Parody: William Shakspears The Empire Striketh Back.
LESSSON
1
Introduction
– What is Parody?
An imitation of the style of a particular writer, artist, or genre with
deliberate exaggeration for comic effect.
Questions
Can anyone give an example of a parody?
· Parody relies upon
for knowledge of the writer and or material being satirised.
Read out the Prologue
to The Empire Striketh Back.
Can anyone recognize what is being parodied?
Can anyone recognise the style of writing?
· Play opening
credits of the movie: The Empire Strikes Back 0:00 - 2:00
Read the opening
prologue again.
Now that you have a context.
How has your understanding of the text changed?
Hand out Scripts: Of The Empire Striketh Back Act 1.
Watch scenes of the Movie followed by readings of the script.
Act one of the play is in almost perfect sequential order with the
Movie.
As the script is being read out, point out the methods used in order to
parody Shakspears writing as well as the references to his many plays.
For more information please refer to the Teachers Guide.
LESSON 2
Task
Give a Reading
presentation of Act 1 The Empire Striketh Back.
(Given time a voice
warm up would be most beneficial)
The class will be broken up into groups.
One separate group per scene.
Give rehearsal time for basic staging and to acquaint themselves with
the script.
Each scene corresponds with the Sound track provided.
Play the sound track while the reading is given. The owns is on the
students to project over the music played.
