Shakespeare & The Renaissance

1. Shakespeare & The Renaissance

2. The Life of Bill William Shakespeare April 23, 1564 - April 23, 1616

3. The Life of Bill:Family • PARENTS: • Understood all walks of life and social classes - Father was a glover and a leather merchant, mother was a land heiress, which put them in the working class, but with benefits and respect. • FAMILY: • Married Anne Hathaway in1582. (He was 18 while she was 26 and pregnant) • 3 kids: Susanna, Twins – Hamnet and Judith

4. The Life of Bill: Career • ACTING CAREER: • 1594 – actor, writer, and a managing partner for the Lord Chamberlain’s Men’s Company • LCM Company– acting company patronized by royalty and made popular by the public

5. The Life of Bill: Career • Wrote 154 sonnets, 2 epic narratives, and 37 plays including: • Comedies: 12th Night, Measure for Measure, Taming of the Shrew • Histories: Henry’s and Richard’s • Tragedies: Hamlet, King Lear, Othello • Late Romances: Tempest

6. The Life of Bill: Career • Known for prose, witty poetry, and blank verse (unrhymed iambic pentameter). • No dictionaries or grammar books = learned from other educated writers • Credited with introducing 3,000+ words/phrases into the language: • Bedroom, dawn, gossip, gloomy, fashionable, bump, cold-blooded, Break the ice, breathed his last, dog will have his day, good-riddance, sent packing, seen better days, heart of gold

7. The Life of Bill: Language • Only one generation from what we speak today • Reading Hints: • Thou = you • T’is = it is • Don’t pronounce the apostrophe at the end of words; apostrophes are for other vowels (Ex. cat I’ th’ adage = cat in the adage)

8. The Life of Bill: Language • The only thing that is different from modern time is the SYNTAX or WORD ORDER in which the characters speak. (Unusual word order is called “inversion.”) • I ate the sandwich. • I the sandwich ate. • Ate the sandwich I. • The sandwich I ate. In modern English, the most common sentence pattern is subject (S), verb (V), object (O), or I (S) ate (V) the sandwich (O). But as this example shows, most common does not mean only possible, and while some of these constructions (“Ate the sandwich I”) are pretty unusual, they are nonetheless grammatically correct. Shakespeare used inversion to create specific dramatic and poetic effects. Inversion can be used to emphasize key words, to create specific poetic rhythms, to give a character a specific speech pattern, or for a variety of other purposes. Experienced readers “re-order” the words to understand the sentence. They locate the subject and the verb and “re-write”

9. The Life of Bill: Works • Elizabethan Drama– turned away from religious subjects and began more sophisticated plays drawing from the ancient Romans and Greek • Many Tragedies– hero hit with disaster • Carefully crafted, unrhymed, rich language, vivid imagery

10. Time Period: Renaissance • QUEEN ELIZABETH (1558-1603) • England emerges as naval and commercial power of Western world after defeating the Spanish armada • England firmly establishes the Church of England, which attacks Catholics and witches. • The C.O.E. began with Queen Elizabeth’s father, Henry VIII, after a disagreement with the pope over whether or not he could be granted a divorce.

11. Time Period: Renaissance • QUEEN ELIZABETH (1558-1603) • There were Catholic plots to kill Queen Elizabeth since she was from her father’s second marriage. Catholics wished to crown Mary Scot, her cousin instead. • Mary Scot was eventually imprisoned for 19 years and then beheaded. VS England Scotland

12. Time Period: Renaissance JAMES VI OF SCOTLAND (Mary Scot’s son!!!) is crowned as JAMES I OF ENGLAND • 1605 –Gun Powder Plot: Catholics plot to blow up king and Parliament • Guy Fawkes rented a cellar under the House of Lords, where he stored 36 barrels of gun-powder. This unsuccessful act increased Catholic persecution. Until this day in England, Nov. 5th is known as Guy Fawkes Day. The English burn dummies of Guy and set off fireworks to celebrate.

13. Time Period: Renaissance • JAMES I OF ENGLAND • 1607 –Jamestown settled • 1611 – King James Bible published • Witch Trials continue

14. The Globe Theater: History • 1576 – Known as “The Theater”(1594 – closed briefly for the plague). • 1599 – Tore down and drug across the Thames river after a legal dispute. • 1613 – Burnt down from a fire started by a canon shot during a Henry VIII performance.

