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SHAKESPEARE. TIMELINE. 5th - 15th centuries = MIDDLE AGES 1085 - RECONQUEST begins in Spain 1095-1097 - FIRST CRUSADE 1330-1750 - RENAISSANCE spreads 1350 - BUBONIC PLAGUE hits 1450-1750 - ENGLISH RENAISSANCE (Early Modern Period, Age of Discovery)
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TIMELINE • 5th - 15th centuries = MIDDLE AGES • 1085 - RECONQUEST begins in Spain • 1095-1097 - FIRST CRUSADE • 1330-1750 - RENAISSANCE spreads • 1350 - BUBONIC PLAGUE hits • 1450-1750 - ENGLISH RENAISSANCE (Early Modern Period, Age of Discovery) • 1478-1834(1968) - INQUISITION • 1517 - REFORMATION begins • 1588 - SPANISH ARMADA
THE MIDDLE AGES • FEUDAL society • KING = most important person • PEASANTS gave taxes to LORD - lord gave taxes to king • Lords were the king’s VASSALS • If the vassal was loyal, the king gave him wealth and mini-kingdoms called FIEFDOMS.
THE MIDDLE AGES • Towns grew around the castle • Castle life = difficult • Large central fireplace was the heating system - heat was used for the king and nobility • TAPESTRIES were hung on the walls to help keep the room warm • No running water, bathrooms, etc • The castle community had to be SELF-SUFFICIENT • The castle was the only safe place
THE MIDDLE AGES • Peasants were not allowed to own property - they worked for the king and paid taxes. If the king needed more money, it came from the peasants. • Peasants were uneducated. • Peasants often considered their life a hell on earth so had a fatalistic view of death. • Very high mortality rate • Church was very important - a place of beauty in a very dreary life • Stained glass windows told Bible stories to people who could not read
THE MIDDLE AGES • Church was very important - a place of beauty in a very dreary life
THE MIDDLE AGES • Stained glass windows told Bible stories to people who could not read
TIMELINE OF TUDOR REIGN DURING THE RENAISSANCE • KING HENRY VIII -reigned from 1509-1547 (C) (P) KATHERINE OF ARAGON-a-6children/Mary I ANNE BOLEYN-a/e- 3 children/Elizabeth I JANE SEYMOUR-d- 1 child/Edward VI ANNE OF CLEVES-a- CATHERINE HOWARD-a/e KATHERINE PARR-d-
TIMELINE OF TUDOR REIGN DURING THE RENAISSANCE • HENRY VIII • EDWARD VI - reigned 1547-1553 (P) • JANE GREY- reigned July 10-19, 1553 (e) • MARY I - aka”BLOODY MARY” - reigned 1553-1558 (C) • ELIZABETH I - reigned 1558-1603 (P)
ENGLISH RENAISSANCE • 1450-1750 • Rapid development of art, literature, science, politics • Growth of trade guilds and skilled professions • Very little chance for social mobility • REBIRTH of classical Roman forms
A very different view • Many concepts in science and medicine were not yet understood. • People were anxious for order in their lives. • Society began to change from feudalism (community) to individuality.
ORDER IN THE UNIVERSECOSMOLOGY • PTOLEMY believed the earth was the center of the universe with 9 concentric rings around it. • Uranus, Neptune, Pluto had not yet been discovered.
COSMOLOGY • COPERNICUS discovered that the sun was the center of the solar system. (1543) • This was proved when GALILEO invented the telescope in 1610.
People didn’t know who to believe • SHAKESPEARE’S plays reflect their uncertainty. • Look for references to the sun, moon, stars, universe, etc.
THE UNIVERSE • It was believed that4 ELEMENTScomposed everything in the universe: EARTH, AIR, WATER, FIRE • The elements combined to create the qualities of being: hot, cold, moist, dry • AIR = hot and moist • WATER = cold and moist • EARTH = cold and dry • FIRE = hot and dry
ORDER IN THE HUMAN BODY • It was believed that the body also contained the 4 elements but in the body they were called the 4 HUMORS: BLOOD, PHLEGM, YELLOW BILE, BLACK BILE • Each humor corresponded to an element. • BLOOD = air = hot and moist • PHLEGM = water = cold and moist • YELLOW BILE = fire = hot and dry • BLACK BILE = earth = cold and dry
THE HUMAN BODY • The 4 humors were believed to determine personality. • Blood = dominant = light-hearted • Phlegm = dominant = dull and kind • Yellow bile = dominant = irritable • Black bile = dominant = sad • SHAKESPEARE uses the humors to explain emotional outbursts in his plays.
THE HUMAN BODY - illness • Illness was believed to be a result of the imbalance of the 4 humors. • Remedies were an attempt to restore the balance of the humors. (too much blood = blood letting, leeches, cutting, etc)
ILLNESS • Infant mortality rate was very high - 50% died before 1st birthday • Life expectancy for men = about 45 years old (women a bit older) • Didn’t realize need for antiseptics and sterile equipment • Barbers often served as doctors • Monks and nuns took care of the sick
BUBONIC PLAGUE • Began in China • When shipping opened after the Reconquest = more rats in on boats = spread of plague • 2 major outbreaks - 1592-1594. 1613 • Believed to be God’s punishment • Directly affected Shakespeare’s career because theaters closed
16th CENTURY LONDON • 200,000 people • No sewer = plague • High crime rate - no lights, little law enforcement • Cultural, political, social heart of England
ORDER IN SOCIETYTHE GREAT CHAIN OF BEING • aka UNIVERSAL HIERARCHY • Hierarchy of creation, human rights, place in society • Explained why
THE GREAT CHAIN OF BEING GOD ANGELS KINGS NOBLES SERFS WOMEN ANIMALS PLANTS ROCKS Notice that there are different versions. Queen Elizabeth was “out of order” as a woman.
