Developing a clear, persuasive voice in essay writing requires personal encouragement and careful guidance. Time with a patient Year 9 English tutor in Sydney turns a confusing play into something your child can actually feel and analyse.
In Years 9 and 10, the NSW English syllabus requires students to study at least one Shakespearean play. For many students, that’s their first time analysing Shakespeare, and it can feel daunting.
Why Shakespeare feels so hard, and how to unlock it
Shakespeare’s language is difficult and can feel foreign. On top of that, most classes read the play slowly, scene by scene, across several weeks.
That pace makes sense for understanding the words, but it means students rarely feel the play’s full dramatic weight. If a film is shown, it’s usually split across several periods, because lessons are rarely long enough for a whole film. Many students are left working through dense lines without ever grasping what the story means. That’s very normal.
Two things help most:
- Read a brief synopsis first. Knowing the plot arc grounds every scene in the structure of the whole play.
- Remember they were people like us. Understanding the play’s context from a human perspective makes the characters’ choices make sense, and gives analysis something real to hold onto.
The plot arc of Romeo and Juliet, act by act
| Act | What happens | Where it sits in the arc |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Montague and Capulet feud erupts; Romeo and Juliet meet and fall for each other | Setting up the conflict |
| 2 | The balcony scene; they marry in secret | Rising action |
| 3 | Tybalt kills Mercutio, Romeo kills Tybalt, and Romeo is banished | The turning point |
| 4 | Juliet takes a potion to fake her death and escape an arranged marriage | Falling action |
| 5 | A message goes astray; Romeo believes Juliet is dead and both die; the families reconcile | Resolution |
Translation grid: one line at a time
| Shakespeare’s line | In plain English | What it shows |
|---|---|---|
| “O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?” (2.2) | Why do you have to be Romeo, a Montague? | “Wherefore” means why (a common mix-up with where): Juliet is wishing away the family name that divides them |
| “A plague o’ both your houses!” (3.1) | Curse both your families! | As he dies, Mercutio blames the feud itself, and both families equally |
| “From forth the fatal loins of these two foes / A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life” (Prologue) | From these two enemy families come two doomed lovers | The audience knows the ending from the very start |
How we work through Shakespeare in a shared Google Doc
Every student starts with a free 30-minute intro session, where the tutor learns how they’re feeling about school, the marks they’ve been getting and want to get, and the rhythm of their week.
Sessions run on Google Meet, and for English the main tool is a shared Google Doc. Your child writes, then they and the tutor review it together, talking through the turns of phrase that work well and the things that could be stronger.
For Shakespeare, the tutor starts with the synopsis and plot arc before going near the dense scenes, then works through key lines with a translation grid like the one above, built in the shared doc. At home, watching a full performance or film of the play in one sitting can give your child the emotional sweep that broken-up class viewings miss.
What markers look for in a Shakespeare response
A play is written to be performed, so strong responses talk about the audience rather than the reader. That small shift is one of the clearest signs a student understands they’re writing about drama.
Before handing in a Shakespeare paragraph, check:
- The topic sentence makes a point about what Shakespeare is doing and why.
- Quotes are short and referenced by act and scene, such as (3.1).
- A dramatic technique is named: dramatic irony, soliloquy, foreshadowing.
- The effect on the audience is explained.
- The context is used to explain why characters act as they do, in human terms.
The dramatic techniques to name
A strong Year 9 Shakespeare response names what the playwright is doing, and what it does to an audience.
| Technique | What it is | Example from Romeo and Juliet | What it lets the audience feel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dramatic irony | The audience knows something a character doesn’t | In Act 5, we know Juliet is drugged and alive, while Romeo believes she has died | Helpless tension as Romeo makes his choice |
| Soliloquy | A character speaks their thoughts aloud, believing they’re alone | Juliet on her balcony in 2.2, before she knows Romeo is listening | Direct access to her private feelings |
| Foreshadowing | Hints of what’s to come | The Prologue calls them “star-cross’d lovers” | A sense of doom over every happy moment |
| Contrast | Two opposites placed side by side | Love scenes set against street fights | How violence keeps crowding out love |
Embedding a Shakespeare quote
| Before | After |
|---|---|
| Mercutio says “A plague o’ both your houses!” This shows he is angry. | As he dies, Mercutio curses “both your houses” (3.1), turning the audience’s attention from one fight to the feud that caused it. |
Sources
- English Stage 5 core texts: Shakespeare retold, NSW Department of Education (Stage 5 Shakespeare requirement)
- English K–10 Syllabus (2022): course overview and text requirements, NESA