Part I: Students will memorize a passage from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and present it aloud to the class. The passage should be perfectly memorized and well practiced. The passage may also be dramatically performed, as it would have been in the play. Be sure to speak loudly and slowly enough to be heard and understood. Passages that are particularly long or difficult are worth extra credit, but they too must be perfectly memorized and well practiced.

Part II: On the day of the presentations, students will also submit (in writing) a non-poetic, modern English “translation” of the passage to illustrate their understanding of the content. (Note: The words you memorize and present will be the ones from Shakespeare’s play, not the ones from your translation. The translation is merely to show that you know what you are presenting.)

Click here to see a list of the speeches (PDF file) you may choose from.