O this learning, what a thing it is!

1. O this learning, what a thing it is! -William Shakespeare

2. THE LIFE OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

3. Well-known Facts about Will • Born April, 1564 in Stratford on Avon • Parents John & Mary Shakespeare • Grammar school education • Married Anne Hathaway Nov. 28, 1582 • had three children- Susanna, 1583 and • twins Hamnet& Judith, 1585 • The Lost Years, 1585-1592: There is no • record of Shakespeare’s activities between these years.

4. Well-known Facts about Will • Shakespeare relocates to London sometime after the birth of the twins. • 1592-94 theaters closed due to the Black Plague Shakespeare used this time to write sonnets which were published in 1609 • Bought a share of the company Lord Chamberlain’s Men- a good investment

5. Lesser-known Facts • -Plays not published until 7 years after his death • -Plagiarist • -2nd most quoted (huge body of work!), after the Bible

6. Sound familiar? “Eaten out of house and home” “flesh and blood” “Cruel to be kind” “dead as a door-nail” “Knock,/knock! Who’s there?” “a laughing stock” “Too much of a good thing” “neither rhyme nor reason” “Neither a borrower nor a lender be” “suspect foul play” “Something wicked this way comes” “vanished into thin air” “To thine own self be true” “slept not one wink” “ A tower of strength” “be that as it may” “tongue-tied” “It’s Greek to me” “seen better days” “live in a fool’s paradise” “that is the long and short of it” “it is high time” “a sorry sight” “one fell swoop” “method in the madness” “full circle” “it smells to heaven” “the world is your oyster”

7. Will Why do we still read his work? • Shakespeare’s language • Beautiful lines and phrases • Contribution to English language • Shakespeare’s understanding of the human condition • We still relate to his characters • To understand his plays is to understand what is most important about human beings and life

8. Will Not to mention: • Bawdy humor- sexual innuendo and potty jokes • The supernatural- ghosts, demons, witches • Intense action & violence- sword fights, blood and gore, stabbings, poisonings, strangulation, beheadings, dismemberment. . . • Powerful emotion-Anger, vengeance, greed, jealousy, ambition, love, romance, fears, hopes, sorrow, laughter . . . . . . All the stuff that still entertains us today!

9. The Globe Theatre • Built in 1599 • The most magnificent theater in London • Shakespeare was 1/5 owner • He earned 10% of the total profit • The Bard retired to Stratford around 1613 and lived on the profits he earned from the Globe

10. Elizabethan Theatre What was it like to see a play during Shakespeare’s time?

11. Elizabethan Theatre • Performed in courtyards of inns • The Theater-first public theater-1576 • South of Thames • Daytime/open air • Limited set design • Relied on music, sound, costumes, props and great description • Male actors only

12. Elizabethan Theatre • 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

13. Spectators • Wealthy got benches • “Groundlings”-poorer people stood and watched from the courtyard (“pit”) • All but wealthy were uneducated/illiterate • Much more interaction than today http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ii5PLxnNpk

14. Shakespearean Drama • Three forms of Shakespearean drama • Tragedy • Comedy • History • All three share the following: • Written in blank verse • Contain soliloquies, asides, rhetorical devices, and dramatic irony

15. Shakespearean Drama History: a play that chronicles the life of an English monarch. • often regarded as Tudor propaganda • biased criticism of their own country • Earl career

16. Shakespearean Drama • Comedy • a play that ends happily and that usually contains humorous elements • struggles of young lovers • separation and re-unification • mistaken identities • clever servants • family tensions • multiple, intertwining plots • end with a wedding • Early career/late career shifts back to romance

17. Shakespearean Drama Tragedy: • Drama where the central character, the tragic hero,suffers disaster/great misfortune • In many tragedies, downfall results from • Fate • Character flaw/Fatal flaw/Tragic flaw • Combination of the two

18. Shakespearean Drama Qualities of the tragic hero: • Possess importance or high rank • Exhibits extraordinary talents • Displays a tragic flaw: an error in judgment or defect in character that contributes to downfall

19. Monologue • A speech given by one character on stage, usually spoken to another character blah blahblahblahblahblahblahblah blah. . .

20. Soliloquy • a long speech given by a character alone on stage to reveal his or her private thoughts. "Alas, poor Yorick!”

