The Immortal Bard

🌱 Before You Read

📚 Background

Isaac Asimov (1920–1992) was a science fiction writer and professor famous for stories that blend scientific ideas with sharp social commentary. In this very short story, a physicist claims he can perform "temporal transference" — time travel — and has already brought several great minds from history into the modern world. The central figure is William Shakespeare, widely considered the greatest writer in the English language. The story's power comes entirely from its final twist.

As you read, track two things: how Robertson treats Shakespeare as a literary legend, and how Shakespeare actually behaves as an ordinary, real person.

🔮 QUICK PREDICTION

Fred asks: If you could bring one brilliant person from history back to life today, what do you think would surprise them most about the modern world?

Sentence starter: I think __________ would be most surprised by __________ because __________.

✅ Before Reading Activities

🧠 Think Critically

As you read, don’t just follow what happens — ask why. What is the author doing, what’s your evidence in the text, and how would you defend your answer to someone who disagrees?

1. Have you ever studied a famous writer in school?

2. Do you think a brilliant person from the past would fit in well in today's world?

3. Do you think experts always recognize genius when they see it?

📒 Key Vocabulary Preview

Word	What it means before you start
illustrious	famous and well-respected; highly distinguished
temporal transference	the scientific-sounding phrase used in the story to mean time travel
posterity	all the people who come after us; future generations
indignant	feeling annoyed or offended because something seems unfair
simpleton	a person regarded as foolish or lacking intelligence

📖 First Read — Get the Story

Read straight through. After every couple of paragraphs, a quick checkpoint makes sure the story is landing before the next part unlocks. The open Ask Fred boxes are just for thinking — they never block you.

[1]

"Oh, yes," said Dr. Phineas Welch, "I can bring back the spirits of the illustrious dead."

He was a little drunk, or maybe he wouldn't have said it. Of course, it was perfectly all right to get a little drunk at the annual Christmas party.

Scott Robertson, the school's young English instructor, adjusted his glasses and looked to right and left to see if they were overheard. "Really, Dr. Welch."

[2]

"I mean it. And not just the spirits. I bring back the bodies, too."

"I wouldn't have said it were possible," said Robertson primly.

"Why not? A simple matter of temporal transference."

"You mean time travel? But that's quite — uh — unusual."

"Not if you know how."

"Well, how, Dr. Welch?"

"Think I'm going to tell you?" asked the physicist gravely. He looked vaguely about for another drink and didn't find any. He said, "I brought quite a few back. Archimedes, Newton, Galileo. Poor fellows."

🔑 Checkpoint 1

What extraordinary claim does Dr. Welch make at the Christmas party?

That he has written a play even greater than Shakespeare’s. That he has discovered a lost manuscript by Shakespeare. That through “temporal transference” he has brought historical figures like Archimedes, Newton, and Galileo into the present. That he can predict exactly what future generations will think.

🧠 INTERRUPTION QUESTION

Fred asks: Why do you think Dr. Welch calls Archimedes, Newton, and Galileo "poor fellows"? What does that phrase hint about their experience?

Sentence starter: Dr. Welch calls them "poor fellows" because __________. This hints that __________.

[3]

"Didn't they like it here? I should think they'd have been fascinated by our modern science," said Robertson. He was beginning to enjoy the conversation.

"Oh, they were. They were. Especially Archimedes. I thought he'd go mad with joy at first after I explained a little of it in some Greek I'd boned up on, but no — no —"

"What was wrong?"

"Just a different culture. They couldn't get used to our way of life. They got terribly lonely and frightened. I had to send them back."

"That's too bad."

"Yes. Great minds, but not flexible minds. Not universal. So I tried Shakespeare."

"What?" yelled Robertson. This was getting closer to home.

🔑 Checkpoint 2

Why did Welch return the earlier geniuses to their own time, and why does he turn to Shakespeare?

They could not adapt to modern life and grew lonely and frightened, so Welch wanted a more “universal” mind like Shakespeare’s. They refused to share their scientific secrets, so Welch sought a writer instead. They demanded too much money to stay in the present. They could not speak modern English, but Shakespeare could.

[4]

"Don't yell, my boy," said Welch. "It's bad manners."

"Did you say you brought back Shakespeare?"

"I did. I needed someone with a universal mind; someone who knew people well enough to be able to live with them centuries way from his own time. Shakespeare was the man. I've got his signature. As a memento, you know."

