1 / 12

Shakespearean Drama: Background

Shakespearean Drama: Background. Romeo and Juliet English I & Honors. “All the World’s a Stage”. Shakespeare’s Philosophy: “All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players: They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts,

shae
Download Presentation

Shakespearean Drama: Background

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. Shakespearean Drama: Background Romeo and Juliet English I & Honors

  2. “All the World’s a Stage” Shakespeare’s Philosophy: “All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players: They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts, His acts being seven ages…” -- From As You Like It

  3. Theatre During Shakespeare’s Time • Plays were performed in public theaters. • Wealthy playgoers sat on the benches • Less wealthy playgoers stood in the pit • Hazelnuts were their theater food of choice. • The GLOBE • Where many of Shakespeare’s plays were performed. • Located in London – built in 1599. • Was reconstructed in 1997 • Held ~3,000 people

  4. Theater Cont’d • Setting and stage directions were imbedded in the script: • “Soft! What light through yonder window breaks?” • “If I profane with my unworthiest hand/this holy shrine, the gentle sin is this” • “What, drawn, and talk of peace?” • Women did NOT perform in the theater • Plays lasted roughly 2 hours

  5. About Romeo & Juliet • Wrote histories, tragedies and comedies • It is one of Shakespeare’s tragedies • A tragedy is a drama in which the central character meets disaster or great misfortune. • The plot was borrowed!!!! • Tragicall Historye of Romeus and Juliet by Arthur Brooke in 1562

  6. Theatrical Terms • Monologue: a long speech made by one actor usually expressing thoughts. • Soliloquy: a long speech made by an actor to the audience (the content is private). • Aside: the character speaks to the audience; it’s unheard by the other characters

  7. A Distinction of Importance • Shakespeare used two types of writing: • Blank Verse: unrhymed poetry with a distinct meter • Prose: no rhyme or meter; “normal speech” Typically: • The wealthy, important characters speak in blank verse • The poor, unimportant characters speak in prose

  8. Academic Vocabulary • Shakespeare is known for his wordplay. • Oxymoron: a figure of speech that combines contradictory terms • “the deafening silence” • “the living dead” • Pun: a play on words that suggests two or more meanings • “I work as a baker because I knead dough.” • “Never invest in funerals; it is a dying industry.”

  9. Activity • Part I: Research “puns” tonight on the internet. Find three examples, write them down, and explain why each is a pun. • Part II: Shakespeare re-orders many of his words. • “John caught the ball”  in Shakespearean…“The ball John caught” OR “John the ball caught” • YOUR ASSIGNMENT: Come up with three normal sentences and then re-word them into “Shakespearean lingo” (DUE tomorrow!)

More Related