21. Aside • a quiet remark to the audience or another character that no one else on stage is supposed to hear. She is the woman of my dreams! If only I had the courage to tell her!

22. Will says . . . Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt. ~ William Shakespeare

23. But, for my own part, it was Greek to me! Reading Shakespeare What the heck is this guy talking about?!

24. Shakespeare’s LanguageWhy is it so hard to understand? • We speak Modern English • Elizabethan’s spoke Early Modern English • Many words have changed or been lost

25. Elizabethan Words to Know • An, And • Anon • Aye • But • Haply • Happy • Hence If Soon Yes Except for Perhaps Fortunate Away, from here • Hie • Hither • Marry • Whence • Wilt • Withal • Would Hurry Here Indeed When Will, will you In addition to Wish

26. Shakespeare’s LanguageWhy is it so hard to understand? • Shakespeare had an extensive vocabulary (about 30,000 words!) and even created words (about 2,000!) that we still use today.

27. Shakes. Words- to name a few! critical aggravate reliance countless monumental obscene forefathers frugal hurry majestic homicide summit bedroom fashionable lackluster moonbeam outbreak puking zany worthless varied undress skim milk submerge eyeball laughable luggage mimic assassination

28. Poetry vs.Prose • Dialogue in Shakespeare’s plays is presented in either poetry or prose form. • Pay attention to the form of characters’ speech, because it can give you information about that character’s importance or rank. • Important or noble characters tend to speak in poetry. • Less-important or lower-ranking characters tend to speak in prose. • In special situations, a high-ranking character may speak in prose or a low-ranking character may speak in poetry.

29. Shakespeare’s LanguageWhy is it so hard to understand? Poetry • We speak in prose(language without metrical structure).  • Shakespeare wrote both prose and verse (poetic language and style).  •  So, it is important that you understand these and the following terms:

30. Shakespeare’s poetryWhy is it so hard to understand? • Iambic pentameter- 70%! a pattern of rhythm (meter) of five beats of alternating unstressed and stressed syllables; ten syllables per line. • 'So fair / and foul / a day / I have / not seen' • 'The course / of true / love nev/erdid / run smooth'

31. Shakespeare’s poetryWhy is it so hard to understand? Poetic dialogue may be either blank verseor rhymed verse. *Blank verse is unrhymed iambic pentameter. Brabantio: This accident is not unlike my dream. Sometimes, a line of blank verse is divided between two or more characters. Iago: Are your doors locked? Brabantio:Why? Wherefore ask you this?

32. ˇ ´ ˇ ´ ˇ ´ ˇ ´ ˇ ´ Away, and mock the time with fairest show: False face must hide what the false heart doth know. ˇ ´ ˇ ´ ˇ ´ ˇ ´ ˇ ´ Shakespeare’s Use of Poetry Rhymed dialogue is usually written in iambic pentameter. Rhymes may occur at the ends of alternating lines, or at the ends of two lines next to each other (called a couplet). • Rhymed dialogue may focus on love or other strong feelings. • A rhymed couplet may summarize, foreshadow, or dramatically close a scene.

33. Shakespeare’s Use of Prose • Prose lacks a consistent rhythm and sounds like ordinary speech. • Shakespeare usually used prose for common characters. Notice the lack of consistent rhythm in the porter’s speech from Macbeth. • Porter. Here’s a knocking indeed! If a man were porter of hell gate, he should have old° turning the key. (Knock.) Knock, knock, knock! Who’s there, i’ th’ name of Beelzebub? ° Here’s a farmer, that hanged himself on th’ expectation of plenty. . . . (Knock.) Knock, Knock! Who’s there, in th’ other devils name? . . . (Knock.) Anon, anon! (Opens an entrance.) I pray you, remember the porter. • °have old: grown old °Beelzebub: the Devil.

34. Shakespeare’s Use of Prose • Noble characters who usually speak in poetry may lapse into prose to signal a change in tone, attitude, or emotion. • In Act V of Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, overwhelmed by guilt and madness, speaks in prose. • Lady Macbeth. Out, damned spot! Out, I say! One: two: why, then ‘tis time to do’t. Hell is murky. Fie, my lord, fie! A soldier, and afeard? What need we fear who knows it, when none can call our pow’r to accompt?° Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him? • °to accompt: into account.