SOCIETY • 2 social classes • ARISTOCRATS who had everything • EVERYONE ELSE who had very little (actors were definitely considered lower class) • Nobility feared mobility so they created strict laws to control the lower classes. • Some mobility began late in the Renaissance with the development of skilled professions.
WAYS OF REGULATING LOWER CLASS • SUMPTUARY law - regulated dress • DIVINE RIGHT OF KINGS - kings believed they were given the right to rule by God
MEN • Society was a PATRIARCHY • Men controlled family and society • The husband was the “king” of the family - by DIVINE RIGHT
WOMEN • Women had almost no rights in society • PRIMOGENITURE - all inheritance went to the first-born MALE • Any wealth a woman possessed went to her husband when she married - she also lost her rights to inherit, own property, sign contracts, etc. • Queen Elizabeth would have lost everything to her husband had she married.
WOMEN • Seldom educated • Couldn’t enter most professions (including acting) • They could be housewives - their job was to keep the husband happy, manage the servants, entertain well, look good
SERVANTS AND APPRENTICES • Were considered part of the family • Often closer to the children than the parents (notice the relationship between Juliet and her nurse, and between Romeo and his servant)
THEATER • Plays were not considered literature • Written very quickly, performed 10-12 times • Discarded • Published in quartos = folded 4x, 17cm x 21cm or folios = folded 1x, more prestigious, 21cm x 34cm • More widely read and preserved after Gutenburg invented printing press
THEATER • Plays often outside of town until Elizabeth and less threat of Plague • Actors mistrusted - not respected • Puritans considered drama immoral • Aristocrats thought actors might use costumes to disguise social status on streets
THEATER • GROUNDLINGS paid lowest price (1 penny =$ .60)- stood in the “pit” ( ground in front of stage) =open air = 70’ diameter = very rowdy • Aristocrats paid more - sat in seats above pit = 3 tiers around walls = under cover • Best seats cost 1 schilling (&7) - highest tiers • Nobility sat in box seats or on the stage
THEATER • Traditional theater could hold 800 groundlings, 1500 in the galleries, 12 exclusive seats on the stage
THEATERS • Originally outside city limits • A. To avoid conflict with authorities • B. Considered immoral • C. Afraid of riots • D. Afraid the Plague would spread in large groups • Moved into playhouses in town at time of Shakespeare and Queen Elizabeth
THEATER • 2 hours long because of light • No costumes (what if actors went out on the street dressed as someone they weren’t???:<:<:<) or scenery • No female actors • Announced from town square - flew flag if play was on for the day • No breaks between scenes • 3 trumpet blasts or 3 knocks signaled beginning of play • No curtain - every entrance had corresponding exit
PARTS OF THE THEATER/STAGE • Rectangular stage extended into “pit” • Stage raised 5’ above the “pit” • Covered part of stage = “heavens” • Trapdoor used for graves and ghosts • Equipment used to raise and lower actors
MORE PARTS • Above the stage = gallery - used for wealthy patrons or balcony scenes • Tiring house = dressing rooms (costumes gradually became more lavish)
THE BASICS • Born April 23, 1564 in Stratford-on-Avon Gulielmus filius Johannes Shakespeare (no wonder he went by William!!) • Died April 23, 1616 in Stratford-on-Avon • Parents were John Shakespeare and Mary Arden Shakespeare • Father was a tanner and held civic positions - became alderman in 1565 which was a position that came with free education for his children.
CHILDHOOD AND EDUCATION • Began education at age 6 or 7 - subjects taught were entirely dictated by the beliefs of the reigning king - but included the alphabet, the Lord’s Prayer, a catechism, Latin, some English some math • Removed from school at age 13 because father lost alderman position • May have worked for a butcher, a lawyer, or a glover, or as a schoolteacher - little is known for certain for about 10 years after left school.
AND THEN….. • Married Anne Hathaway when he was 18 and she was 26 • First child, Susanna, christened on May 26th 1583 • Twins, Hamnet and Judith, christened February 2, 1585 • Shakespeare moved to London - established as actor by 1592 • Hamnet died of an unknown cause August 11, 1595 - age 11
???????? • Two periods of life known as “lost years”: • *1578-1582 = after left grammar school until marriage to Anne Hathaway • *1585-1592 = when he must have been perfecting his dramatic skills
ACTOR AND PLAYWRIGHT • Writer/actor for Pembroke’s Men before 1592 • Theaters closed in 1592 due to Plague - Shakespeare probablyleft theater to work on non-dramatic poetry • 1593 - Earl of Southampton became Shakespeare’s patron
NOT ONLY THAT BUT… • 1594 - became member of Lord Chamberlain’s Men - performed before Queen Ellizabeth - earned 10 pounds as actor • While with LCM - wrote Romeo and Juliet, King John, Love’s Labour’s Lost
!!!!!!!!!! • Only Elizabethan dramatist to write, act in, share profits, and own the theater building (Globe - 1598 and Blackfriars) • After Hamnet’s death - Shakespeare retired and purchased the second largest house in Stratford for 60 pounds.
SO WHY IS HE SUCH A BIG DEAL???? • Largest vocabulary of any author before or since • Used 17,677 words in his writings • Created 1,700 words • Themes, motifs, characters = prototypes for modern literature, drama, etc • Unrivaled use of imagery
LANGUAGE - Can you guesshow the phrases we use today originated?