William Shakespeare

1
William Shakespeare

• Widely regarded as the greatest writer in English
  Literature

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Shakespeare

• 1563-1616
• Stratford-on-Avon, England
• wrote 37 plays
• about 154 sonnets
• started out as an actor

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Stage Celebrity

• Actor for Lord Chamberlains Men (London theater
  co.)
• Also gt principal playwright for them
• 1599gt Lord Ch. Co. built Globe Theater where most
  of Sh. Plays were performed

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Shakespeare wrote

• Comedies
• Histories
• Tragedies

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Romeo and Juliet

• Written about 1595
• Considered a tragedy
• West Side Story (Movie) based on RJ

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The Theater

• Plays produced for the general public
• Rooflessgtopen air
• No artificial lighting
• Courtyard surrounded by 3 levels of galleries

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Spectators

• Wealthy got benches
• Groundlingsgtpoorer people stood and watched
  from the courtyard (pit)
• All but wealthy were uneducated/illiterate
• Much more interaction than today

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Staging Areas

• Stagegtplatform that extended into the pit
• Dressing storage rooms in galleries behind
  above stage
• second-level gallerygt upper stagegt famous balcony
  scene in R J
• Trap doorgtghosts
• Heavensgt angelic beings

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Differences

• No scenery
• Settings gt references in dialogue
• Elaborate costumes
• Plenty of props
• Fast-paced, colorfulgt2 hours!

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Actors

• Only men and boys
• Young boys whose voices had not changed play
  womens roles
• Would have been considered indecent for a woman
  to appear on stage

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Elizabethan (QE1) Words

• An,and If
• Anon Soon
• Aye Yes
• But Except for
• Een Even
• Eer Ever

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QE1 Words (contin.)

• Haply Perhaps
• Happy Fortunate
• Hence Away, from her
• Hie Hurry
• Marry Indeed

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QE1 Words (contin.)

• Whence Where
• Wilt Will, will you
• Withal In addition to
• Would Wish

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Blank Verse

• Much of Shakespeares plays are written in it
• unrhymed verse
• iambic (unstressed, stressed)
• pentameter( 5 feet to a line)
• ends up to be 10 syllable lines

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Prose

• Ordinary writing that is not poetry, drama, or
  song
• Only characters in the lower social classes speak
  this way in Shakespeares plays
• Why do you suppose that is?

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Plot

• The sequence of events in a literary work

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Exposition

• The plot usually begins with this
• introducesgtgtgtgt
• setting
• characters
• basic situation

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Inciting Moment

• Often called initial incident
• the first bit of action that occurs which begins
  the plot
• Romeo and Juliet lock eyes at the party

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Conflict

• The struggle that develops
• man vs. man
• man vs. himself
• man vs. society
• man vs. nature

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Crisis

• The point where the protagonists situation will
  either get better or worse
• protagonistgtgood guy
• antagonistgtbad guy

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Climax

• The turning point of the storygteverything begins
  to unravel from here
• Thus begins the falling action

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Resolution

• The end of the central conflict

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Denouement

• The final explanation or outcome of the plot
• If this is included in literature, it will occur
  after the resolution.

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Tragedy (Shakespearean)

• Drama where the central character/s suffer
  disaster/great misfortune
• In many tragedies, downfall results fromgt
• Fate
• Character flaw/Fatal flaw
• Combination of the two

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Theme

• Central idea or gtgt
• Insight about life which explain the downfall

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Metaphorical Language

• Comparison of unlike things gt
• Paris standing over the lifeless body of
  Juliet, Sweet flower, with flowers thy bridal
  bed I strew
• Thou detestable mawGorged with the dearest
  morsel of the earth Romeo

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Dramatic Foil

• A character whose purpose is to show off another
  character
• Benvolio for Tybalt
• look for others in R J

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Round characters

• Characters who have many personality traits,
  like real people.

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Flat Characters

• One-dimensional, embodying only a single trait
• Shakespeare often uses them to provide comic
  relief even in a tragedy

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Static Characters

• Characters within a story who remain the same.
  They do not change. They do not change their
  minds, opinions or character.

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Dynamic Character

• Characters that change somehow during the course
  of the plot. They generally change for the
  better.

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Monologue

• One person speaking on stage gt may be other
  character on stage too
• ex gt the Prince of Verona commanding the
  Capulets and Montagues to cease feuding

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Soliloquy

• Long speech expressing the thoughts of a
  character alone on stage. In R J, Romeo gives
  a soliloquy after the servant has fled and Paris
  has died.

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Aside

• Words spoken, usually in an undertone not
  intended to be heard by all characters

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Pun

• Shakespeare loved to use them!!!
• Humorous use of a word with two meanings gt
  sometimes missed by the reader because of
  Elizabethan language and sexual innuendo

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Direct Address

• Words that tell the reader who is being
  addressed
• A right fair mark, fair coz, is soonest hit.
• Ah, my mistresses, which of you all/ Will now
  deny to dance?

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Dramatic Irony

• A contradiction between what a character thinks
  and what the reader/audience knows to be true

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Verbal Irony

• Words used to suggest the opposite of what is
  meant

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Situational Irony

• An event occurs that directly contradicts the
  expectations of the characters, the reader, or
  the audience

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Comic Relief

• Use of comedy within literature that is NOT
  comedy to provide relief from seriousness or
  sadness.
• In R J, look for moments of comic relief that
  help relieve the tragedy of the situation