Coriolanus Lesson Plan

Rhetoric of a Leader

Kind of Activity:

Group Work

Objective:

Students will examine and elaborate upon the rhetorical strategies employed in Shakespeare's texts.

Common Core Standards:

N/A

Structure:

This activity has two parts. In the first part, the teacher should break the class into groups of 3-5 people. Each student group should have in front of them Coriolanus's outraged tirade against the plebeians in Act III, Scene 1 (from "Tell me of corn" on Line 82 to "And throw their power in the dust" on Line 214).

Then, the teacher should hand out Mark Antony's "Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears" speech from Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar:

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