Happy Monday, everyone! Welcome to Week 29! Did you hear the exciting news over the weekend? A theatre historian by the name of Geoffrey Marsh has identified, for the first time, where William Shakespeare lived when he wrote the play, Romeo and Juliet. Mr. Marsh, who is also the director of the Victoria and Albert Museum’s Department of Theatre and Performance, said,
“The place where Shakespeare lived in London gives us a more profound understanding of the inspirations for his work and life. Within a few years of migrating to London from Stratford, he was living in one of the wealthiest parishes in the City, alongside powerful public figures, wealthy international merchants, society doctors and expert musicians.”
Isn’t that exciting news? Well, speaking of the value of locations, today’s post will focus a bit more on some of the places that Marco Polo visited. We’ll also touch on Shakespeare as we wrap up Hamlet in our classrooms.
Let’s get started…
Resource Links:
Marco Polo in China | derived from an East Asian Curriculum Project at Columbia University called China: A Teaching Workbook
Is it Peking or Beijing? | find out more about the national capital of China
Beijing Facts | 10 things to know
The Forbidden City | an article by Khan Academy
More on the Forbidden City | and how it was built
Naming China | how did China really get its name?
The Island of Hormuz | one of Marco Polo’s stops where he encountered the leaky ships
On Camel Caravans | how desert caravans crossed the Sahara
Lapis Lazuli | more about this beautiful metamorphic rock
The Kingdom of Prester John | did it exist?
Shakespeare’s Words, the online version of the book, Shakespeare’s Words: A Glossary and Language Companion | this site integrates the full text of Shakespeare’s plays and poems with a Glossary database, allowing you to search for any word or phrase in Shakespeare’s works, along with character lists, synopses, and more.
Video Links:
*Parents, please preview for your students first.
Beijing Video | a tour by Travel + Leisure
The Forbidden City | by the Asian Art Museum
Hormuz Island | a video tour of this Iranian island
Mining for Lapis Lazuli | in Sari-i-Sang in Northern Afghanistan
The Turkish Language | learn Turkish in just 3 minutes
What Shakespeare’s English Sounded Like | and how we know how
Sesame Street and Shakespeare | Patrick Stewart’s Soliloquy on B
SLO Classical Academy is not affiliated with any of the above-mentioned websites, businesses or organizations.
2 thoughts on “More on Marco Polo and a little on Shakespeare”
Thank you Cheryl for the excellent job you do with this blog and all these resources! Life has felt extra busy lately and I’m grateful for this resource!
I am so glad to hear it’s helpful, Kary! Thanks for stopping by!