Shakespeare I. A Brief Biography II. The Globe Theater III. Dramatic Terms

ShakespeareI. A Brief Biography

II. The Globe Theater

III. Dramatic Terms

Shakespeare: A Brief Biography

Born in April 1564 at Stratford-on-Avon

John Shakespeare (father)tanner, glover, dealer in graintown official (alderman, and later mayor)

Mary (mother)daughter of Robert Arden, a prosperous gentleman-farmer.


Attended the Stratford Grammar School

Did not go to Oxford or Cambridge


Married Anne Hathaway in 1582

Three children born: Susanna, Judith, and Hamnet


By 1590, he was an actor and playwright

Leader of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men and the King’s Men

Died April 23, 1616


He was buried in Stratford; the inscription on his tombstone reads. . .


“Good Friend, for Jesus’ sake, forbear

To dig the dust enclosed here;

Blest be the man that spares these stones

And curst be he that moves my bones.”


Author of 37 plays and 154 sonnets

Robert Greene, a critic, attacked Shakespeare, a mere actor, for writing plays.

He acted before Queen Elizabeth in 1594.

The exact year in which William Shakespeare wrote Hamlet is unknown, but versions exist from 1603 and 1604

The Globe Theater

He wrote his plays to be performed in the Globe Theater.

The only account we have of the Globe is from a diary of a Swiss doctor who visited London and crossed the Thames River to see a play in a theater with a thatched roof.

The Globe Theater

It was built in 1599 and burned down 14 years later in 1613.

It was an 8 sided building with a central yard.

The Globe Theater

Spectators’ price of admissions wasone penny - to stand in yard around stage (these were called the groundlings)

two pennies - to sit in 2nd and 3rd floor galleries

three pennies - to sit in the first floor galleries

The Globe Theater

Stage1/3 of yard was filled with 6ft high platformno curtainno artificial lightingback wall had at least two doorsbalcony was used for hilltops, walls of cities, or second story scenes.trapdoors were used to raise or lower actors and props.

The Globe Theater

Take a tour of the new Globe Theater. . . .

www.shakespearesglobe.com/about-us/virtual-tour

There is a cross section of the Globe on page 428 of your book

http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/about-us/virtual-tour

http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/about-us/virtual-tour

Shakespearean DramaTragedy: A drama that ends in catastrophe—most

often death—for the main character and often for several other important characters as well

Tragic Hero: The main character, someone who is nobly born and has great influence in his or her society. This character has weakness or errors in judgment (Tragic Flaws) that lead to his or her downfall. Fate may play a role in the course that events take.

The tragic hero as a character has become a part of Western and even global consciousness, an archetype.

Common Elements in Shakespearean Tragedy

Contrast

one idea/character or object is thrown into opposition with another for the sake of emphasis or clarity

use of contrast heightens distinctions of character and increases interest by placing opposites side by side (e.g. comic scene just before a tragic scene)

character foils (those who provide contrast, usually to the protagonist) are used extensively by Shakespeare


Fate

intervention of some force over which humans have not control

may complicate the plot but does not bring about the downfall of the hero (he ultimately chooses it for himself by his actions)

pathos/sympathy may be felt by the audience for those hurt by fate


The Supernatural

Shakespeare knew the appeal of ghosts, witches, premonitions, prophesies and other supernatural events for his audience and thus he included them


Nemesis

Nemesis is the Greek goddess of vengeance, the personification of righteous indignation; she pursues those who have displeased the gods

by Shakespeare’s time, the term became associated with any agent of fate or bringer of just retribution


Catharsis

a term to describe the intended impact of tragedy on the audience; the reason we are drawn, again and again, to watch tragedy despite its essential sadness

by experiencing the events which arouse pity and terror, we achieve a purging (catharsis) of these emotions

detached pity and involved terror that leaves the spectator with “calm of mind, all passion spent”


Suspense

uncertainty in an incident, situation, or behavior

keeps the audience anxious concerning the outcome of the protagonist’s conflict

Shakespeare uses conflict, precarious situations, apparently unsolvable problems, foreshadowing and delay to develop suspense

Comic Relief


Comic Relief

A humorous scene, incident, or speech that relieves the overall emotional intensity in the play. Comic relief helps the audience absorb the tragic events in the plot of a play.


Allusion


Allusion

A brief reference, within a work, to something outside the work that the reader or audience is expected to know. Many of Shakespeare’s allusions are to mythology or the Bible.


Foil


Foil

A character whose personality or attitudes are in sharp contrast to those of another character in the same work. This highlights the other character’s traits.