15. The Globe Theater: History • 1642 – Officially closed by Puritan regime • Predominately ran by the Lord Chamberlain’s Company

16. The Globe Theater: Construction • Open octagon, 3 stories high, 100 ft in diameter • Fits 3,000 spectators • Microcosm of London • Pit– (1 pence) Groundlings/Peasants; standing room only, fruit and nuts sold • 3 tiers– (2 pence) upper class seating • Behind stage– royalty (so everyone could see them )

17. The Globe Theater: Construction • No real scenery: • audience goes off of exaggerated language and movement • Effects: • Trap doors, balcony entrances, rope riggings, etc. • Fireworks (lightning), rolled canon balls (thunder)

18. The Globe Theater: Plays • Plays performed during the day for lighting (2-5pm) • Actors were only men. • Young boys played the roles of women.

19. Macbeth: Writing Patronage THE PLAY MACBETH WAS WRITTEN SPECIFICIALLY FOR KING JAMES I: • He was obsessed with demonology, the idea of magic and witches. (2) Experienced the Gun Powder Plot, an assassination attempt.

20. Macbeth: Writing Patronage (3) Scottish History: It is loosely based on the career of King Macbeth of Scotland. Macbeth, a commander under King Duncan I, murdered Duncan in 1040 and claimed the kingdom for himself. After a rule of 17 years, Macbeth was killed by Duncan’s son Malcolm, who later became King Malcolm III.Banquo was written as a good guy since King James I was one of his descendents. (4) Short because the King liked short plays (The real Macbeth, King Duncan, Malcolm, Banquo and Lady Macbeth all lived in the 1000s… Beowulf’s times!)

21. Macbeth: The Curse THE CURSE: Supposedly, saying the name "Macbeth" inside a theater will bring bad luck to the play and anyone acting in it. The only exception is when the word is spoken as a line in the play. People actually refer to the play as “The Scottish Play” or “MacB” when at the theater.

22. Macbeth: The Curse WHY IT STARTED: In order to please King James I, Shakespeare casted his imagination aside and used a real 17th century black-magic ritualfor the opening scene of Macbeth's Act IV (a sort of “how-to” for budding witches.) Without changing an ingredient, he provided his audience with step-by-step instructions of how to create a real spell! The ritual's practitioners were not amused by this detailed public exposure of their witchcraft. Iit is said that as punishment they cast an everlasting spell on the play, turning it into the most ill starred of all theatrical productions.

23. Macbeth: The Curse HOW TO AVOID THE CURSE: In order to reverse the bad luck, the person who uttered the word must: • Exit the theater, • Spin around three times saying a profanity • And then ask for permission to return inside *OR 4) Some believe that you can repeat the words "Thrice around the circle bound, Evil sink into the ground,"

24. Macbeth: Proof of the Curse • First Macbeth Performance Ever: Beginning with its first performance, in 1606, Dear Will himself was forced to play Lady Macbeth when Hal Berridge, the boy designated to play the lady, became inexplicably feverish and died. Moreover, the bloody play so displeased King James I that he banned it for five years. • Amsterdam, 1672: The actor playing Macbeth substituted a real dagger for the blunted stage one and with it killed Duncan in full view of the entranced audience. • Lady Macbeth incidents: Sarah Siddons was nearly ravaged by a disapproving audience in 1775; Sybil Thorndike was almost strangled by a burly actor in 1926; Diana Wynyard sleepwalked off the rostrum in 1948, falling down 15 feet. • New York, 1849: During its performance at New York's Astor Place, a riot broke out in which 31 people were trampled to death. Macduff, was mugged soon after the play's opening.

25. Macbeth: Proof of The Curse • USA, 1937: When Laurence Olivier took on the role of Macbeth, a 25 pound stage weight crashed within an inch of him, and his sword which broke onstage flew into the audience and hit a man who later suffered a heart attack. • 1934: British actor Malcolm Keen turned mute onstage, and his replacement, Alister Sim, like Hal Berridge before him, developed a high fever and had to be hospitalized. • 1942: The Macbeth production headed by John Gielgud, three actors -- Duncan and two witches -- died, and the costume and set designer committed suicide amidst his devilish Macbeth creations. • Bermuda, 1952: Charlton Heston, in an outdoor production, suffered severe burns in his groin and leg area from tights that were accidentally soaked in kerosene. • Recent Years: An actor's strike felled Rip Torn's 1970 production in New York City. Two fires and seven robberies plagued the 1971 version starring David Leary.

