Why Shakespeare and world literature still matter
Shakespeare wrote over 400 years ago, yet his plays are still performed worldwide — because he wrote about ambition, jealousy and love, which never go out of date.
Part of your national curriculum
- Reading: Read and appreciate the depth and power of the English literary heritage through the study of Shakespeare, seminal world literature and poetry since 1789
Lesson overview
What you'll learn in this lesson
Read and appreciate the depth and power of the English literary heritage through the study of Shakespeare, seminal world literature and poetry since 1789
Key learning points
- • Shakespeare's staying power
- • Seminal world literature
- • Poetry since 1789
This lesson at a glance
- 28 minutes
- 16 parts to scroll through
- 3 quick checks
- Marked quiz at the end
- Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses
Words to know
Scroll down — the lesson carries on below
Watch & discover
Part 1 of 16
Visual introductionPicture this
Why Shakespeare and world literature still matter
Shakespeare wrote over 400 years ago, yet his plays are still performed worldwide — because he wrote about ambition, jealousy and love, which never go out of date.
In a nutshell
Read and appreciate the depth and power of the English literary heritage through the study of Shakespeare, seminal world literature and poetry since 1789
Learning cycle
Part 2 of 16
Learning cycle 1 of 2
Part 1 · Shakespeare's staying power
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Explore the idea
Part 3 of 16
Learn
Shakespeare's staying power
In 'Macbeth', ambition curdles into guilt: 'Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?' The imagery is dramatic, but the idea — that guilt cannot simply be washed away — still resonates in stories today.
Reset break
Part 4 of 16
Pause
That's sitting 1 of 4 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Explore the idea
Part 5 of 16
Learn
Seminal world literature
Novels like 'Things Fall Apart' by Chinua Achebe or poetry in translation broaden 'English literature' beyond Britain, showing universal human experiences — colonisation, identity, family — from different cultural viewpoints.
Quick check
Part 6 of 16
Quick check
Part 7 of 16
Reset break
Part 8 of 16
Pause
That's sitting 2 of 4 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Learning cycle
Part 9 of 16
Learning cycle 2 of 2
Part 2 · Poetry since 1789
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Explore the idea
Part 10 of 16
Learn
Poetry since 1789
Wordsworth's 'The Prelude' (1789 onwards) began the Romantic focus on nature and personal feeling; later, war poets like Wilfred Owen used the same tradition to expose the horror of the trenches in 'Dulce et Decorum Est'.
Quick check
Part 11 of 16
Quick check
Which poet used Romantic-style personal reflection to describe WWI horrors?
Reset break
Part 12 of 16
Pause
That's sitting 3 of 4 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Challenge round
Part 13 of 16
Game · Sort it
Which of these are true?
Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.
True
Not true
Challenge round
Part 14 of 16
Game · Recall cards
What is iambic pentameter?
Card 1 of 4
Mastery quiz
Part 15 of 16
Marked quiz
End of lesson quiz: Why Shakespeare and world literature still matter
4 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.
1. What is iambic pentameter?
2. A character switches from verse into prose in a tense scene. What might this signal?
3. Which is the best reading of ‘a lantern set upon a cliff’ used of a ruler?
4. Why does a soliloquy matter to an audience?
Lesson round-up
Part 16 of 16
Lesson round-up
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Read and appreciate the depth and power of the English literary heritage through the study of Shakespeare, seminal world literature and poetry since 1789