Act 3 Scene 1: Spoiling for a fight | English Literature - Shakespeare Unlocked: Romeo and Juliet

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• published: 16 Sep 2016
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The Royal Shakespeare Company workshop the scene where Mercutio dies. They look at the reason for the fight and how it is instrumental in the unfolding tragedy. Subscribe for more English Literature clips from BBC Teach on Fridays when we have them in: http://bit.ly/BBCSubscribeTeach If you found this video helpful, give it a like. Share it with someone. Add the video to your own teaching playlists. Create an account, subscribe to the channel and create playlists for different age groups, sets and syllabuses. Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/bbc_teach ===================== Mercutio plays with words, making Tybalt feel foolish. Romeo attempts to be a peacemaker which disarms Tybalt and infuriates Mercutio. This clip is from the BBC series Shakespeare Unlocked: Romeo and Juliet. Shakespeare's most widely studied plays are unlocked by actors and directors at the Royal Shakespeare Company. More Romeo and Juliet: Shakespeare Unlocked: http://bit.ly/TeachRomeoJuliet More Romeo and Juliet: http://bit.ly/TeachRJ More Shakespeare Unlocked: http://bit.ly/TeachShakespeareUnlocked More English Literature: http://bit.ly/TeachEnglishLiterature More Shakespeare: http://bit.ly/BBCTeachShakespeare More Drama: http://bit.ly/TeachDrama For Class Clips users, the original reference for the clip was p00qbp3b. ===================== Teaching English Literature or Drama? Teachers Pack: http://bit.ly/TeachRJteacherspack Download our Teachers' Pack aimed at the teaching of Key Stage 3 and 4 English. It can also be used for Key Stage 5 and Theatre Studies. Scenes Text: http://bit.ly/TeachRJscript Download and print the text of the Romeo and Juliet scenes explored in Shakespeare Unlocked. This clip helps in the study of Shakespeare's language that allows discussion on individual character motivation. Before watching, ask students to discuss how people can use language to start a fight or to stop it. If someone opens an exchange by insulting you, how difficult is it to resist the urge to fight back? (you could try a 'Shakespearean insults' exercise here, getting people to respond to insults, perhaps from Act 1 scene 1, with friendly language, to evaluate how hard it is to do this). Conversely, how easy is it to pick up neutral words and turn them into insults? Mercutio seems to pick up on everything that Tybalt says and make it seem offensive. Does Tybalt mean to insult Mercutio as much as he appears to, or is Mercutio picking a fight? In the following workshop Mercutio is described by one actor as a “wordsmith” whilst the actor playing Tybalt suggests Tybalt speaks more in bullet points. As students watch the workshop and ask them to jot down their own observations about how both these characters speak. How long are their sentences? What sorts of words does each use: short, direct words or longer, more complex words? After watching the workshops, ask students to work in small groups and share their observations of how Mercutio and Tybalt speak. Did any particular words or exchanges stand out? Why? Ask them to create two lists, one headed Mercutio and one headed Tybalt. Ask them to recall as many words or phrases said by each of these two characters as they can, and record them on the relevant list. What do the two lists tell us about these two characters? How are they similar and how are they different? This clip will be relevant for teaching English Literature or Drama. This topic appears in KS3/KS4/GCSE in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and 3rd/4th level and National 4/5 in Scotland. ===================== For more clips from other subjects at the BBC Teach YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/bbcteach More resources for teachers from the BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/teach More from BBC Learning Zone: http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone More resources from BBC Bitesize: http://www.bbc.co.uk/education ===================== Subscribe to create your own customised playlists, and get notified about our latest clips. As we have them, new videos will be uploaded on the following days: Mondays: Biology, Computer Science, Music, Religious Studies Tuesdays: Drama and Performance, English Language, Maths, Physical Education Wednesdays: Languages, Media Studies, Modern Studies and PSHE, Physics Thursdays: Art and Design, Chemistry, Geography, History Fridays: Business Studies, Design and Technology, English Literature, Early Years