"On you?" asked Robertson, eyes bugging.

"Right here." Welch fumbled in one vest pocket after another. "Ah, here it is."

A little piece of pasteboard was passed to the instructor. On one side it said: "L. Klein & Sons, Wholesale Hardware."

On the other side, in straggly script, was written, "Williəm Shakesper."

A wild surmise filled Robertson. "What did he look like?"

"Not like his pictures. Bald and an ugly mustache. He spoke in a thick brogue. Of course, I did my best to please him with our times. I told him we thought highly of his plays and still put them on the boards. In fact, I said we thought they were the greatest pieces of literature in the English language, maybe in any language."

"Good. Good," said Robertson breathlessly.

🧠 INTERRUPTION QUESTION

Fred asks: Why does Robertson react so strongly when Shakespeare is mentioned? What does his reaction reveal about him as a character?

Sentence starter: Robertson reacts so strongly because __________. This reveals that he __________.

🔑 Checkpoint 3

According to Welch, how does the real Shakespeare compare to his famous image?

He looks exactly like his portraits and speaks in elegant, poetic English. He refuses to speak at all and will not sign anything. He is taller and more handsome than any of his pictures. He is plain and ordinary — bald with an ugly mustache, a thick brogue, and a misspelled signature on a hardware card.

[5]

"I said people had written volumes of commentaries on his plays. Naturally he wanted to see one and I got one for him from the library."

"And?"

"Oh, he was fascinated. Of course, he had trouble with the current idioms and references to events since 1600, but I helped out. Poor fellow. I don't think he ever expected such treatment. He kept saying, 'God ha' mercy! What cannot be racked from words in five centuries? One could wring, methinks, a flood from a damp clout!'"

"He wouldn't say that."

"Why not? He wrote his plays as quickly as he could. He said he had to on account of the deadlines. He wrote Hamlet in less than six months. The plot was an old one. He just polished it up."

"That's all they do to a telescope mirror. Just polish it up," said the English instructor indignantly.

The physicist disregarded him. He made out an untouched cocktail on the bar some feet away and sidled toward it. "I told the immortal bard that we even gave college courses in Shakespeare."

[6]

"I know. I enrolled him in your evening extension course. I never saw a man so eager to find out what posterity thought of him as poor Bill was. He worked hard at it."

"You enrolled William Shakespeare in my course?" mumbled Robertson. Even as an alcoholic fantasy, the thought staggered him. And was it an alcoholic fantasy? He was beginning to recall a bald man with a queer way of talking. . . . "Not under his real name, of course," said Dr. Welch. "Never mind what he went under. It was a mistake, that's all. A big mistake. Poor fellow." He had the cocktail now and shook his head at it.

"Why was it a mistake? What happened?"

"I had to send him back to 1600," roared Welch indignantly. "How much humiliation do you think a man can stand?"

"What humiliation are you talking about?"

Dr. Welch tossed off the cocktail. "Why, you poor simpleton, you flunked him."

🧠 INTERRUPTION QUESTION

Fred asks: Now that you have reached the ending, what is the central irony of the story? Why is the final line so devastating?

Sentence starter: The central irony is that __________. The final line is devastating because __________.

📝 First Read — Quick Check

Read each item carefully. For Part A and Part B questions, answer Part A first, then choose the evidence that best supports your answer.

RL.6.1

PART A

1. Part A: Why did Dr. Welch send Archimedes, Newton, and Galileo back to their own time?

They refused to cooperate with the experiment. They could not adapt to modern life and became lonely and frightened. They were only brought back as spirits, not full bodies. They were more interested in science than in the modern world.

RL.6.1

PART B

2. Part B: Which quotation from paragraph [3] best supports the answer to Part A?

"I thought he'd go mad with joy at first..." "He was beginning to enjoy the conversation." "So I tried Shakespeare." "They couldn't get used to our way of life. They got terribly lonely and frightened. I had to send them back."

RL.6.3

PART A

3. Part A: Why did Dr. Welch choose Shakespeare over other historical geniuses for the time-travel experiment?

Shakespeare was the only one who agreed to come. Shakespeare had a universal mind that allowed him to understand and live among people across time. Shakespeare was better at learning new languages. Shakespeare was less famous than Archimedes and Newton.

RL.6.1

PART B

4. Part B: Which quotation from paragraph [4] best supports the answer to Part A?

"I've got his signature. As a memento, you know." "Not like his pictures. Bald and an ugly mustache." "I needed someone with a universal mind; someone who knew people well enough to be able to live with them centuries way from his own time." "He spoke in a thick brogue."