26. Macbeth Terms • Elizabethan Drama: Plays that turn away from religious subjects and begins to model ancient Greek and Roman plays with sophisticated plots • Tragedy: serious play in which the chief figures, through peculiarity of character, pass through a serious of misfortunes, eventually leading to a catastrophe and downfall • Act I (happiness) • Act II (conflict begins) • Shakespearean Climax • Act III (conflict could’ve been avoided but isn’t) • Act IV (downfall/catastrophe) • Act V (consequences/aftermath)

27. Macbeth Terms • Aside – a convention in drama whereby a character onstage addresses the audience to reveal some inner thought or feeling, inaudible to other characters onstage • MACBETH: The greatest is behind us. Thanks for your pains[Aside to Banquo]Do you not hope your children will be kings…? • Soliloquy – monologue delivered by a character while alone onstage revealing inner thoughts, emotions, or some other information the audience needs to know • Prophesy – predicted occurrence, Fate • Paradox – a statement which reveals a kind of truth which at first seems contradictory • “Foul is fair and fair is foul”

28. Macbeth Terms • Hamartia: tragic flaw that leads to a characters downfall • Hubris: having excessive pride • Example of a tragic flaw • Divine Right of Rule:God appoints/chooses a person to reign as king • Internal Conflict: Inside/Personal forces • Macbeth: ? ? ? • Lady Macbeth: ? ? ? • External Conflict:External or outside forces • Macbeth: ? ? ?

29. Macbeth Terms • Comic Relief:humorous scene or passage inserted into an otherwise serious work (emotional outlet for audience to contrast seriousness of work) • Anadiplosis (Greek for “doubling”):Repeating the last word of a clause at the beginning of the next clause • Ex. Yoda - "Fear leads to anger; anger leads to hatred; hatred leads to conflict; conflict leads to suffering."

30. Macbeth: Setting • Scotland • Inverness (Macbeth’s Castle near Dunsinane and Birnahm Woods) • Fife (MacDuff’s Castle) • Cawdor & Glamis (territories in Scotland) • England • Ireland • Norway

31. Act I: Characters • Weird Sisters (1st, 2nd,and 3rd witch) • supernatural entities • wyrd (Old English) = weird (Scottish) = FATE • Duncan – King of Scotland • Malcom – Duncan’s oldest son • Macbeth – Thane of Glamis • Thane - feudal lord • Banquo – commander with Macbeth • Captain – Captain of Scotland’s army • Angus, Lennox, & Ross – Scottish nobles

32. DANTE’S LEVELS OF HELL

33. DANTE’S HELL • Our levels of hell would be looked at differently today because of how our priorities have changed. • However, it is important to understand how people of the time ranked “evils.” Put in modern day people where they would fit for each level of hell.

34. DANTE’S HELL • 1st Ring: In Limbo • Un-baptized – • 2nd Ring: Lustful– • 3rd Ring: Gluttonous– • 4th Ring: Hoarders & Wasters • 5th Ring: Wrathful– • 6th Ring: Heretics– • 7th Ring: Violent • Violent against People/Property– • Violent against themselves– • Violent against God, Nature, or Art–

35. DANTE’S HELL • 8th Ring: Fraudulent or Deliberately Evil • Pardoners and Seducers– • Flatterers– • Simony (accepting money for sins)– • Sorcerers and False Prophets– • Corrupt Politicians– • Hypocrites– • Thieves– • Fraudulent Advisors– • Sowers of Discord– • Falsifiers–

36. DANTE’S HELL • 9th Ring: Traitors • To kin (family) – • To politics(party/king/country) – • To guests – • To lords or benefactors –

37. MACBETH THEMES • WEATHER/SUPERNATURAL • Witches & Deaths • APPEARANCE vs. REALITY • People look and pretend to be different than their inner emotions/motives • ___________: “There’s no art to find the mind’s construction in the face” • ___________: “Look like the innocent flower but be the serpent under ‘t” • ___________: “Be innocent of the knowledge dearest chuck” • ___________: “I put myself to thy direction, and unspeak my own detraction… this was my first false speaking.” • MANHOOD/MASCULINITY • Lady Macbeth, Macbeth, Macduff

38. MACBETH THEMES • FATE vs. FREE WILL • AMBITION --Look for examples as you read!

39. Character List • SCOTLAND • King Duncan • Malcolm & Donalbain • Macbeth • Banquo • Nobles: • Lennox, Ross, Angus, Menteith • ENGLAND • King Edward • Siward • Young Siward • *Malcolm • *Macduff SUPERNATURAL Witches