William Shakespeare - Moore Public Schools...William Shakespeare dies Timeline of The World 1559—Elizabeth I takes the throne 1563—Church of England established 1578— Chinese

A Midsummer Night’s Dream Student Book © 2011, L. Dickson

William

Shakespeare

Name: ___________________


Timeline of

Shakespeare’s Life

1564—William Shakespeare born

1582—Shakespeare married Anne

Hathaway

1583—Susanna Shakespeare born

1585—Twins Judith and Hamnet

Shakespeare born

1587—beginning of Shakespeare’s

lost years

1590—The Two Gentlemen of Verona

1591—The Taming of the Shrew

1595—Romeo and Juliet

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

1596—Hamnet Shakespeare dies

1596-97—The Merchant of Venice

1597-98—The Merry Wives of

Windsor

1599—Globe Theatre built; Julius

Caesar

1600-01—Hamlet

1601—John Shakespeare dies

1603—Shakespeare’s men become

King’s Men

1605-06—King Lear

1606—Macbeth

1607—Susanna Shakespeare

marries

1609—Shakespeare’s Sonnets

published

1611—The Tempest

1613—Old Globe Theatre burns

down

1616—Judith Shakespeare marries;

William Shakespeare dies

Timeline of

The World 1559—Elizabeth I takes the throne 1563—Church of England established 1578— Chinese population reaches sixty million 1580—Francis Drake circles the globe 1587—American colony of Virginia named after Elizabeth I 1588—England defeats the Spanish Armada 1593—Plague in England 1601—Essex rebellion 1603—Queen Elizabeth dies 1603—James VI of Scotland becomes James I of England 1603—Plague in England 1603—First Kabuki theatre in Japan 1605—Gunpowder Plot in England 1608—Plague in England 1609—Nursery rhyme “Three Blind Mice” published 1612—Virginia colonists export Tobacco 1615—Hot chocolate introduced to Europe 1619—First black slaves arrive in Virginia colony


The Language of

William Shakespeare


Famous Shakespeare Quotations

To be or not to be; that is the question.

- Hamlet

This above all: to thine own self be true.

- Hamlet

This was the unkindest cut of all.

- Julius Caesar

Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.

- Hamlet

The course of true love never did run smooth.

- A Midsummer Night’s Dream

A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!

- King Richard III

He hath eaten me out of house and home.

- Henry IV, Part 2

All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely

players.

- As You Like It

What’s in a name? That which we call a rose By any other

name would smell as sweet!

- Romeo and Juliet


16th Century English

English was the language of only a few million

people.

Many English scholars wrote in Latin—not sure of

English’s future.

Still many regional differences in the spoken

language, but a growing uniformity in writing.

Still no rules of grammar—didn’t come until 18th

century, 200 years later.

In school they learned Latin, not English—

considered foolish to study your native tongue.

Shakespeare did not just use English—he helped

create it!


The Canterbury Tales

By Geoffrey Chaucer (1386)

The Miller’s Tale

The Introduction

Whan that the Knight hadde thus his tale ytold,

In al the route nas ther young ne old

That he ne saide it was a noble storye,

And worthy for to drawen to memorye,

And namely the gentils everichoon.

Oure Hoste lough and swoor, “So mote I goon,

This gooth aright: unbokeled is the male.

Lat see now who shal telle another tale.

For trewely the game is wel bigonne.

Now telleth ye, sire Monk, if that ye conne,

Somwhat to quite with the Knightes tale.”

The Millere, that for drunken was al pale,

So that unnethe upon his hors he sat,

Ne abiden no man for his curteisye,

But in Pilates vois he gan to crye,

And swoor, “By armes and by blood and bones,

I can a noble tale for the nones,

With which I wol now quite the knightes tale.”

Oure Hoste sawgh that he was dronke of ale,

And saide, “Abide, Rovin, leve brother,

Som better man shal telle us first another.

Abide, and lat us werken thriftily.”

“By Goddes soule,” quod he, “that wol nat I,

For I wol speke or ells go my way.”

Oure Hoste answerde, “Tel on, a devele way!

Thou art a fool; thy wit is overcome.”

“Now herkneth,” quod the Millere, “alle and some.

But first I make a protestacioun

That I am dronke: I knowe it by my soun.

And therefore if that I mis speke or saye,

Wite it the ale of Southwerk, I you praye;

Bothe of a carpenter and of his wif,

How that a clerk hath set the wrightes cappe.”

