Romeo and Juliet By William Shakespeare

1. Romeo and JulietByWilliam Shakespeare

2. William Shakespeare(1564 -1616)

3. Shakespeare (1564-1616): Who was he? • Born in Stratford, a small English village on the banks of the Avon. • Mother Mary Arden – well to do family • Father Jon Shakespeare – glove maker and politician • Studied classic literature in Latin and Greek in a local grammar school • At 18 married Anne Hathaway (8 years his senior) • Three children; Susanna and twin Hamnet and Judith • 1592 moved to London, leaving his family behind while he pursued a career as an actor and Playwright

4. What established him as a successful playwright? • His history plays: • Henry the Sixth • The tragedy of Richard the Third

5. Playhouse and company • Shakespeare became a partner in a theater company known as the Lord Chamberlain’s Men. • They became popular in London • 1599 they had enough money to build their own playhouse, the Globe Theatre.

6. Plays – at least 37 • Tragedies: • Romeo and Juliet • Hamlet • Julius Caesar • King Lear • Othello • Macbeth • Romances: • The Tempest • The Winter’s Tale • Histories: • The Life of Henry the Fifth • The Life of King Henry the Eighth • Comedies: • A Midsummer Night’s Dream • Twelfth Night

7. Shakespeare’s Death Died at 52, wealthy Buried at the Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-Upon-Avon Good frend for Jesus sake forbeare, To digg the dust encloasedheare: Blest be ye man yt spares thes stones, And curst be he yt moves my bones. • Translated this reads as: • Good friend, for Jesus’ sake, forbear To dig the dust enclosed here; Blest be the man that spares these stones And curst he that moves my bones.

8. Elizabethan vs. Modern Theater • Elizabethan theater was considered some what vulgar and rowdy place. • Actors were sometimes arrested as vagabonds. • Theaters were sometimes shut down because of the content of the plays • Theaters were located on the outskirts of towns and routinely shut down because of outbreaks of the plague. • Only by earning the support of a wealthy patron could a theater troupe survive. • Theater was allowed to flourish during this time because English literature was at a high

9. Performances • The stage looked bare at the Globe; theaters in Shakespeare’s day used little scenery and few props. • The audience had to imagine the setting according to characters’ descriptions of it. • Actors were all men and boys; in Shakespeare’s time it was considered improper for women to act in plays.

10. Audience • Included people from all stations of society; laboring people form the lower classes, middle-class merchants, members of Parliament, and lords and ladies. • Pickpockets mingled among the noisy, raucous groundlings crowding around the stage. • Noblemen and noblewomen at on cushioned seats in the first-tier balcony. • Shakespeare’s plays were written for everyone, from “the most able, to him that can but spell.” That may explain why they have such universal appeal even today.

11. “No Comment from the Peanut Gallery” • An audience that heckles the performer. The term originated in the days of vaudeville as a nickname for the cheapest (and ostensibly rowdiest) seats in the theater; the cheapest snack served at the theater would often be peanuts, which the patrons would sometimes throw at the performers on stage to show their disapproval. The phrases "no comments from the peanut gallery" or "quiet in the peanut gallery" are extensions of the name.

12. Shakespeare’s Language • Shakespeare actually introduced an estimated 3,000 new words into the English language: • Bedazzle, Silliness, Critical, Obscene, Hurry, and Lonely • PHRASES • “wear my heart upon my sleeve” (Othello) • “at one fell swoop” (Macbeth) • “fair play” (The Tempest) • “the world is my oyster” (The Merry Wives of Windsor)

13. Let’s Translate some Shakes • Ere before • Hie hurry • Marry (oath originally taken from “By the Virgin Mary) • Soft! (Hush up; wait a moment) • Want lack • Wherefore why • Anon soon

14. Contractions • I’ in • ‘tis it is • Veil’d veiled • Used different order too: • “know you don’t” – Shakespeare • “don’t you know” - expected

15. How many sonnets and plays did Shakespeare write? • 154 Sonnets • 37 Plays

16. Drama: a story told through characters played by actors. Drama is meant to be spoken, acted out, given movement. • Comedy: Entertainment with a happy ending. • Today: lighthearted or humorous literary work – stage or screen • Tragedy: told the story of the fall of a person of high status • Today: describe a play about the downfall of a sympathetic character, or protagonist, and an unhappy ending.

17. Types of Characters • Tragic Hero: a main character that have a who has a tragic flaw • Tragic Flaw: weakness of personality that causes them to make fortunate choices • Foil: a characters who contrasts with a central character in order to highlight each other’s strengths, and more usually, weaknesses. • Comic Relief: humorous character to break up the seriousness and emotional intensity.

18. Type of logues… • Dialogue: a conversation between two or more characters • Monologue: a long speech made by one character • Soliloquy: a speech delivered by a character alone on stage that reveals the character’s thoughts and feelings. • Aside: is a statement made by a character in a play that’s intended to be heard by the audience but not by other characters on stage.

19. Stage Directions • Are the notes provided by the playwright to describe how the play should be presented or performed • Usually printed in italics and may be enclosed in brackets or parentheses. • Stage directions may describe: • Setting • Action • Special effects

21. Romeo and Juliet Montagues • Romeo • Montague • Lady Montague • Benvolio • Mercutio • Balthazar • Abraham • Friar Lawrence (helps both) • Juliet • Capulet • Lady Capulet • Paris • Tybalt • Peter • Sampson and Gregory • The Nurse (helps both) Capulets