Exploring Prospero's power over Miranda in Shakespeare's 'The Tempest'
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can understand and consider the power dynamics between Prospero and Miranda in relation to contemporary patriarchal society.
Key learning points
- In Shakespeare’s time, daughters were expected to obey their fathers.
- Prospero hides Miranda’s backstory from her which shows how controlling he is.
- Prospero intends for Ferdinand and Miranda to fall in love.
- While Miranda seems to disobey Prospero to fight for Ferdinand, she is actually unwittingly following Prospero’s plan.
Keywords
Power - Having power is having the ability to influence people or events.
Obedient - Being obedient means doing, or being willing to do, what someone tells you to do.
Subversive - Being subversive means actively going against an established system.
Patriarchal - A patriarchal society is one where men hold positions of authority and women are seen as inferior.
Common misconception
Students often think that women in Shakespeare's time always obeyed the male figures in their life.
There are many examples of women being disobedient and not following the rules of the male figures in their life.
Teacher tip
You could ask the students to act out the scenes and change Miranda's tone of voice to either show her being defiant or pleading with Prospero.
Equipment
You may want a copy of Shakespeare's 'The Tempest' for this lesson.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour
Supervision
Adult supervision recommended
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.A patriarchal society is where men...
Q2.In a patriarchal society, how do you think daughters are supposed to behave towards their fathers?
Q3.Being obedient means to...
Q4.In Shakespeare's time, which of the following traits were women expected to have?
Q5.In Shakespeare's 'The Tempest', when Prospero is explaining their backstory to Miranda he continually asks her if she's paying attention. Which of the following does this suggest?
Q6.In a patriarchal society, who do you think would stereotypically choose a daughter's husband?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.In Shakespeare's 'The Tempest', what relation is Prospero to Miranda?
Q2.In Shakespeare's 'The Tempest', how does Prospero ensure that Miranda and Ferdinand meet?
Q3.In Shakespeare's 'The Tempest', what does Prospero withhold from Miranda for twelve years?
Q4.In Shakespeare's 'The Tempest', why does Prospero decide to make things "uneasy" for Miranda and Ferdinand?
Q5.In Shakespeare's 'The Tempest', how does Miranda react when Prospero declares Ferdinand a "traitor"?
Q6.In Shakespeare's 'The Tempest', by defending Ferdinand to her father and defying his order to be silent, Miranda is being .
To help you plan your 7 English lesson on: Exploring Prospero's power over Miranda in Shakespeare's 'The Tempest', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 7 English lesson on: Exploring Prospero's power over Miranda in Shakespeare's 'The Tempest', download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 3 English lessons from the 'The Tempest' unit, dive into the full secondary English curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.