Shakespeare
Widely regarded as the greatest writer in English
Literature
Shakespeare
• 1563-1616
• Stratford-on-Avon, England
• wrote 37 plays
• about 154 sonnets
• started out as actor
Lesser-known Facts• Teen father: married
pregnant 26 year old Anne Hathaway when he was 18
• Deadbeat dad: Left wife and children for stage career
• Father of twins• Elizabethan rapper: uses
rhythm and rhyme• “Plagiarism” ?
Shakespeare wrote:
• Comedies
• Histories
• Tragedies
Conditions in London
• BAD!
• Thames River: polluted with raw sewage
• Trees used for fuel
• Poverty
Personal hygiene/health
• Bathing considered dangerous
• Body odor strong
• Childhood diseases
• Children often died before 5 years
• Small Pox
• Bubonic Plague
Living Conditions
• No running water
• Chamber Pots
• Open Sewers
• Crowded
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Clothes• One set used all year
long, rarely washed
• Underclothing slept in, infrequently changed
• Clothes handed down from rich to poor
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The Globe Theater• Built in 1599
• For general public
• Roofless: might get wet!
• Across Thames
• No artificial lighting, limited sets
The Globe Theater• Merchandise and refreshments attracted non
playgoers to the market
• Thousands of people and no toilets! Sewage disposed of in Thames. Theatres closed during Bubonic Plague: disease spread via rats & fleas
• Color coded flags on day of performance
-a black flag meant a tragedy, white a comedy, and red a history.
The Globe Theater
Spectators• Wealthy got benches• “Groundlings” (stinkards) stood in
the “pit” for 1 penny• All but wealthy were uneducated• Women dressed as men to attend• Much more interaction than today
(threw rotten veggies)
Staging Areas• Stage: platform extended into the pit
• Dressing & storage rooms in galleries behind & above stage
• Trap door: ghosts, smoke and other basic effects
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• No kissing or hugging
Differences• No scenery
• Settings: references in dialogue
• Elaborate costumes
• Plenty of props
• Fast-paced, colorful: 2 hours!
The Competition• Bear-baiting• Races• Gambling• Music• Drinking/socializing• Mental Hospitals• Public executions
Elizabethan Words 1
• An,and: If
• Anon: Soon
• Aye: Yes
• But: Except for
• E’en: Even
• E’er: Ever
Elizabethan Words 2
• Haply: Perhaps
• Happy: Fortunate
• Hence: Away, from her
• Hie: Hurry
• Marry: Indeed
Elizabethan Words 3
• Whence: Where
• Wilt: Will, will you
• Withal: In addition to
• Would: Wish
Monologue
• One person speaking on stage (may be other character on stage too)
Soliloquy
• Long speech expressing the thoughts of a character alone on stage.
Aside
• Words spoken, usually in an undertone not intended to be heard by all characters
Pun
• Shakespeare loved to use them!!!
–Humorous use of a word with two meanings. Sometimes missed by the reader because of Elizabethan language
Tragedy (Shakespearean)• Drama where the central character
suffers disaster or great misfortune– Downfall results from:
•Fate
•Character flaw/Fatal flaw
•Combination of the two
Romeo and Juliet• Written about 1595• A poem by Brooke 1562• Set in Verona, Italy• Considered a tragedy• West Side Story based on R&J• Themes: Parental control, teenage
rebellion, fate vs. free will