Shakespeare

Widely regarded as the greatest writer in English

Literature

Shakespeare

• 1563-1616

• Stratford-on-Avon, England

• wrote 37 plays

• about 154 sonnets

• started out as actor

Lesser-known Facts• Teen father: married

pregnant 26 year old Anne Hathaway when he was 18

• Deadbeat dad: Left wife and children for stage career

• Father of twins• Elizabethan rapper: uses

rhythm and rhyme• “Plagiarism” ?

Shakespeare wrote:

• Comedies

• Histories

• Tragedies

Conditions in London

• BAD!

• Thames River: polluted with raw sewage

• Trees used for fuel

• Poverty

Personal hygiene/health

• Bathing considered dangerous

• Body odor strong

• Childhood diseases

• Children often died before 5 years

• Small Pox

• Bubonic Plague

Living Conditions

• No running water

• Chamber Pots

• Open Sewers

• Crowded

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Clothes• One set used all year

long, rarely washed

• Underclothing slept in, infrequently changed

• Clothes handed down from rich to poor

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The Globe Theater• Built in 1599

• For general public

• Roofless: might get wet!

• Across Thames

• No artificial lighting, limited sets

The Globe Theater• Merchandise and refreshments attracted non

playgoers to the market

• Thousands of people and no toilets! Sewage disposed of in Thames. Theatres closed during Bubonic Plague: disease spread via rats & fleas

• Color coded flags on day of performance

-a black flag meant a tragedy, white a comedy, and red a history.

The Globe Theater

Spectators• Wealthy got benches• “Groundlings” (stinkards) stood in

the “pit” for 1 penny• All but wealthy were uneducated• Women dressed as men to attend• Much more interaction than today

(threw rotten veggies)

Staging Areas• Stage: platform extended into the pit

• Dressing & storage rooms in galleries behind & above stage

• Trap door: ghosts, smoke and other basic effects

Actors• Only men and boys• Young boys whose voices had not

changed play women’s roles• Would have been considered

indecent for a woman to appear• No kissing or hugging

Differences• No scenery

• Settings: references in dialogue

• Elaborate costumes

• Plenty of props

• Fast-paced, colorful: 2 hours!

The Competition• Bear-baiting• Races• Gambling• Music• Drinking/socializing• Mental Hospitals• Public executions

Elizabethan Words 1

• An,and: If

• Anon: Soon

• Aye: Yes

• But: Except for

• E’en: Even

• E’er: Ever

Elizabethan Words 2

• Haply: Perhaps

• Happy: Fortunate

• Hence: Away, from her

• Hie: Hurry

• Marry: Indeed

Elizabethan Words 3

• Whence: Where

• Wilt: Will, will you

• Withal: In addition to

• Would: Wish

Monologue

• One person speaking on stage (may be other character on stage too)

Soliloquy

• Long speech expressing the thoughts of a character alone on stage.

Aside

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

Pun

• Shakespeare loved to use them!!!

–Humorous use of a word with two meanings. Sometimes missed by the reader because of Elizabethan language

Tragedy (Shakespearean)• Drama where the central character

suffers disaster or great misfortune– Downfall results from:

•Fate

•Character flaw/Fatal flaw

•Combination of the two

Romeo and Juliet• Written about 1595• A poem by Brooke 1562• Set in Verona, Italy• Considered a tragedy• West Side Story based on R&J• Themes: Parental control, teenage

rebellion, fate vs. free will