Shakespeare’s Birthday Party!

Shakespeare birthplace
Photo Credit: Phil Romans via Compfight cc

Join us as we celebrate the Birthday of the Bard in Startford-on-Avon style. Each year the Birthplace Museum organizes a parade through town to honor the master storyteller and poet.   Black and gold balloons are released, flags of many nations are unfurled, flowers are placed on his grave.   We will recreate these events and many others on Tuesday, April 23rd, as homage to William Shakespeare.

Schedule of Events:

Unfurling of the flags

Quill Pageant

The placement of the flowers

Hanging wishes on the Mulberry Tree

Recitations of soliloquys, sonnets and poems

Guest lectures from the writing community

Tea and cake

Birthday party games

Grave of William Shakespeare
Photo Credit: Hillarie via Compfight cc

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9 thoughts on “Shakespeare’s Birthday Party!

  1. That is so cool how you can continue on with the tradition of celebrating Shakespeare’s birthday! I am beginning to learn to love Shakespeare’s work. My favorite one of Shakespeare’s plays is A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream. It is really confusing, but if you sit down to read it in a place you can concentrate, it is funny. What is your favorite one of Shakespeare’s plays? What is a Quill Pageant?

    • Dear Claudia,
      I am glad you are starting to like Shakespeare. I know you already love Greek mythology, so I am happy to have the opportunity to introduce you to something new. I like the comedies, too, but I am partial to Macbeth. It’s sort of an odd choice for me, because Macbeth is not a good guy at all, but I am drawn to the play. Perhaps it’s because there are so many lessons about making choices, which is something crucial to learn in middle and high school. I will explain the Quill Pageant in school tomorrow, but if you want a head’s up, you can check out the link to the Birthplace Museum.
      See you in the morning!
      ~Mrs. Donofrio

    • Hi Sadie,
      It’s on the Commenting Guidelines page. Just click the link in the comment left by Dana Hankins, the producer, and it will bring you to the movie’s FB page. Then you can read Graham Salisbury’s comment about why he wrote UBRS and leave your own comment there.
      See you tomorrow!
      ~Mrs. Donofrio

  2. Hi Mrs.Donofrio!
    I think the invitation you handed out was really interesting. To see the different languages was very neat because you can really see how universal Shakespear’s plays were. I wonder of The Bard’s plays sound “old English” in other languages, like they are in English. Anyways, I think it’s cool that we have a mini celebration for him and we even learn some of the traditions. Did they celebrate birthdays in Shakespear’s time? I was only wondering because it is unsure of the exact date of his birth. I know that April 23rd is the accepted celebratory date of his birth.
    -Michaela

    • Hi Michaela,
      I’m glad you liked the invitation. The party was very different this year than last year. We really tried to follow the format of Stratford-on-Avon. Lots of the elementary kids were asking about all the festivities, so I really liked that. First graders knocked on our door and asked, “Who is Shakespeeare?” So I showed them the bulletin board and told them some stories. A few of them knew about Romeo and Juliet already. I thought that might be because of the movie, Gnomeo and Juliet. You can watch the slide show about the party to see what we did. It was a fun day!
      ~Mrs. Donofrio

  3. Hi Mrs. Donofrio,
    This it was my first time learning about Shakespeare and celebrating his birthday. I’ve heard about, but really experiencing it is nothing compared to talking about it. My favorite part about the birthday was the academic bowl and everything that everyone had to present. Something I will always remember.through life is that Shakespeare died on his birthday, and some of the plays he wrote mainly Romeo and Juliet because that is the most common between all ages. My favorite play was Much Ado About Nothing because it’s was made in an older time but it has modern feel to it. I also like the insults Benedick and Beatrice pass around here anda there and how there good humored flirtatious.
    Bye! 🙂

    P.S. I can’t believe I just wrote that because when I thinking it in my mind it sounds nothing like me don’t you think. And sorry if I spelled flirtatious wrong

    • Hi Christine,

      First, you spelled flirtatious correctly. Good job. Second, how do you think you normally sound? I think you sounded very intelligent and thoughtful in your comment. Next year we will read Romeo and Juliet; I hope you’ll like it. I was happy to hear that Ellie watched Romeo and Juliet over spring break. That’s not a common movie choice for middle schoolers! I love that you are thinking about how the plays fit into different time periods and what the characters have in common with modern audiences. Are there any other Shakespeare plays you would like to read or see?
      ~Mrs. Donofrio

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