the Ghost
"Adieu, adieu, adieu! remember me."
William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act I, scene 5, the Ghost

Vocabulary

WordMeaning
ghostthe spirit of a dead person
revengepunishing someone for a wrong they did
uncleyour father's or mother's brother
poisonedkilled with a toxic substance
castlea large fortified royal building
thronethe king's seat, royal power
spiritsoul without a body
midnighttwelve o'clock at night
Step 4

Grammar lesson: modals of deduction: must, might, can't (present and past)

To present the play and its characters and describe a supernatural scene, we need modals of deduction: must, might, can't (present and past)
On the board, to copy

Rule

must be = yes, sure. might be = maybe. can't be = no, sure.

Form

  • now: modal + base verb: The ghost must be Hamlet's father.
  • past: modal + have + past participle: Claudius must have poisoned him.
  • the negative of must (deduction) is can't: It can't be a dream.
  • questions: Could the ghost be lying?

Examples from the lesson

  • The ghost must be Hamlet's father: it wears his armour.
  • Claudius must have poisoned the king, if the ghost says the truth.
  • The ghost might be a devil who wants to trick Hamlet.

Common mistakes

  • Not The ghost must to be his father., but The ghost must be his father.
  • Not It mustn't be a dream., but It can't be a dream.

Quick check (2 minutes, hands up or mini whiteboards)Must, might or can't?

  1. The guards saw it too: it ______ be a dream.
  2. The ghost wears the king's armour: it ______ be the king.
  3. We have no proof: the ghost ______ be lying.
  4. Claudius ______ have killed his brother: the ghost says so.
Show the answers

1. can't. 2. must. 3. might. 4. must (or might, if we doubt the ghost).

Exercises

EntryRecognition. How sure is the speaker: yes (Y), maybe (M), no (N)? Now or past?

  1. Something must be wrong in Denmark.
  2. The ghost might be a devil.
  3. Claudius must have poisoned the king.
  4. Hamlet can't be happy about the wedding.
  5. Gertrude might not have known about the murder.
  6. It can't have been an accident.
Show the answers

1. Y, now. 2. M, now. 3. Y, past. 4. N, now. 5. M, past. 6. N, past.

CoreTransformation. Rewrite with must, might or can't (present or past).

  1. I'm sure the ghost is the old king.
  2. Perhaps Horatio is afraid.
  3. I'm sure Hamlet isn't happy at court.
  4. I'm sure Claudius killed his brother.
  5. Perhaps Gertrude didn't know.
  6. I'm sure it wasn't a natural death.
  7. Maybe the ghost is telling the truth.
Show the answers

1. The ghost must be the old king. 2. Horatio might be afraid. 3. Hamlet can't be happy at court. 4. Claudius must have killed his brother. 5. Gertrude might not have known. 6. It can't have been a natural death. 7. The ghost might be telling the truth.

StretchProduction. You are a guard on the walls. Write five deductions about the ghost and the king's death, each with a clue.

Show the answers

For example: The ghost wears the king's armour, so it must be the dead king. It only appears at night: it might be a spirit from purgatory. It can't be a dream, because three of us saw it. The king died suddenly; someone must have poisoned him. Claudius married the queen very fast: he might have planned everything.

Words in action

To say it precisely, we need the right words

EntryMatch: ghost, revenge, crown, poison.

  1. a substance that kills
  2. the spirit of a dead person
  3. punishing someone for a wrong
  4. the symbol of a king's power
Show the answers

1. poison. 2. ghost. 3. revenge. 4. crown.

Tasks

Task a. Character map: Hamlet, Claudius, Gertrude, the Ghost, Horatio, Polonius, Ophelia, Laertes. Draw the links.
Task b. Read the three quotations. Who speaks? What does the ghost want?
Task c. Language: deduction. The ghost must be the old king. It might be a devil. It can't be a dream: three men saw it.
Task d. Acting troupes: in groups of four, stage the ghost scene in one minute, with a narrator, Hamlet, Horatio and the Ghost.
Step 5

More tasks

Exercises
  1. Complete with must, might or can't: Horatio, Marcellus and Bernardo all saw the ghost, so it ______ be a dream.
  2. The ghost looks like the old king, so it ______ be his spirit.
  3. Hamlet is not sure: the ghost ______ be a devil trying to trick him.
  4. Find in the quotations a word meaning 'goodbye'.
  5. What is 'rotten' in Denmark, according to you?
Corrigé of the exercises
  1. can't
  2. must
  3. might
  4. adieu
  5. The crown: a murderer is on the throne, so the whole state is sick.
Step 6

Sentence starters

  • The ghost must be...
  • It might be...
  • Something is wrong because...
  • Hamlet feels...
Step 7

Role play

Student A is Horatio, Student B is Hamlet. Horatio tells Hamlet what he saw on the walls last night. Hamlet asks questions.

Step 8

Figures of speech in the documents

Metaphor: “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark”

“Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.” (Act I, scene 4, Marcellus)

A country cannot be rotten like fruit. Marcellus says it to show that something is wrong. This is a metaphor.

EntryWhat can be rotten in real life?

Show the answers

Food, fruit, meat, wood.

Gap-fill worksheet

QR code to this worksheet
Word bank: ghost · revenge · uncle · poisoned · castle · throne · spirit · midnight
  1. Hamlet's father appears as a .
  2. Claudius is Hamlet's .
  3. The ghost says he was .
  4. The scene takes place in a called Elsinore.
  5. Claudius now sits on the .
  6. The ghost asks Hamlet for .
  7. He calls himself 'thy father's '.
  8. Ghosts usually appear at .
Answer key
  1. ghost
  2. uncle
  3. poisoned
  4. castle
  5. throne
  6. revenge
  7. spirit
  8. midnight
Step 9

Expression task

Now say it

Role play: two guards on the walls of Elsinore at midnight see the ghost.

EntryEach guard says two sentences, one with must, might or can't.

Tools to use:

  • ghost, revenge, crown, poison, castle, walls
  • must, might, can't; must have + participle
  • because, so

Sentence starters:

  • Look! It must be ...
  • It can't be ...
  • Something is rotten ...
Show a model answer

A: Look, over there! It must be the old king: it wears his armour. B: It can't be a dream; Horatio saw it too. A: It might be a devil who wants to trick us. B: Or the king must have something to say. Something is rotten in the state of Denmark. A: We must tell Prince Hamlet tonight.

Assessment grid

CriteriaLevel 1Level 2Level 3Level 4
Plot understandingRarelySometimesMostlyAlways and precisely
ModalsHard to followSome errorsClearRich and accurate
Use of the textNo quotationOne quotationTwo quotations, explainedQuotations analysed

Homework

Write the diary of Horatio after the night on the walls (120 words, three modals of deduction).

Step 10

Links reminder