The Reeve answerde and saide, “Stint thy clappe!

Lat be thy lewed drunken harlotrye.

It is a sinne and eek a greet folye

To apairen any man or him defame,

And eek to bringen wives in swich fame.

Thou maist ynough or others things sayn.”...


The Canterbury Tales

By Geoffrey Chaucer (1386)

(Translated Version)

The Miller’s Tale Words between the Host and his Miller

WHEN we had heard the tale the Knight had told,

Not one among the pilgrims, young or old,

But said it was indeed a noble story

Worthy to be remembered for its glory,

And it especially pleased the gentlefolk.

Our Host began to laugh and swore in joke:

‘It’s going well, we’ve opened up the bale;

Now, let me see. Who’ll tell another tale?

Upon my soul the game was well begun!

Come on, Sir Monk, and show what can be done;

Repay the Knight a little for his tale!’

The Miller, very drunk and rather pale,

Was straddled on his horse half-on half-off

And in no mood for manners or to doff

His hood or hat, or wait on any man,

But in a voice like Pilate’s be began

To huff and swear. ‘By blood and bones and belly,

I’ve got a noble story I can tell ‘ee,

I’ll pay the Knight his wages, not the Monk.’

Our Host perceived at once that he was drunk

And said, ‘Now hold on, Robin, dear old brother;

We’ll get some better man to tell another;

You wait a bit. Let’s have some common sense.’

‘God’s soul, I won’t!’ said he. ‘At all events

I mean to talk, or else I’ll go my way.’

Our Host replied, ‘Well, blast you then, you may.

You’re just a fool; your wits are overcome.’

‘Now listen,’ said the Miller, ‘all and some,

To what I have to say. But first I’m bound

To say I’m drunk, I know it by my sound.

And if the words get muddled in Southwark ale.

I mean to tell a legend and a life

Of an old carpenter and of his wife,

And how a student came and set his cap…’

The Reeve looked up and shouted, ‘Shut your trap!

Give over with your drunken harlotry.

It is a sin and foolishness,’ said he,

‘To slander any man or bring a scandal

On wives in general. Why can’t you handle

Some other tale? There’s other things beside.’


Julius Caesar

By William Shakespeare (1590’s)

From Act II, Scene ii

CALPURNIA

What mean you, Caesar? Think you to walk forth?

You shall not stir out of your house to-day.

CAESAR

Caesar shall forth. The things that threatened me

Ne’er looked but on my back. When they shall see

The face of Caesar, they are vanished.

CALPURNIA

Caesar, I never stood on ceremonies,

Yet now they fright me. There is one within,

Besides the things that we have heard and seen,

Recounts most horrid sights seen by the watch.

A lioness hath whelped in the streets,

And graves have yawned and yielded up their dead.

Fierce fiery warriors fought upon the clouds

In ranks and squadrons and right form of war,

Which drizzled blood upon the Capitol.

The noise of battle hurtled in the air.

Horses did neigh, and dying men did groan,

And ghosts did shriek and squeal about the streets.

O Caesar, these things are beyond all use,

And I do fear them.

CAESAR

What can be avoided

Whose end is purposed by the mighty gods?

Yet Caesar shall go forth; for these predictions

Are to the world in general as to Caesar.

CALPURNIA

When beggars die there are no comets seen;

The heavens themselves blaze forth the death of princes.

CAESAR

Cowards die many times before their deaths;

The valiant never taste of death but once.

Of all the wonders that I yet have heard,

It seems to me most strange that men should fear,

Seeing that death, a necessary end,

Will come when it will come.


The Fortunes and Misfortunes

of the Famous Moll Flanders

By Daniel Defoe (1722)

MY true name is so well known in the records or registers

at Newgate, and in the Old Bailey, and there are some things of

such consequence still depending there, relating to my particu-

lar conduct, that it is not to be expected I should set my name

or the account of my family to this work. Perhaps, after my

death, it may be better known; at present it would not be

proper, no, not tho’ a general pardon should be issued, even

without exceptions of persons of crimes.

It is enough to tell you, that as some of my worst comrades,

who are out of the way of doing me harm, having gone out of

the world by the steps and the string as I often expected to go,

knew me by the name of Moll Flanders; so you may give me

leave to go under that name till I dare own who I have been, as

well as who I am.