35. Shakespeare’s poetryWhy is it so hard to understand? • Unusual word order I ate the sandwich. Ate I the sandwich. I the sandwich ate. The sandwich I ate. Ate the sandwich I. The sandwich ate I. • Did people actually talk this way?! • Why can’t he just say it the normal way?!

36. Unusual Word Order Shakespeare uses unusual word order • to create a specific poetic rhythm or rhyme • to give a character a specific speech pattern • to emphasize a certain word, action, emotion

37. Tips for deciphering unusual word order • Find the subject of the sentence • Find the verb of the sentence • Find the object of the sentence Then rearrange the sentence to make it easier to understand Subject/Verb/Object = Doer/Action/Receiver = Who/Did What/To Whom? Ate I the sandwich. I the sandwich ate. The sandwich I ate. Ate the sandwich I. The sandwich ate I. I ate the sandwich.

38. Shakespeare’s poetryWhy is it so hard to understand? • Omissions/Contractions Again, for the sake of his poetry, Shakespeare often left out letters, syllables, and whole words.  These omissions really aren't that much different from the way we speak today.  • Let’s take a

39. Omissions/ContractionsA few examples of Shakespearean omissions/contractions: 'tis ~ it is ope ~ open o'er ~ over gi' ~ give ne'er ~ never i' ~ in e'er ~ ever oft ~ often a' ~ he e'en ~ even

40. Omissions/Contractions • We say: "Been to class yet?" "No.  Heard Maczuga's givin' a pop quiz." "Wha'supwi'that?" • We leave out words and parts of words to speed up our speech.  If we were speaking in complete sentences, we would say: "Have you been to class yet?" "No, I have not been to class.  I have heard that Miss Maczuga is giving a pop quiz today." "What is up with that?"

41. What else can you do to “decode” Shakespeare’s language? Shakespeare will be some of the most difficult reading you will ever attempt. BE PATIENT! HERE ARE SOME OTHER THINGS YOU CAN DO TO BETTER UNDERSTAND. . .

42. What else can you do to “decode” Shakespeare’s language? • Read the introduction • Read everything at least twice 3. Try reading aloud 4. Imagine that you are acting the part: what are you telling the audience? • Keep a list of characters • Let the punctuation guide your reading. • Do not pause or stop at the end of a line unless you see punctuation there. • Do pause or stop for punctuation that occurs in the middle of a line. 7. Read the footnotes!!!

43. What else can you do to “decode” Shakespeare’s language? 8. Watch for archaic words—words that are no longer commonly used in modern English. Hither, thither, whithermean “to here,” “to there,” and “to where.” 9. Note how Shakespeare uses the pronouns thouand thee, and yeandyou. Th– forms were used in talking to one person who was an intimate friend or to a person of a lower of rank. Y– formswere used in talking to several persons, to one person who was a social equal but not an intimate friend, or to a person of higher rank. 10. Paraphrase Shakespeare’s language using your own words.

44. What else can you do to “decode” Shakespeare’s language? *If you can’t understand a particular passage, it’s probably about sex. *Always remember you are reading play scripts that are intended to be spoken, not read silently. Imagine how the scene would look and what the actors would be doing!

46. Shakespeare’s poetryWhy is it so hard to understand? • What else can you do to “decode” Shakespeare’s language? You guessed it! Keep a reading journal!

47. Reading Journals What the heck does that mean? I wonder, why did she say that? • Read • Record • Summarize • Paraphrase • Question • Discuss • Re-read • Answer • React OK! Now I get it!

48. Meet Othello (1.2.) We see Othello for the first time in this scene: • Is he what you thought he would be? • Is he respected by his associates? • How do you know? • What contrasts are there between the way Iago, Roderigo, and Brabantio have described Othello and the way he looks and behaves when he actually appears?

49. Meet Othello (1.2) • Do you notice basic differences in attitude between Cassio and Iago in their short conversation following Othello’s exit (lines 50-54)? • Why is Brabantio convinced that Othello must have used witchcraft on his daughter? Why does he have difficulty believing his daughter could run to Othello’s “sooty bosom”?