Session 3: To be or not to be
Goals
- Read and analyse a soliloquy
- Express hypothesis (if, whether)
- Perform a speech with intonation
To analyse the soliloquy and express a hypothesis or a dilemma, we need the words of the soliloquy (suffer, fortune, troubles, conscience, coward, soliloquy) and the language of hypothesis: if, whether ... or, unless, what if.
Warm-up
Students hear the first line read three ways: angry, sad, calm. Which one works best, and why?
Read
William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act III, scene 1, Hamlet
William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act III, scene 1, Hamlet
Vocabulary
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| question | something you ask |
| suffer | feel pain |
| fortune | destiny, luck |
| troubles | problems |
| sleep | rest, here an image of death |
| conscience | the inner sense of good and bad |
| cowards | people without courage |
| soliloquy | a speech alone on stage |
Grammar lesson: hypothesis: if, whether ... or, unless, what if
Rule
whether = two choices. Hamlet wonders whether to suffer or to fight.
Form
- whether + to + verb / clause + or: He wonders whether to suffer or to fight.
- real: if + present, will: If he waits, Claudius will escape.
- imaginary: if + past, would: If death were only a sleep, he would not be afraid.
- unless + present = if ... not: Unless he acts, nothing will change.
Examples from the lesson
- Hamlet wonders whether it is nobler to suffer or to fight.
- If death were only a sleep, he would not hesitate.
- Unless he acts, Claudius will keep the crown.
Common mistakes
- Not
He wonders if to suffer or to fight., but He wonders whether to suffer or to fight. - Not
If he would act, he would win., but If he acted, he would win.
Quick check (2 minutes, hands up or mini whiteboards)If, whether or unless?
- Hamlet doesn't know ______ to live or to die.
- ______ he acts, nothing will change.
- ______ death were only a sleep, he would not be afraid.
Show the answers
1. whether. 2. Unless. 3. If.
Exercises
EntryRecognition. Two options (W), real condition (R), imaginary condition (I) or if not (U)?
- He wonders whether to suffer or to fight.
- If he waits, Claudius will escape.
- If he were braver, he would act.
- Unless he finds proof, he will not kill.
- Whether he lives or dies, the problem stays.
- If death were a dreamless sleep, everyone would choose it.
Show the answers
1. W. 2. R. 3. I. 4. U. 5. W. 6. I.
CoreGap-fill. Complete with whether, or, if, unless and put the verbs in the right form.
- Hamlet wonders ______ to suffer ______ to take arms.
- If he (fight), he (end) his troubles.
- If death (be) only a sleep, it (be) easy.
- ______ conscience stops him, he will act.
- He asks himself ______ death is the end ______ the beginning of bad dreams.
- If he (not / think) so much, he (act) faster.
- ______ he decides now, Claudius will win.
Show the answers
1. whether, or. 2. fights, will end. 3. were, would be. 4. Unless. 5. whether, or. 6. didn't think, would act. 7. Unless.
StretchProduction. Rewrite Hamlet's dilemma in modern English in six sentences, with whether, two if-sentences (one real, one imaginary), unless and what if.
Show the answers
For example: I wonder whether I should accept my pain or fight it. If I fight, I might die. If death were only a peaceful sleep, I would not hesitate. But what if death is full of nightmares? Unless I know what comes after, I will keep suffering. So thinking too much makes me a coward.
Words in action
EntryMatch: suffer, fortune, coward, soliloquy.
- a speech alone on stage
- a person without courage
- destiny, luck
- feel pain
Show the answers
1. soliloquy. 2. coward. 3. fortune. 4. suffer.
Tasks
More tasks
- What two options does Hamlet compare?
- What is 'outrageous fortune'?
- Find the word that means fighting.
- Complete: If Hamlet ______ (act), he would avenge his father.
- Why is the speech a soliloquy?
Corrigé of the exercises
- To suffer in silence or to fight his troubles (and perhaps to die).
- Cruel, unfair destiny.
- 'arms' (to take arms)
- acted
- He is alone and speaks his thoughts aloud to the audience.
Sentence starters
- The question is whether...
- If he acted...
- This metaphor suggests...
- He hesitates because...
Role play
Student A is Hamlet, Student B is his inner voice. Hamlet hesitates; the voice pushes him to act. Then swap.
Figures of speech in the documents
“The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, / Or to take arms against a sea of troubles” “To die: to sleep” (Act III, scene 1, Hamlet)
A sea of troubles: as many problems as water in the sea. This is a metaphor.
EntryWhat is compared to a sea?
Show the answers
Hamlet's troubles, his problems.
Gap-fill worksheet
- 'To be, or not to be, that is the .'
- Hamlet wonders whether to in the mind.
- Outrageous attacks him.
- He imagines a sea of .
- Death is compared to .
- makes us hesitate.
- It makes of us all.
- A speech alone on stage is a .
Answer key
- question
- suffer
- fortune
- troubles
- sleep
- Conscience
- cowards
- soliloquy
Expression task
Write and perform your own modern soliloquy on a dilemma (a few lines read with pauses and stress).
EntryFour lines: the dilemma with whether ... or, and one if-sentence.
Tools to use:
- suffer, fortune, troubles, conscience, coward
- whether ... or, if, unless, what if
- metaphors of attack, water, sleep
Sentence starters:
- To ... or not to ..., that is my question.
- I wonder whether ...
- If I ..., I will ...
- What if ...?
Show a model answer
To speak or not to speak, that is my question. I wonder whether I should tell my friend the truth or keep quiet. If I tell her, she will be angry. If I kept the secret, I would carry a sea of guilt. Unless I speak now, the lie will grow. What if silence is the real coward's choice?
Assessment grid
| Criteria | Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | Level 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Analysis of images | Rarely | Sometimes | Mostly | Always and precisely |
| Intonation | Hard to follow | Some errors | Clear | Rich and accurate |
| Use of the text | No quotation | One quotation | Two quotations, explained | Quotations analysed |
Homework
Learn six lines and record yourself (one minute).