I have been told that in one of our neighbour nations,

whether it be in France or where else, I know not, they have an

order from the king that when any criminal is condemn’d, ei-

ther to dye, or to the gallies, or to be transported, if they leave

any children, as such are generally unprovided for by the forfei-

ture of their parents, so they are immediately taken into the

care of the government, and put into an hospital call’d the

House of Orphans, where they are bred up, cloath’d, fed,

taught, and when fit to go out, are placed to trades, or to ser-

vices, so as to be well able to provide for themselves by an hon-

est industrious behaviour.

Had this been the custom in our country, I had not been left a

poor desolate girl without friends, without cloaths, without help

or helper, as was my fate; and by which I was not only expos’d

to very great distresses, even before I was capable, either of un-

derstanding my case, or how to amend it, but brought into a

course of life, scandalous in itself, and which in its ordinary

course tended to the swift destruction both of soul and body.

But the case was otherwise here; my mother was convicted of

felony for a petty theft, scarce worth naming, viz. borrowing

three pieces of fine Holland of a certain draper in Cheapside.

The circumstances are too long to repeat, and I have heard

them related so many ways, that I can scarce tell which is the

right account.


Great Expectations

By Charles Dickens (1861)

My father’s family name being Pirrip, and my Christian name Philip, my infant

tongue could make of both names nothing longer or more explicit than Pip. So I

called myself Pip, and came to be called Pip.

I gave Pirrip as my father’s family name, on the authority of his tombstone

and my sister—Mrs Gargery, who married the blacksmith. As I never saw my fa-

ther or my mother, and never saw any likeness of either of them (for their days

were long before the days of photographs), my first fancies regarding what they

were like, were unreasonably derived from their tombstones. The shape of the let-

ter on my father’s, gave me an odd idea that he was a square, stout, dark man, with

curly black hair. From the character and turn of the inscription, ‘Also Georgiana

Wife of the Above’, I drew a childish conclusion that my mother was freckled and

sickly. To five little stone lozenges, each about a foot and a half long, which were

arranged in a neat row beside their grave, and were sacred to the memory of five

littler brothers of mine—who gave up trying to get a living exceedingly early in that

universal struggle—I am indebted for a belief I religiously entertained that they

had all been born on their backs with their hands in their trousers-pockets, and had

never taken them out in this state of existence.

Ours was the marsh country, down by the river, within, as the river wound,

twenty miles of the sea. My first most vivid and broad impression of the identity of

things, seems to me to have been gained on a memorable raw afternoon towards

evening. At such a time I found out for certain, that this bleak place overgrown

with nettles was the churchyard; and that Philip Pirrip, late of this parish, and also

Georgiana wife of the above, were dead and buried; and that Alexander, Bartholo-

mew, Abraham, Tobias, and roger, infant children of the aforesaid, were also dead

and buried; and that the dark flat wilderness beyond the churchyard, intersected

with dykes and mounds and gates, with scattered cattle feeding on it, was the

marshes; and that the low leaden line beyond was the river; and that the distant

savage lair from which the wind was rushing, was the sea; and that the small bun-

dle of shivers growing afraid of it all and beginning to cry, was Pip.

‘Hold your noise! cried a terrible voice, as a man started up from among the

graves at the side of the church porch. ‘Keep still, you little devil, or I’ll cut your

throat!’

A fearful man, all in coarse grey, with a great iron on his leg. A man with no

hat, and with broken shoes, and with an old rag tied round his head. A man who

had been soaked in water, and smothered in mud, and lamed by stones, and cut by

flints, and stung by nettles, and torn by briars; who limped and shivered, and

glared and growled; and whose teeth chattered in his head as he seized me by the

chin.

‘O! Don’t cut my throat, sir,’ I pleaded in terror. ‘Pray don’t do it, sir.’

‘Tell us your name!’ said the man. ‘Quick!’

‘Pip, sir.’

‘Once more,’ said the man, staring at me. ‘Give it mouth!’

‘Pip. Pip, sir.’

‘Show us where you live,’ said the man. ‘Pint out the place!’

I pointed to where our village lay, on the flat in-shore among the alder-trees

and pollards, a mile or more from the church.


Language of the 1970’s

(Source unknown)

Remember when HIPPIE meant big in the hips,

and a TRIP involved travel in cars, planes or ships?

When POT was a vessel for cooking things in,

and HOOKED was what grandmother’s rug may have been?

