Shakespearean Themes: Power and Jealousy

Active learning works for Shakespearean themes because students need to wrestle with abstract ideas by seeing them in action. When ninth graders track jealousy in a chart or debate ambition in pairs, they move from passive listeners to active detectives of human behavior, which makes abstract themes concrete and memorable.

• 9th Grade
• English Language Arts
• 3 activities
• 20 min–50 min

Learning Objectives

1. Analyze the development of the theme of unchecked ambition in a selected Shakespearean play, citing specific textual evidence.
2. Compare and contrast the motivations and consequences of jealousy in at least two Shakespearean characters.
3. Evaluate the enduring relevance of Shakespeare's exploration of power dynamics by connecting them to contemporary social or political situations.
4. Explain how Shakespeare uses dramatic devices, such as soliloquy or dramatic irony, to develop themes of power and jealousy.

Inquiry Circle

⏱ 50 min·Small Groups

Inquiry Circle: Theme Tracking Chart

Groups receive excerpts from three Shakespearean plays featuring similar themes. They build a comparative chart tracking how the theme of unchecked ambition, jealousy, or power appears in each text, with specific quote evidence for each. Groups then synthesize: does Shakespeare's treatment of the theme remain consistent across plays, or does it develop and complicate? They present their most interesting finding.

Prepare & details

Why do Shakespeare's explorations of human nature remain popular across different cultures?

Facilitation Tip: During the Collaborative Investigation, circulate with a clipboard to listen for students who are struggling to move from examples to analysis, and ask guiding questions like, 'What pattern do you notice across these moments?'

Setup: Groups at tables with access to source materials

Materials: Source material collection, Inquiry cycle worksheet, Question generation protocol, Findings presentation template

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Self-Awareness

Gallery Walk

⏱ 40 min·Small Groups

Gallery Walk: Jealousy Portraits

Post character descriptions and key quotes from three Shakespearean figures defined by jealousy (e.g., Iago, Lady Macbeth, Leontes). Students rotate and annotate at each station: 'What triggers this character's jealousy? What does it cost them personally? What does it cost others?' At the end, the class identifies patterns in how Shakespeare constructs jealousy across different plays and contexts.

Prepare & details

Analyze how the theme of unchecked ambition leads to tragic consequences in Shakespearean plays.

Facilitation Tip: Before the Gallery Walk, assign roles so every student has a job: recorder, speaker, or sketcher, ensuring no one passes as disengaged.

Setup: Wall space or tables arranged around room perimeter

Materials: Large paper/poster boards, Markers, Sticky notes for feedback

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Create
• Relationship Skills
• Social Awareness

Think-Pair-Share

⏱ 20 min·Pairs

Think-Pair-Share: The Relevance Test

Students individually identify a current event, news story, or cultural moment that parallels a Shakespearean theme of power or jealousy. They share their analogy with a partner, who evaluates whether the comparison holds up with specific textual and contemporary evidence. Pairs that identify the strongest parallels share with the class, with the class providing one challenge and one point of validation.

Prepare & details

Compare the manifestations of jealousy in different Shakespearean characters.

Facilitation Tip: For the Think-Pair-Share, provide sentence stems for the 'Relevance Test' to scaffold the transfer from textual example to modern parallel.

Setup: Standard classroom seating; students turn to a neighbor

Materials: Discussion prompt (projected or printed), Optional: recording sheet for pairs

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Awareness
• Relationship Skills

Teaching This Topic

Experienced teachers approach this topic by grounding abstract themes in students’ lived experiences. Start with short, relatable scenarios that mirror Shakespeare’s conflicts, then layer in the text. Avoid summarizing the plot—instead, focus on close reading of key moments where power or jealousy shifts. Research shows that students grasp theme best when they feel the tension in the text before naming it.

What to Expect

Students will demonstrate understanding by identifying textual evidence that supports a theme, explaining how that evidence connects to larger human experiences, and applying the theme to modern situations. Success looks like clear statements, specific quotes, and thoughtful connections between Shakespeare’s world and their own.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

During the Collaborative Investigation: Theme Tracking Chart, students may assume that Shakespearean themes are outdated because society has fundamentally changed.

What to Teach Instead

During the Collaborative Investigation, point to an empty row on the chart and ask students to brainstorm a modern example of jealousy or power struggle they’ve seen in school, on social media, or in the news. This redirects the conversation from historical artifacts to living psychology.

Common Misconception

During the Gallery Walk: Jealousy Portraits, students may believe a theme is a one-word label like 'jealousy' or 'power'.

What to Teach Instead

During the Gallery Walk, have students examine the portrait captions. Prompt them to find a caption that names a specific claim, such as 'Jealousy blinds people to the truth,' and ask the artist to explain how their image supports that full sentence, not just the word.

Assessment Ideas

Discussion Prompt

After the Collaborative Investigation: Theme Tracking Chart, facilitate a class debate: 'Which is the more destructive force in Shakespearean tragedy: ambition or jealousy?' Students must reference specific examples from their charts to support their arguments and respond to opposing viewpoints.

Quick Check

During the Gallery Walk: Jealousy Portraits, provide students with three short excerpts from different Shakespearean plays. Ask them to identify the primary theme (power, jealousy, or ambition) present in each excerpt and briefly explain their reasoning, citing one key phrase or sentence from the excerpt.

Peer Assessment

After the Think-Pair-Share: The Relevance Test, students write a short paragraph analyzing how a specific character’s jealousy impacts the plot. They exchange paragraphs with a partner, who evaluates it for clarity, use of textual evidence, and whether the analysis directly addresses the prompt, then provides one specific suggestion for improvement.

Extensions & Scaffolding

• Challenge students who finish early to find a modern song, movie clip, or social media post that reflects the same theme, and prepare a 60-second analysis connecting it to Shakespeare.
• For students who struggle, provide a partially completed Theme Tracking Chart with sentence starters for textual evidence and analysis.
• Deeper exploration: Have students research a historical or modern figure whose actions reflect unchecked ambition or jealousy, then present a short case study linking their findings to a Shakespearean character.

Key Vocabulary

ambition	A strong desire for success, power, or achievement, which can become excessive and lead to destructive actions.
jealousy	A complex emotion characterized by feelings of insecurity, fear, and anxiety over an anticipated loss of something valued, often a relationship or status.
power dynamics	The ways in which power is distributed and exercised within relationships, groups, or societies, influencing behavior and outcomes.
tragic flaw	A personality trait or character defect in a protagonist that leads to their downfall or suffering, often linked to unchecked ambition or intense emotion.