GCSE READING

The Tempest was believed to have been written between 1610 and 1661 by the famous poet and playwright William Shakespeare. This play deals with both comical as well as tragic themes as it unveils the story encompassing magic, love, forgiveness and betrayal. 

The story started off with sorcerer Prospero and his daughter Miranda wrecking a ship carrying Alonso King of Naples and his team. How does the setting of the story reflect Renaissance thinking about nature’s elements and its correlation to mankind?

Prospero’s urge for revenge could have easily led to tragedy. When compared to Shakespeare’s other tragedy Hamlet, which elements of revenge are shared or not shared between Prospero and Hamlet? How does this lead to their drastically different fates? In The Tempest, how did Shakespeare further neutralise Prospero’s revenge by romance? 

As the story progresses, how does Miranda and Prospero’s character develop?  How would you describe the relationship and element of dependence between them, and how does this change over the course of time and events?

Caliban is actually known to be an anagram for the English spelling for the word ‘cannibal’. What is the significance of his name? How does that further justify the difference in the way Prospero interacted with him and Ariel even though he ‘rules’ both of them?

Prospero was supposed to represent, to an extent, Shakespeare as a creator of art. What does Prospero’s character reflect about Shakespeare’s desires, and what does the release of his magic at the end signify?

William Shakespeare’s famed comedy Much Ado About Nothing started with the return of the Prince of Aragon, Don Pedro from a victorious battle together with his friends Claudio and Benedick. Driven mostly by hearsay and eavesdropping, the story unravels itself and sails on in a sea of love, deception, honour and misunderstanding. 

‘Noting’, which sounds similar to ‘nothing’, refers to rumours, gossip and overhearing. How was ‘noting’ used by the characters in the story to manipulate others, and what was the effect of this on the plot? What are some of the ways you can interpret the title Much Ado About Nothing with and without referencing the term ‘noting’?

As the story progressed, Benedick paired up with Beatrice, and upon learning that Beatrice was not fond of it, Benedick shaved his beard without regret. What do beards mean to people of that time? What do you think such an act symbolised in an Elizabethan relationship? 

On the other hand, at his own wedding, Claudio rejected Hero because he erroneously believed her unfaithful. What did Claudio mean when he asked Hero ‘to make you answer truly to your name’? Why did he say that? 

In the end, it was the villian Borachio who cleared Hero’s name instead of any of the heroes such as Claudio or even Don Pedro. What is the significance of this incident and what does it tell us about the priorities of these men? What does this further reveal about the difference in male and female honour perceived by society in Elizabethan era?

In literature, a ‘foil’ refers to a character who contrasts with another character as an effort to emphasise certain traits of the latter. In this story, how does Hero serve as a foil to Beatrice, and Benedick to Claudio?
Throughout the story, what sort of relationship was exhibited between perception and reality? Which one was more important to the characters, and how does that correlate to the progression of the plot?

Romeo and Juliet remains to this day one of the most well-known and praised works of Shakespeare. This story revolves around the tragic romance of star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet, whose feuding families never reconciliated until their double suicide.

As the story started, the readers were introduced to Juliet merely through the words of other characters as they arranged for her marriage as though she were absent. When the nurse came looking for Romeo later, she was teased for that as well. What does this reflect about the roles of young women in Elizabethan society? How does this help to establish the societal background of that time and the relationship between people of different social classes? 

After Romeo and Juliet fell in love, Juliet once urged Romeo to ‘deny thy father and refuse thy name’. Why do you think she wishes so? What is the significance of their surnames and Juliet’s yearnings, and what do they symbolise? 

Later, a fight broke out between Montague and Capulet when Romeo attended the Capulets’ party. Why was this event important for the plot? Who did Mercutio blame for his death, and what effect did his accusations have on Romeo, Juliet as well as the readers?

When Romeo was banished, how did the young couple’s farewell foreshadow the end of their lives and relationship? Nearing the end, the prince said ‘the sun for sorrow will not show his head’. What is the significance of this line and what does it symbolise? 

Approximately thirteen years later, Shakespeare completed Antony and Cleopatra, another passionate story that ended with a double suicide. How do these two stories relate to each other, and in what aspects do they differ? How does that give us an idea on how Shakespeare had changed as a writer over those years?

The Merchant of Venice is a late 16th-century comedy written by William Shakespeare. This play, with light-hearted romance and comedy as its backdrop, managed to provoke debates on gender, class, wealth and Jewish history in Europe. 

The story kicked start with a merchant called Antonio borrowing money from a Jewish moneylender, Shylock in order to help Bassanio. How would you describe Antonio and Bassanio’s relationship, and what do their roles in this relationship tell us about their personalities and beliefs?

What does Shylock’s famous ‘hath not a Jew’ speech later on expose to readers about prejudice and human nature? Was Shylock indeed blindly prejudiced as a Jew? Why? How does the book use Shylock and Antonio to warn readers that prejudice is a cycle of self-destruction? 

Throughout the story, how did the three women, namely Portia, Jessica and Nerissa defy traditional gender roles? It’s also worth noting that all three of them chose to accomplish different goals through the same method of disguising themselves as men. Is this pure coincidence? Would they have been able to achieve their goals had they refrained from disguising themselves as men? What does this say about the constraints and inequality the female gender was shrouded in at the time?

At the scene of the trial, how does Shakespeare bring out the conflict between justice and mercy? After the trial, what does Bassanio and Gratiano’s act of parting with their rings reveal about their feelings for their wives? How did Portia and Nerissa use the ring game to empower themselves with the control they lacked throughout the story?
As the story ended, what elements led you to believe that comedy was restored in this play? To what extent did you find this ending a happy one?

A combination of history and tragedy, William Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar was based on true incidents in Roman history. It conveys to its readers the struggles that Brutus experienced owing to the conflicting commands of honour, loyalty, patriotism and friendship as he was persuaded by jealous conspirators to assassinate his friend Julius Caesar.

What was the dramatic effect of Caesar’s death? How did he remain powerful and influential over the subsequent events as a public figure even after his downfall? Do you think the conspirators truly achieved their goals by killing Caesar? 

At Caesar’s funeral, what was the significance of Antony’s oration and what message was he sending to the crowd? What are some of the persuasive techniques you noticed in his speech?

In their battle with Antony, both Brutus and Cassius ended up committing suicide. How were their deaths ultimately different in context? To what extent do you think their deaths were the consequence of dismissing Caesar’s warnings?

Various supernatural elements were inserted throughout the play. What do the different responses to these phenomena reflect about the tug of war between fate and free will? Was tragedy the consequence of the characters’ failure to interpret these signs, or do these omens merely predict the inevitable?

In the last act, Antony characterises Brutus as the ‘noblest Roman of them all’. What did he see in Brutus’s personality and actions to justify that praise? On the other hand, what were some of the good and bad qualities you noticed in Caesar and his conspirators? Who was more of a pragmatist, and who appeared idealistic? Who would have made the best leader?
Considering the fact that Caesar died relatively early in the play and had much less lines compared to Brutus, why do you think Shakespeare still named the play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar instead of The Tragedy of Marcus Brutus? Would you agree to that? Why?