Shakespearean Cats Contest / Concurso Gatos Shakesperianos

The Shakespeare Cats Calendar Contest: This contest is based on pictures from a calendar by Susan Herbert we bought for our classroom. To participate, translate the texts we wrote about them and answer the questions below each text. We'll publish the best translations on Booknosey/Fisgalibros. Good luck!

El concurso del calendario de los gatos de Shakespeare: Este concurso está basado en ilustraciones de un calendario de Susan Herbert que compramos para nuestra aula. Para participar, traduce los textos que elaboramos sobre ellas y contesta a las preguntas que vienen debajo de cada uno. Publicaremos las mejores traducciones en Booknosey / Fisgalibros. ¡Buena suerte! 

   

“Hamlet, Prince of Denmark,” is visited by the ghost of his father. The late king of Denmark tells his son he has been murdered by his brother, who has usurped the throne and married his widow. He asks Hamlet to avenge him. Hamlet does not take immediate action. He cannot make up his mind whether he should act against his uncle and his mother or not until the end of the play. By then, everyone thinks he is crazy and his girlfriend Ophelia has drowned while suffering a terrible depression. And our questions are: Who did the skull Hamlet is holding in the picture once belong to? What was Ophelia doing when she drowned?

“The Two Gentlemen of Verona,” Valentine and Proteus, are good friends who fall out when they both fall in love with the same woman. But eventually they become friends again. And our question is: What is the name of the woman the friends fight over?

“The Tempest,” is a play about a man named Prospero who has to flee to an island with his daughter to escape his political enemies. The only inhabitants of the island are a good spirit named Ariel and Caliban, the stupid son of an evil witch. Prospero finds the dead witch´s books and magic instruments and becomes an expert magician. With Ariel´s help he brings his enemies to the island and is able to defeat them there. And our question is: What is Prospero´s daughter´s name?

“The Taming of the Shrew,” is about a man who has two marriageable daughters. The youngest, Bianca, is very sweet and docile, but the eldest, Kate, is fierce and formidable. A man named Petrucchio who is in need of money and who wants to do a friend a favor decides to marry Kate, confident that he can turn her into a submissive wife.

“The Merchant of Venice,” is about a poor man who wants to marry a beautiful, rich and intelligent woman named Portia. To court her, he asks his friend Antonio, a rich merchant, for a loan. At that moment Antonio has no cash at hand. He is waiting for his ships to return from a trip loaded with riches.  But because he wants to help his friend, he runs a risk and asks for a loan himself from a man named Shylock. Shylock is a Jew who has suffered a lot from racism and this has made him bitter. He puts a cruel and unusual clause in the contract Antonio signs and when Antonio is unable to return the loan on time, Portia dresses like a man so she can defend Antonio in court. She proves to be a brilliant lawyer.  And the question is: In what strange way does Portia choose a husband?

“As You Like It,” is about a lot of people who have had to hide from their powerful enemies in the forest of Ardennes. Young Rosalind and her cousin Celia are among those who find refuge there, disguised as a young shepherd and shepherdess. The handsome Orlando, who is also there, hiding from his cruel older brother, finds he is fascinated by Rosalind although he thinks she is a young man. And the question is: When did we publish in Michael Toora´s blog a song from this play and what is the song about?

“Othello, the Moor of Venice,” is a play about envy and jealousy. Othello is a very jealous black man married to a white woman who is very much in love with him. But a very envious man named Iago decides to destroy Othello making him think his wife Desdemona has been unfaithful to him. And the question is: What happens to Othello and Desdemona?

“Antony and Cleopatra,” is about the most famous of Egyptian queens and her Roman lover, who was at that time one of the two possibly most powerful men in the world. Our question is: Who was the other powerful man?  Hint: he sometimes appears in this blog.

“Macbeth,” is a play about ruthless ambition. Macbeth is the Thane of Glamis, which means he is an important Scottish lord. Three witches appear before him and tell him he has just been named Thane of Cawdor, an even more important position than the one he holds, and they prophesy that one day he will even get to be King of Scotland. Instead of waiting for this to happen, Macbeth and his wife, Lady Macbeth, decide to make it happen by murdering the present King of Scotland when he spends a night at their castle. After the murder, Macbeth does get to be king, but he only lives to regret this. And the question is: What does Macbeth use to kill the sleeping king and how is he himself tortured by this object?  

“Henry V,” is a historical play. It is part of a tetralogy about Prince Harry, who was very wild when he was young but became a serious king. One of the famous things about this play is a very patriotic speech Henry gives before a famous battle in which the English beat the French despite being much outnumbered. Our question is: What is the name of this battle and when was it fought?

“Richard III,” is about the last of the Plantagenet kings of England. He was succeeded by his enemies, 

the Tudors. And because Shakespeare lived when the Tudors reigned in England, he made Richard appear as mean and cruel and ugly as he could, although this involved lying. Among the terrible things Richard is said to have done is murder his nephews, two boys who were as much a threat to him as to the Tudors, who could have done the murder themselves. And the question is: Where were the young princes when they were murdered?

We found the picture of the Shakespeare Cat Ophelia in Images from the Internet. To see the pictures  from our calendar, visit the Word Corner near the Library.

Encontramos el retrato de la gata shakesperiana Ofelia en Imágenes de Internet. Para ver los retratos de nuestro calendario, visitad el Rincón de las Palabras Inglesas junto a la Biblioteca.  

Alpin

Hey! This isn´t about food. Who dared to publish this?

¡Eh! Esto no va de comida. ¿Quién se ha atrevido a publicar esto?

 Mr. Blake

Will you tell me once and for all what happened to your people? 

¿Me vas a decir de una vez que le ha pasado a tu gente?