Soliloquy and Aside


Soliloquy and Aside

A Soliloquy is a speech made by an actor alone on stage to let the audience know what is on that character’s mind.


Soliloquy and Aside:

A Soliloquy is a speech made by an actor alone on stage to let the audience know what is on that character’s mind.

An Aside is a character’s remark to the audience or to another character that others on stage aren’t supposed to hear. The purpose of an aside is to reveal that character’s thoughts.


Dramatic Irony

This situation occurs when the audience is aware of the conditions that are unknown to the character on stage or when some of the characters are ignorant of what really is on the speaker’s mind


Blank Verse


Blank Verse

Unrhymed lines of iambic pentameter. Shakespeare wrote all of his plays in blank verse.


Blank Verse

Example of Blank Verse

~ / ~ / ~ / ~ / ~ /

But soft.|What light| through yon|der win|dow breaks?

~ / ~ / ~ / ~~ / ~ /

It is| the east|, and Jul|iet is |the sun!

Hamlet

Principal conflict

When the play begins, the old king Hamlet has been killed by his brother, Claudius, who now sits on the throne. Claudius has also married the old king Hamlet’s wife, Gertrude. Young prince Hamlet (the son of the old king) is distraught over his father’s death and his mother’s hasty remarriage.

Hamlet

The ghost of his dead father visits Hamlet and reveals to him that his father was poisoned by uncle Claudius. The Ghost commands prince Hamlet to avenge his death. Hamlet agrees, but spends much of the play uncertain of whether to trust the ghost’s words and eager to obtain proof of his uncle Claudius’s guilt.

Characters

Hamlet: Son of a murdered Danish king and nephew of the present king, Claudius. Hamlet suffers great mental anguish over the death of his father, the marriage of his mother to the suspected murderer (Claudius), and the clash between his moral sense and his desire for revenge against his father’s murderer. To ensnare the killer, Hamlet pretends madness. Some scholars contend that he actually suffers a mental breakdown.

Characters

Hamlet: Son of a murdered Danish king and nephew of the present king, Claudius. Hamlet suffers great mental anguish over the death of his father, the marriage of his mother to the suspected murderer (Claudius), and the clash between his moral sense and his desire for revenge against his father’s murderer. To ensnare the killer, Hamlet pretends madness. Some scholars contend that he actually suffers a mental breakdown.

Claudius: The new King of Denmark, Hamlet's uncle. He killed Hamlet’s father, the old king, and married Gertrude.

Characters

Gertrude: Queen of Denmark, Hamlet's mother, and widow of the murdered king. Her marriage to Claudius within two months after the late king’s funeral deeply disturbs Hamlet.

Characters


Ghost of Hamlet’s father, old King Hamlet: The Ghost tells Hamlet about Claudius’s treacherous murder and commands Hamlet to avenge his death.

Characters



Polonius: Bootlicking Lord Chamberlain of King Claudius.

Characters




Ophelia: Daughter of Polonius. She loves Hamlet, but his pretended madness–during which he rejects her–and the death of her father (who Hamlet kills by accident) trigger a pathological reaction in her.

CharactersGertrude: Queen of Denmark, Hamlet's mother, and widow of the murdered king. Her marriage to Claudius within two months after the late king’s funeral deeply disturbs Hamlet.



Ophelia: Daughter of Polonius. She loves Hamlet, but his pretended madness–during which he rejects her–and the death of her father (who Hamlet kills by accident) trigger a pathological reaction in her.

Horatio: Hamlet’s best friend. Horatio never wavers in his loyalty to Hamlet.

CharactersLaertes: Son of Polonius, brother of Ophelia. Circumstances make him an enemy of Hamlet, and they duel to the death in a fencing match at the climax of the play. As a man who reacts to circumstances quickly, with a minimum of reflection on the meaning and possible outcome of his actions, Laertes contrasts sharply with the pensive and indecisive Hamlet and, thus, serves as his foil.

Rosencrantz, Guildenstern: Courtiers and friends of Hamlet who attended school with him. They turn against him to act as spies

for Claudius and agents in Claudius’s scheme to have Hamlet murdered in England. Hamlet quickly smells out their deception and treachery.

Players: Actors who arrive at Elsinore to offer an entertainment. Hamlet asks them to stage a drama called The Mouse-trap, about a throne- seeker who murders a king. Hamlet hopes the play will cause Claudius to react in a way that reveals his guilt as the murderer of old King Hamlet.

Are there any questions?

Documents

Shakespeare I. A Brief Biography II. The Globe Theater III. Dramatic Terms