William Shakespeare

Biography

• Born Stratford-upon-Avon• Grammar School education• Married at 18 – Anne Hathaway• Elizabeth I – patron of the arts• The democracy of the theater• Actor and author

The Plays

• 37 plus sonnets• Conspiracy regarding authorship• Bacon, Marlowe, Queen Elizabeth, William

Stanley, Edward de Vere• Lord Chamberlain’s Men • The King’s Men• The Globe

The Death 1616

• Good friend, for Jesus’ sake forbear• To dig the dust enclosed here.• Blest be the man that spares these stones,• And curst be he that moves my bones.

Elements of Tragedy

• Tragic Hero• Importance• Tragic Flaw• Antagonist• Catastrophe• Recognize flaw – sympathy• Doom met with courage

Carl Jung’s Theory of Personality

• Sensing• Thinking• Intuiting• Feeling

It is meant for the stage • The language and word play are key• Read it out loud, just as an actor rehearsing

would have to do. That will help you understand how one thought is connected to another.

Keys To Understanding Shakespeare

• When reading verse, note the appropriate phrasing and intonation.

• DO NOT PAUSE AT THE END OF A LINE unless there is a mark of punctuation

The Merchant of Venice, Act IV, Scene i

• The quality of mercy is not strain'd, (short pause)• It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven• Upon the place beneath: (long pause) it is twice blest;

(long pause)• It blesseth him that gives, (short pause) and him that takes;

(long pause)• 'tis mightiest in the mighties; (long pause) it becomes• The throned monarch better than his crown; (long pause)

Read from punctuation mark to punctuation mark for meaning

• LUC. Tranio, I saw her coral lips to move,• And with her breath she did perfume the

air;• Sacred, and sweet, was all I saw in her.• TRA. Nay, then, 't is time to stir him from

his trance.• I pray, awake, sir: if you love the maid,• Bend thoughts and wits to achieve her. (I,i)

In an inverted sentence, the verb comes before the subject. Some lines will be easier to understand if you put the subject

first and reword the sentence.

• “Never was seen so black a day as this:” (Romeo and Juliet, IV, v)

An ellipsis occurs when a word or phrase is left out.

• In Romeo and Juliet, Benvolio asks Romeo's father and mother if they know the problem that is bothering their son. Romeo's father answers:

• “I neither know it nor can learn of him” (Romeo and Juliet I,i).

• This sentence can easily be understood to mean,

• “I neither know [the cause of] it,• nor can [I] learn [about it from] him.”

As you read longer speeches, keep track of the

subject, verb, and object – who did what to whom.

• ROSS: The king hath happily received, Macbeth,

• The news of thy success: and when he reads• Thy personal venture in the rebel's fight…

(Macbeth I, iii)

In tracking the line of action in a passage, it is useful to identify the main thoughts that are being expressed and

paraphrase them.

• O God! a beast that wants discourse of reason

• Would have mourn'd longer – married with my uncle,

• My father's brother, but no more like my father

• Than I to Hercules. (I,ii)

Shakespeare frequently uses metaphor to illustrate an idea in a

unique way• I have begun to plant thee, and will labour• To make thee full of growing. (I,v)

Allusion

• An allusion is a reference to some event, person, place, or artistic work, not directly explained or discussed by the writer; it relies on the reader's familiarity with the item referred to. Allusion is a quick way of conveying information or presenting an image.

• ROMEO: Well, in that hit you miss: she'll not be hit• with Cupid's arrow, she hath Dian's wit;• and in strong proof of chastity well arm'd (I,i)

Contracted words are words in which a letter has been left out. Some that frequently appear:

• be't on't wi'• do't t' 'sblood• 'gainst ta'en i'• 'tis e'en• 'bout know'st 'twill• ne'er o' o'er

Archaic, obsolete and familiar words with unfamiliar definitions

may also cause problems.

• thee, thou, thy, and thine• Betwixt• Obsolete Words – look for footnotes/margin

notes• Beatrice: Scratching could not make it

worse, an 'twere such a face as yours were. (I,i)

Wordplay: puns, double entendres, and malapropisms

• Nurse tells Romeo that she needs to have a “confidence” with him, when she should have said “conference.” Mockingly, Benvolio then says she probably will “indite” (rather than “invite”) Romeo to dinner.

Pass The Character

• Occupation• Social class• Historical era• Leisure pursuits• Walk and talk

Pass The Character 2Hamlet Quotes

• "To be, or not to be: that is the question". (Act III, Sc. I).

• "Neither a borrower nor a lender be; For loan oft loses both itself and friend, and borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry". Act I, Sc. III).

• "This above all: to thine own self be true" (Act I, Sc. III).

Pass The Character 2Hamlet Quotes

• "Though this be madness, yet there is method in 't." Hamlet quote (Act II, Scene II).

• "That it should come to this!". Hamlet quote (Act I, Scene II).

• "There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so" Hamlet quote (Act II, Sc. II).

Pass The Character 2Hamlet Quotes

• "What a piece of work is man! how noble in reason! how infinite in faculty! in form and moving how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the world, the paragon of animals! " Hamlet quote (Act II, Sc. II).

• "The lady doth protest too much, methinks". Hamlet ( Quote Act III, Sc. II).

Pass The Character 2Hamlet Quotes

• "In my mind's eye". Hamlet quotation (Quote Act I, Scene II).

• "A little more than kin, and less than kind". (Hamlet Quote Act I, Scene II).

• "The play 's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king". Hamlet Quote (Act II, Scene II).

Pass The Character 2Hamlet Quotes

• And it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man". (Hamlet Quote Act I, Scene III)."

• "This is the very ecstasy of love". - ( Hamlet Quote Act II, Sc I).

• "Brevity is the soul of wit". - Hamlet Quote (Act II, Scene II).

Pass The Character 2Hamlet Quotes

• "Doubt that the sun doth move, doubt truth to be a liar, but never doubt I love". Hamlet Quote (Act II, Sc. II).

• "Rich gifts wax poor when givers prove unkind". - (Hamlet Quote Act III, Scene I).

• "Do you think I am easier to be played on than a pipe?" Hamlet Quote (Act III, Sc. II).

• "I will speak daggers to her, but use none". - (Hamlet Quote Act III, Sc. II).

Pass The Character 2Hamlet Quotes

• "When sorrows come, they come not single spies, but in battalions". - (Hamlet Quote Act IV, Scene V).

ACT I Vocab

• Apparition• Ghost, spirit• Calumnious• Slanderous• Canon• Church law• Countenance• Face, expression

• Discourse• Conversation• Imminent• Ready to happen,

inevitable• Perilous• Dangerous• Portentous• threatening

ACT I Vocab

• Prodigal• Wasteful, extravagant• Sullied• Tarnished, stained, dirty