William Shakespeare

1. William Shakespeare Widely regarded as the greatest writer in English Literature

2. Some thoughts on the impact of Shakespeare on our language: If you cannot understand my argument, and declare "It's Greek to me", you are quoting Shakespeare; if you claim to be more sinned against than sinning, you are quoting Shakespeare; if you recall your salad days, you are quoting Shakespeare; if you act more in sorrow than in anger, if your wish is father to the thought, if your lost property has vanished into thin air, you are quoting Shakespeare; if you have ever refused to budge an inch or suffered from green-eyed jealousy, if you have played fast and loose, if you have been tongue-tied, a tower of strength, hoodwinked or in a pickle, if you have knitted your brows, made a virtue of necessity, insisted on fair play, slept not one wink, stood on ceremony, danced attendance (on your lord and master), laughed yourself into stitches, had short shrift, cold comfort or too much of a good thing, if you have seen better days or lived in a fool's paradise - why, be that as it may, the more fool you, for it is a foregone conclusion that you are (as good luck would have it) quoting Shakespeare; if you think it is early days and clear out bag and baggage, if you think it is high time and that that is the long and short of it, if you believe that the game is up and that truth will out even if it involves your own flesh and blood, if you lie low till the crack of doom because you suspect foul play, if you have your teeth set on edge (at one fell swoop) without rhyme or reason, then - to give the devil his due - if the truth were known (for surely you have a tongue in your head) you are quoting Shakespeare; even if you bid me good riddance and send me packing, if you wish I were dead as a door-nail, if you think I am an eyesore, a laughing stock, the devil incarnate, a stony-hearted villain, bloody-minded or a blinking idiot, then - by Jove! O Lord! Tut, tut! for goodness' sake! what the dickens! but me no buts - it is all one to me, for you are quoting Shakespeare. - Bernard Levin

3. Shakespeare • 1563-1616 • Stratford-on-Avon, England • Started out as an actor • The Renaissance Man

4. Stage Celebrity • Actor for Lord Chamberlain’s Men (London Theater Co.) • He was also a principle playwright for them • 1599> Lord Chamberlain’s Co. built Globe Theater where most of his Play’s were performed

5. Romeo and Juliet • Written about 1595 • Considered a tragedy • West Side Story (Movie) based on Romeo and Juliet • Star Wars main characters - Anakin Skywalker & PadméAmidala

6. Shakespeare's audience already knew the essential story of Romeo and Juliet, a popular legend in European folklore which Arthur Brooke had translated into English in 1562 as a poem called The TragicallHistorye of Romeus and Juliet. • Brooke based his poem on Pierre Boaistuau's French translation of the story from Italian sources in 1559.

7. The Theater

8. The Outdoor Elizabethan Theatre in Ashland, OR

9. Irony • Contrast between appearance & reality – usually one in which reality is the opposite of what it seems

10. Dramatic Irony • A contradiction between what a character thinks and what the reader/audience knows to be true • Helps build suspense

11. For example:The audience knows that Juliet took a sleeping potion and isn't really dead. Romeo's suicide affects the audience even more because of this knowledge.

12. Verbal Irony • Words used to suggest the opposite of what is meant, an exaggeration

13. Chorus: “Two households, both alike in dignity” (Prologue). Why is this statement ironic? The words literally state the opposite of the writer's (or speaker's) true meaning. When you first read this, you may think that the two families are pretty dignified or honorable. As the play goes on, however, you realize that each family is violently competitive. They are similarly undignified.

14. Situational Irony • An event occurs that directly contradicts the expectations of the characters, the reader, or the audience

15. “Go ask his name.-If he be married, My grave is like to be my wedding bed.”~Juliet (1:5;136 – 137) Events turn out the opposite of what was expected. What the characters and audience think ought to happen isn't what eventually happens. In Shakespeare's play, the young lovers do end up spending eternity together, but not in the way the audience had hoped.

16. The Montague’s

17. The Montague’s Abram servant

18. The Capulet’s

19. On Old Man Peter Page The Capulet’s

20. The Others

21. Shakespeare wrote: • Comedies • Histories • Tragedies • wrote 37 plays • about 154 sonnets

22. The Theater • Plays produced for the general public • Roofless> open air • No artificial lighting • Courtyard surrounded by 3 levels of galleries • Could hold 3,000 spectators

23. Spectators • Wealthy got benches/ balconies • “Groundlings” or “Penny Knaves” poorer people stood and watched from the courtyard (“pit”) = 1 cent • All but wealthy were uneducated/illiterate • Much more interaction than today

24. Differences • No scenery • Settings> references are in the dialogue • Elaborate costumes • Plenty of props • Fast-paced, colorful>2 hours!

25. Staging Areas • Stage>platform that extended into the pit • Dressing & storage rooms in galleries behind & above stage • second-level gallery> upper stage> famous balcony scene in R & J • Trap door>ghosts • “Heavens”> angelic beings

26. 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 on stage

27. Elizabethan Words • An,and: If • Anon: Soon • Aye: Yes • But: Except for • E’en: Even • E’er: Ever

28. Words (contin.) • Haply: Perhaps • Happy: Fortunate • Hence: Away, from her • Hie: Hurry • Ho: Now • Marry: Indeed

29. Words (contin.) • Whence: Where • Wilt: Will, will you • Withal: In addition to • Would: Wish • More examples on page 932

30. Blank Verse • Much of Romeo and Juliet is written in: • unrhymed verse • iambic (unstressed, stressed) • pentameter( 5 “feet” to a line) • ends up to be 10 syllable lines

31. “Yet tell me not, for I have heard it all. • Here’s much to do with hate but more with love.” (1:1:167) While this pattern is the general rule, it is often broken. Variations in the rhythm prevent the play from sounding monotonous.

32. Prose • Ordinary writing that is not poetry, drama, or song • Only characters in the lower social classes speak this way in Shakespeare’s plays • Why do you suppose that is?

33. Pun • Shakespeare loved to use them!!! • Humorous use of a word with two meanings > sometimes missed by the reader “You have dancing shoes With nimble soles; I have a soul of lead So stakes me to the ground I cannot move.” ~Romeo Act One, Scene 4, lines 13 -18

34. Tragic Hero • Protagonist (central character) • Usually fails or dies because of a character flaw or a cruel twist in fate • Often has a High rank or status

35. Antagonist • Is the force working against the protagonist • Another character or group, nonhuman (nature/society)

36. Foil • A character whose purpose is to contrast sharply with those of another character • Benvolio for Tybalt

37. Monologue • One person speaking on stage > may be other characters on stage too • ex > the Prince of Verona commanding the Capulets and Montagues to cease feuding

38. Soliloquy • Long speech expressing the thoughts and / or feelings of a character alone on stage. • “Come, gentle night; come, loving, black-browed night; Give me my Romeo;and, when he shall die, take him and cut him out in little stars, And he will make the face of heaven so fine That all the world will be in love with night…” Act Three, Scene 2, Lines 20 - 25

39. Aside • Words spoken, usually in an undertone not intended to be heard by all characters • To reveal private thoughts

40. Comic Relief • Is a humorous scene or speech intended to lighten the mood • In Romeo and Juliet, look for moments of comic relief that help “relieve” the tragedy of the situation