•Very little is known about William Shakespeare’s personal life and what we do know comes mostly from church and legal documents•Born on April 23, 1564 in Stratford which is 100 miles from London•His father was a shop keeper and important in the town, even serving as mayor at one point

•In grammar school, he studied Latin, literature and rhetoric (the uses of language)•He had no other formal education•At age 18, he married Anne Hathaway and she was 26 years old. •They had three children and sometime after he moved to London

•By 1592, Shakespeare had become an actor and a playwright.•In 1594, he was a charter member of the theatrical company called the Lord Chamberlains' Men which was later to become the King’s Men•These groups were named after the wealthy person that supported them and King’s men was supported by King James himself.

•Romeo and Juliet was probably one of the earlier plays he wrote but by the time he retired he had written 37 plays.•These plays are still produced all over the world.•In the 1980s, one critic said if Shakespeare were alive he would be receive $25,000 a week in royalties for a production of Othello alone.

•Shakespeare died on April 23, 1616, at the age of fifty-two•He is buried under the old stone floor in the chancel of Holt Trinity church in Stratford•Carved over his grave is the following verse:

Good Friend, for Jesus’ sake forbearTo dig the dust enclosed here!

Blessed be the man that spares these stonesAnd cursed be he that moves my bones.

•Shakespeare and his company built it in 1599. The called it the Globe Theater.•Shakespeare call the theater “a wooden O” in Henry V because it was a large round (or polygonal) building.•It was 3 stories high, with a large platform stage that projected from one end into a yard open to the sky.

•The Back wall of the stage had a curtained-off inner stage.•Above the inner stage was a small balcony or upper stage which could be used to suggest Juliet’s balcony scene.•They had trapdoors for the entrances and exits of ghosts and for descents into hell.•Plays were performs in the afternoon so there was no need for lighting.

•Only the wealthy theatre-goers could afford seats. The more money a person had, the higher he/she sat in the theater.•The floor was reserved for the common people at the cost of 1 penny per ticket.• Since they stood on the ground, these

people became known as “the groundlings.”

• The groundlings were extremely dirty, horribly smelling people who stood throughout the entire play.

• If they did not like the play, they would throw food onto the stage and boo the actors.

•It was destroyed by a fire in 1613, rebuilt the next year, and then closed down again in 1642.•A modern reconstruction of the Globe opened in 1997 in the same spot as the original theatre.

Drama- a story written in dialogue with stage directions, intended to be acted out in front of an audience

Protagonist- the hero or leading character with whom the audience sympathizes

Antagonist-the character who opposes or competes against the protagonist

Motivation-Reasons for the characters’ beliefs or actions

Aside-dialogue spoken by characters meant to be heard by the audience but not by other characters

Monologue- a long speech by a character who is alone on-stage speaking to himself or herself or to the audience

Soliloquy-a monologue which reveals a character’s inner thoughts or feelings

Definition-the difference between what we expect and what actually happens

Verbal irony-when someone says one thing but means the opposite (sarcasm)

Situational Irony-an event that is the opposite of what we expected

Dramatic irony-when the audience knows something the characters do not

Language that is not meant to be taken literally

A comparison of two unlike things using like or as

A comparison of two unlike things where one thing becomes the other (not using like or as)

Direct- directly compares the two things using a verb such as is

Implied- implies or suggest the comparison between the two things without stating it directly

When non-human things are given human characteristics

Exaggeration to emphasize a point or to be humorous

Repetition of beginning consonant sounds in neighboring words

Apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction

Act 1Exposition

Act 2Rising Action

Act 3Crisis or Turning

Point

Act 4Falling Action

Act 5Climax andResolution

Establishes the setting, explains background, introduces the main characters, and their conflict

Consists of a series of complications which occur as the main character(s) take action to resolve the conflict

The moment when a choice is made by the main character(s) determines the direction of the action-in a tragedy it starts a downward spiral; is the dramatic and tense moment when the forces of conflict come together

The events that result from the action taken at the turning point; these events lock the characters deeper and deeper into disaster: the characters are falling straight into tragedy

Climax-occurs at the end of the play in a tragedy with the deaths of the main character(s)

Resolution (denouement): the loose parts of the plot are tied up and the play ends

A drama in which the central hero is destroyed by a personal failing (tragic flaw) in adverse circumstances

Tragic Flaw-The protagonist's error or shortcomings or weakness that leads to his downfall. The hero’s downfall may also occur because of a misstep or choice that turned out badly.

The play concerns a serious subject The tragedy must befall a character

who is a great figure or one that is a representative of a higher class

There must be contrast between previous happiness and fate met

The tragic fall comes from their own actions.

The play must lead up to and include the death of the hero, but before the hero meetings defeat, first must come enlightenment

The suffering and calamity are exceptional, striking and unexpected

The basic emotions in reaction to the tragedy are those of fear and pity