The Elizabethan Stage(this is when Shakespeare wrote, ya’ll)

When and where did the plays take place?• In open air• During the day• In playhouses

specific to a group of actors

This is a modern replica of what Shakespeare’s theater, the Globe,

may have looked like.

Seats for the wealthiest

viewersSeats for the “groundlings”

The roof that only covered the

seats

Open air stage

The “tiring house”

(attiring) where actors would

have changed backstage

Balcony upon which second

story scenes took place

Underground pit – ghosts,

witches, and devils may

emerge from below

THE GLOBE – Important because the way it functioned impacted how Shakespeare wrote his plays!

What did the stage look like?• No elaborate sets• The location is announced to the audience• Time of day is also given through words

What difference did the structure/time make?1. Open air

2. Cheap seats up close

3. Balcony and Trap door

4. No women allowed as actors

1. Times and time changes announced by the actors in the dialogue. Plays ALWAYS during the day.

2. The rowdy, lower-class often shouted to the characters and sometimes threw food!

3. Lots of scenes involve people on the balcony overlooking other events or coming up from the floor as ghosts, etc.

4. Men played ALL the roles and sometimes, the authors wrote in jokes about it.

Shakespeare’s work• 38 plays• 154 sonnets• 2 epic narrative poems • Most popular

playwright in London during his day

• 1594 – first play The Comedy of Errors

• Wrote three major kinds of plays: comedies, tragedies, and histories

Shakespearean Tragedy

Basic Characteristics•Main characters are people of higher class (why do you think this is important?)•Chance and Fate play major roles •Catastrophe is ALWAYS a result of human decision and error

Basic Characteristics• Tragic characters gradually isolated from others• Decision made, but tragic flaw discovered too late•Tragic heroes MUST die (sorry to ruin the ending for everyone, but it’s just true)

Meet the Characters Edition

Get a feel for the characters and know what families they

each belong to or with!

Beginning the Tale•“Two households, both alike in dignity”:•Capulets (Juliet’s family)•Montagues (Romeo’s Family

House of Capulet• Juliet: daughter to

Capulet• Tybalt: Juliet’s cousin• Capulet: Juliet’s father• Lady Capulet: Juliet’s

mother• Nurse: Juliet’s nurse,

comic figure (lower class, typical of Shakespeare’s place)

Notice that the KEY characters in this family

have names that end with T – it will help you remember

their families (AND IT’S INTENTIONAL!).

House of Montague• Romeo: son of

Montague• Benvolio: Montague

nephew, friend of Romeo

• Mercutio: friend of Romeo

• Friar Laurence: Romeo’s counselor

Notice that the KEY characters in this family

have names that end with a VOWEL – it will help you remember their families (AND IT’S INTENTIONAL!).

Other Characters•Paris: a count, betrothed to Juliet•Prince Escalus: Prince, leader of Verona, demands that the feud end (related to Mercutio)

LITERARY DEVICESTake careful notes on these terms. We will discuss them, and I’ll give you examples, but you need to know the definitions!

On Stage SpeechTerms

1. Soliloquy - Long speech in which a character who is onstage alone expresses his or her thoughts aloud

2. Monologue - A poem in which a speaker addresses one or more silent listeners, often reflecting on a specific problem or situation

3. Aside - Words that are spoken by a character in a play to the audience or to another character but that are not supposed to be overheard by the others onstage

Literary Elements found in R&J

Terms• Iambic Pentameter - Iam – is a lyrical meter consisting of two

syllables, one stressed and the other unstressed. Pentameter – lyrical meter is repeated five times

˘ / ˘ / ˘ / ˘ / ˘ /When I do count the clock that tells the time

• Pun - Play on the multiple meanings of a word or on two words • Metaphor – comparing two unlike things without comparison

terms• Simile – comparing two unlike things using like, as, or so• Oxymoron - a combination of contradictory or incongruous

words (as cruel kindness or dry ice)• Alliteration – Repetition of sounds at the beginning of words• Foil Character - Character who is used as a contrast to

another character