When FIXED was a verb that meant mend or repair,

and NEAT meant well organized, tidy and clean,

and GRASS was a ground cover, normally green?

When lights and not people were SWITCHED On and off,

and THE PILL might have been what you took for a cough?

When GROOVY meant furrowed with channels and hollows,

and BIRDS were winged creatures like robins and swallows?

When FUZZ was a substance, fluffy like lint,

and BREAD came from bakeries and not from the mint?

When ROLL meant a bun and ROCK was a stone,

and HANGUP was something you did with the phone?

When CHICKEN was poultry, and BAG meant a sack,

and JUNK trashy cast-offs and old brick-a-brac?

When CAT was a feline, a kitten grown up,

and TEA was a liquid you drank from a cup?

When SWINGER was someone who swings in a swing,

and a PAD was a sort of cushiony thing?

When WAY OUT meant distant, and far, far away,

and a man wouldn’t sue you for calling him GAY?

Words once so sensible, sober and serious

are making the freak-scene like psycho-delirious.

It’s groovy, man, groovy, but English it’s not.

Methinks that the language has gone straight to pot.



Words and…

Hundreds of words and phrases “coined” by William Shake-

speare are still used today. Here are just a few.

Amazement Outgrow Birthplace Puppy Dog Cold-Blooded Quarrelsome Dawn Rascally Eyeball Schoolboy Fashionable Tranquil Generous Useful Ill-Tempered Vulnerable Jaded Well-Behaved Love Letter Yelping Majestic Zany Sanctimonious Arch-villain Eaten out of house and home Bedazzle Foregone conclusion Dauntless Pomp and circumstance Embrace Method in the madness Cheap Neither rhyme nor reason go-between A sorry sight Outbreak The world’s (my) oyster Well-bred Full circle Vulnerable The makings of Reword One fell swoop Puking Seen better days Skim Milk Smells to heaven Obscene A spotless reputation A laughing stock Strange bedfellows Dead as a doornail Eaten out of house and home In a pickle In stitches Send him packing


Shakespearean "Conversations" Troublesome Words

If you're going to read or see a Shakespeare play, there are some words that come up again and again and might confuse you. Some of these are now ar-chaic or arcane, and some are still in common use but their meaning has changed. Knowing the following words will turn the beginning reader into an instant expert. Absey book—a child’s ABC book

addition - title

affined - bound by duty

alarum - call to arms with trumpets

Ambuscade—ambush

anatomize - to analyze in detail

ancient - ensign

anon - until later

arrant - absolute

aroint - begone

assail - to make amorous siege to

attend - to await

Aye/ay - yes

backbitten - infested with lice

baffle - to hang up (a person) by the heels as a mark of disgrace

baggage - strumpet, prostitute

balk - to disregard

barm - the froth on ale

bawcock - fine fellow

beldam - old hag

belike - maybe

bemoiled - soiled

beslubber - to smear

blank - a target


bolted - refined

Bootless—useless

brach - bitch hound

brake - bushes

brave - fine, handsome

bum - backside, buttocks

By my troath—truly/upon my

word

caitiff - a humble person

catch - song

character - handwriting

chuck - term of endearment, chick

clout - a piece of white cloth

cog - to deceive

coil - trouble

cousin - any close relative

coz—cousin/relative

descant - improvize

dispatch - to hurry

e'en - evening/even

enow - enough

fare - thee-well-goodbye

fie - a curse; disgust or outrage

For the nonce—for the time be-

ing

fustian - wretched

Gi’ - give

got - begot

Good den—good evening

grammarcy - thank you

halter - noose

Have at thee—on guard

He doth—he does

He durst—he dared

He hath—he has

heavy - sorrowful

Hither—here

honest - chaste, pure

housewife - hussy, prostitute

impeach - dishonour

I’ - in

‘t—it

I pray—excuse me/ if you be

pleased

I trow—I trust/I think

Lest—unless

list - listen

Marry—really? or really!

mayhap - maybe

mess - meal, food

Methinks—I think

mew - confine

minister - servant

moiety - portion

morrow - day

Moved—angered

nay - no

Naught—nothing

Ne’er—never

O’ - of

office - service or favor

oft - often

O’er—over


passing - surprisingly,

exceedingly

perchance - maybe

perforce - of necessity

politician - schemer

post - messenger

power - army

prithee - i pray thee (please)

quest - a jury

recreant - coward

resolve - to answer; reply to

Rest you merry—goodbye/all

the best

Sirrah—sir (an inferior)