🔍 Second Read — Look Closer

RL.6.3

CHARACTERIZATION

5. Which detail best reveals Robertson's attitude toward Shakespeare before hearing Welch's story?

He treats Shakespeare as a near-sacred literary idol, adjusting his glasses nervously when the topic comes up. He doubts that Shakespeare wrote good plays. He claims to have met Shakespeare personally. He argues that Shakespeare's plots were borrowed from other sources.

RL.6.6

IRONY

6. What type of irony is present in the story's ending?

Situational irony — the ending is exactly what every reader predicted. Situational irony — the expert on Shakespeare failed the real Shakespeare in a course about Shakespeare's own work. Verbal irony — Robertson says the opposite of what he means throughout. Dramatic irony — the reader knows Shakespeare's identity but the characters do not.

L.6.4

VOCABULARY IN CONTEXT

7. In paragraph [5], Robertson says "That's all they do to a telescope mirror. Just polish it up," indignantly. What does his indignant tone reveal?

He is impressed that Shakespeare worked under deadlines. He is amused by the comparison between mirrors and plays. He is frightened of what Dr. Welch might do next. He is offended that Shakespeare seems to reduce his masterpiece to mere craft rather than sacred genius.

RL.6.4

LITERARY DEVICE

8. Shakespeare's exclamation — "God ha' mercy! What cannot be racked from words in five centuries?" — is best understood as —

a satirical reaction to how scholars over-interpret his writing beyond his original intentions a straightforward compliment to modern scholars evidence that Shakespeare is proud of the commentaries written about him proof that Shakespeare did not understand modern English

RL.6.2

THEME

9. Which theme does the ending of the story most strongly support?

Time travel is dangerous and should be avoided. University courses are too difficult for most students. Society worships a genius as a myth but cannot recognize or accept that genius as a real, imperfect human being. Shakespeare's plays were not as great as people believe.

🧠 CLOSE INFERENCE

Fred asks: Why does Asimov make the English professor — rather than a scientist or a stranger — the person who fails Shakespeare?

Sentence starter: Asimov specifically chooses the English professor because __________. This makes the irony sharper because __________.

📌 Close Reading — Part A / Part B

RL.6.2

PART A

10. Part A: Which statement best expresses the central theme of "The Immortal Bard"?

Great writers should stay in their own time period. Science and literature will always be in conflict with each other. When a culture turns a genius into an untouchable idol, it loses the ability to recognize that genius as a real, flawed human being. University professors are always the most knowledgeable people in any room.

RL.6.1

PART B

11. Part B: Which detail from the story best supports the answer to Part A?

"Why, you poor simpleton, you flunked him." (paragraph [6]) "He was beginning to enjoy the conversation." (paragraph [3]) "A little piece of pasteboard was passed to the instructor." (paragraph [4]) "He wrote Hamlet in less than six months." (paragraph [5])

RL.6.6

PART A

12. Part A: What does Shakespeare's reaction to the scholarly commentaries suggest about how his plays were created?

He was delighted that scholars understood his true intentions perfectly. He was eager to correct the scholars' interpretations in person. He believed modern critics were far too negative about his writing. He was shocked that so much elaborate meaning had been found in work he wrote quickly under pressure, without those deeper meanings in mind.

RL.6.1

PART B

13. Part B: Which quotation best supports the answer to Part A?

"I never saw a man so eager to find out what posterity thought of him as poor Bill was." "He wrote his plays as quickly as he could. He said he had to on account of the deadlines. He wrote Hamlet in less than six months. The plot was an old one. He just polished it up." "Don't yell, my boy. It's bad manners." "He spoke in a thick brogue."

✍️ Grammar — Sentence Construction

Use sentence structure to sharpen your ideas, not just to label grammar terms.

Discover

Simple sentence: one independent clause. Example: Robertson worshipped Shakespeare.

Compound sentence: two independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction. FANBOYS: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so. Example: Robertson admired Shakespeare's genius, but he failed to recognize Shakespeare in person.

Complex sentence: one independent clause and one dependent clause. Common subordinating conjunctions include because, although, when, while, since, if, after, before, unless. Example: Because Robertson treated Shakespeare as a sacred myth, he could not see the real man in front of him.