Soft—wait a minute

soundly - plainly

stale - harlot

Stand upon—regard as impor-

tant

subscription - loyalty,

Allegiance

Ta’en—taken

tax - to criticize; to accuse

Thou art—you are

Thou’rt—thou art

Thou dost—you do

Thou hast—you have

Thou know’st—you know

Thou see’st—you see

Thou did’st—you did

‘tis—it is

troth - belief

teem - to give birth

Thine—your/yours

Tither—there

tucket - trumpet flourish

verge - edge, circumference

verily - truly

want - lack

welkin - sky

well - a-day-alas

wherefore - why

Wilt—will

Withal—with

yea - yes

zounds - by Christ's wounds


Shakespearean "Conversations" An Insulting Conversation

A: Thou damned and luxurious mountain goat. B: Let's meet as little as we can. A: More of your conversation would infect my brain. B: Away! Thou art poison to my blood. A: Why, thou clay-brained guts, thou knotty-pated fool, thou whoreson obscene greasy tallow-catch. B: Hang yourself, you muddy conger, hang yourself! A: Thou sodden-witted lord! Thou hast no more brain than I have in mine elbows. B: Go forward, and be choked with thy ambition! A: Teeth hadst thou in thy head when thou wast born to signify thou came to bite the world. B: Your heart is crammed with arrogancy, spleen and pride. A: Thou art a boil, a plague-sore, an embossed carbuncle in my corrupted blood B: There is not yet so ugly a fiend of hell as thou shall be. A: Ah, you whoreson loggerhead! You were born to do me shame. B: Come, you are a tedious fool. A: Beg that thou may have leave to hang thyself. B: Tempt not too much the hatred of my spirit; for I am sick when I do look on thee. A: Vile worm, thou wast o'erlook'd even in thy birth. B: Go thou and fill another room in hell. A: Heaven truly knows that thou are as false as hell. B: Thou lump of foul deformity. A: Thou detestable maw, thou womb of death. B: Away, you three-inch fool. A: Hang cur! hang, you whoreson, insolent noisemaker. B: Would thou wert clean enough to spit upon!


Shakespeare Insult Kit

Shakespeare loved to use insults in his plays, and you will find many in all his plays. To create a Shakespearean insult... Combine one word from each of the three columns below, prefaced with "Thou." For example, “Thou gleeking beetle-headed flap-dragon!” Column 1 Column 2 Column 3 artless base-court apple-john bawdy bat-fowling baggage beslubbering beef-witted barnacle bootless beetle-headed bladder churlish boil-brained boar-pig cockered clapper-clawed bugbear clouted clay-brained bum-bailey craven common-kissing canker-blossom currish c rook-pated clack-dish dankish dismal-dreaming clotpole dissembling dizzy-eyed coxcomb droning doghearted codpiece errant dread-bolted death-token fawning earth-vexing dewberry fobbing elf-skinned flap-dragon froward fat-kidneyed flax-wench frothy fen-sucked flirt-gill gleeking flap-mouthed foot-licker goatish fly-bitten fustilarian gorbellied folly-fallen giglet impertinent fool-born gudgeon infectious full-gorged haggard jarring guts-griping harpy loggerheaded half-faced hedge-pig lumpish hasty-witted horn-beast mammering hedge-born hugger-mugger mangled hell-hated joithead mewling idle-headed l ewdster paunchy ill-breeding lout Pribbling ill-nurtured maggot-pie


Column 1 Column 2 Column 3 puking knotty-pated malt-worm puny milk-livered mammet qualling motley-minded measle rank onion-eyed minnow reeky plume-plucked miscreant roguish pottle-deep moldwarp ruttish pox-marked mumble-news saucy reeling-ripe nut-hook spleeny rough-hewn pigeon-egg spongy rude-growing pignut surly rump-fed puttock tottering shard-borne pumpion unmuzzled sheep-biting ratsbane vain spur-galled scut venomed swag-bellied skainsmate villainous tardy-gaited strumpet warped tickle-brained varlot wayward toad-spotted vassal weedy unchin-snouted whey-face yeasty weather-bitten wagtail

Documents

William Shakespeare - Moore Public Schools...William Shakespeare dies Timeline of The World 1559—Elizabeth I takes the throne 1563—Church of England established 1578— Chinese