L.6.1

PRACTICE

14. Which sentence is a compound sentence?

Dr. Welch brought Shakespeare back from 1600. Because Shakespeare was curious, he enrolled in the course eagerly. After failing the course, Shakespeare had to return to his own time. Shakespeare wanted to learn what posterity thought of him, so he worked hard in the evening course.

L.6.1

PRACTICE

15. Which revision best turns these ideas into a strong complex sentence? "Robertson taught a course on Shakespeare. He did not know Shakespeare was his student."

Robertson taught a course on Shakespeare, and he did not know his student was the real playwright. Although Robertson taught an entire course on Shakespeare, he never realized his student was the real playwright. Robertson taught Shakespeare. His student was Shakespeare. Teaching. Robertson. Shakespeare. His student.

Use It — Simple

Write one simple sentence about Robertson using the word illustrious.

Use It — Compound

Write one compound sentence about Dr. Welch's experiment using but or so.

Use It — Complex

Write one complex sentence explaining why Robertson failed to recognize Shakespeare.

📚 Vocabulary — 3 Tiers

Tier	Words	Why they matter here
Spotlight	illustrious, posterity, indignant, simpleton, surmise, universal	These words help students discuss character attitude, irony, and the story's central ideas with precision.
Context	primly, gravely, sidled, staggered, temporal, humiliation	These words are useful for following tone, character behavior, and the emotional arc of the story.
Glossary	temporal transference, immortal bard, brogue, commentaries, extension course	These text-specific support words help students stay oriented in the story's setting and ideas.

🎮 Vocabulary Quiz — 4 Rounds

Each question tests a target vocabulary word directly.

L.6.4

ROUND 1 · MEANING

16. An illustrious person is best described as —

old and forgetful dangerous and unpredictable famous and widely admired for great achievements quiet and reluctant to speak

L.6.4

ROUND 2 · CONTEXT

17. Dr. Welch says Shakespeare was eager to find out what posterity thought of him. In context, posterity means —

all the people who came after him in future generations his closest friends and family scholars who lived at the same time he did newspaper critics who reviewed his plays

L.6.4

ROUND 3 · NUANCE

18. Robertson responds indignantly when Dr. Welch says Shakespeare "just polished up" Hamlet. Which feeling does indignantly best capture?

calm and thoughtful agreement offended outrage at something that feels deeply unfair or disrespectful mild confusion about what was said quiet sadness about Shakespeare's death

L.6.4

ROUND 4 · APPLICATION

19. Which sentence uses surmise most effectively?

She ran a surmise every morning before school. The surmise was delicious and everyone ate it quickly. He surmised the window open to let in air. When Robertson saw the straggly signature on the card, a wild surmise filled him — could this actually be real?

🌱 Before You Read

📚 Background

❓ Essential Question

✅ Before Reading Activities

📒 Key Vocabulary Preview

📖 First Read — Get the Story

📝 First Read — Quick Check

🔍 Second Read — Look Closer

STEAL Characterization

📌 Close Reading — Part A / Part B

✍️ Grammar — Sentence Construction

Discover

Use It — Simple

Use It — Compound

Use It — Complex

📚 Vocabulary — 3 Tiers

🎮 Vocabulary Quiz — 4 Rounds

📚 Paired Text — What Makes a Classic? How Great Literature Gets Labeled

✍️ Writing

Prompt A — Irony Analysis

Prompt B — Theme

Prompt C — Sentence Lab

🧠 Think Deeper

Part 1 — Analogies

Part 2 — Argue Both Sides

Part 3 — Carry It Into the Real World

The Immortal Bard

Assign This Lesson

🌱 Before You Read

📚 Background

❓ Essential Question

✅ Before Reading Activities

📒 Key Vocabulary Preview

📖 First Read — Get the Story

📝 First Read — Quick Check

🔍 Second Read — Look Closer

STEAL Characterization

📌 Close Reading — Part A / Part B

✍️ Grammar — Sentence Construction

Discover

Use It — Simple

Use It — Compound

Use It — Complex

📚 Vocabulary — 3 Tiers

🎮 Vocabulary Quiz — 4 Rounds

📚 Paired Text — What Makes a Classic? How Great Literature Gets Labeled

✍️ Writing

Prompt A — Irony Analysis

Prompt B — Theme

Prompt C — Sentence Lab

🧠 Think Deeper

Part 1 — Analogies

Part 2 — Argue Both Sides

Part 3 — Carry It Into the Real World