Turn and Talk Who is oldest? Youngest? Objective: speak in complete sentences that use correct subject/predicate agreement Shakespeare, who is famous for many plays, write/writes about the challenges, triumphs, and humor we all face/faces in our lives. Since he is/are an integral part of literature and language, the reasons to study him is/are endless.

What is Drama? Literature meant to be performed Subject to interpretation “As a reader you become the play’s director” Turn and talk…what does this mean? Older person answers, younger person checks for objective

Who is Shakespeare? England Turn and talk: what do you know about England? Younger person answers, older person checks for objective

Who is Shakespeare? $ from plays that was well-invested 37 plays and 154 sonnets Unknown but assumed education Married with 3 children 1592 prominence as actor and playwright 1593 published poet during the years of the plague, which shut down theatre operations A mystery man that legends explained…more currently updated historical records indicate prominent, wealthy, and successful

Shakespeare’s Time Evolving and blending of religions, cultures, histories, inventions, lands, and beliefs—reflected in his writing London—happening city with problems of poverty and population, yet many “elite” lived there Stratford-upon-Avon—rural England, a life lived close to the land

Shakespeare's Time Queen Elizabeth 1’s reign English Renaissance Heroes! Ideal Elizabethan man: courtier, adventurer, poet, fencer, conversationalist, witty, eloquent, self- reflective Arranged marriages ($) Concern with the “order” of things Rulers were believed to be agents of God

Shakespeare’s Theatre Member of the King’s Men acting group 1599 built the Globe, which was destroyed by fire in 1613, rebuilt but then taken down by Parliament after 1642 Actors traveled to perform at a variety of locales Turn and talk: what would this mean for the delivery of the play? Younger person answers, older person checks for objective Theatres not built in London city limits “bare stage”—birthed Shakespeare’s mastery of descriptive imagery Female roles played by boys Had to work for “higher ups” to be protected

Shakespeare’s Theatre HistoryComedyTragedy Play based on historical materials Shows patriotism Various types of humor Conflict, but no impending doom for protagonist Shakespeare=man High comedy— consists of being funny with words Low comedy—consists of being funny with actions Conflict that leads to a tragic end for the likeable protagonist Comic relief still a device used, as in the gravedigger’s scene Antony and Cleopatra Julius Caesar A Midsummer’s Night Dream Much Ado About Nothing Othello Romeo and Juliet

Turn and Talk Since Hamlet is a revenge tragedy, I predict… Older person answers, younger person checks for objective Based on what I know of Romeo and Juliet, it is a ______________ (what kind of play). Younger person answers, older person checks for objective Use complete sentences and correct subject/predicate agreement

How to Read Shakespeare Use the character list (dramatis personae) Never break with end lines, but rather with punctuation Use notes Read more than once Read aloud, remembering its meant to be acted Read as a director Identify subject, predicate, and object as a way to work through reversed, inverted, or delayed syntax Recognize and embrace the challenge that language is living and thus changing Let the text teach you and mold you into an effective reader Paraphrase (using a similar length of prose, put into your own words)

Literary Devices Puns, double entendres Foreshadowing Blank verse: unrhymed iambic pentameter Metaphors Allusions: Garden of Eden (as Shakespeare’s words have become) Conflict Imagery Metafiction/metadrama Tragic hero—a man who rises to high position, but then loses that position due to: Hamartia—tragic flaw Destiny, the forces that be

Literary Devices Stage directions Aside—a speech directed only to audience, revealing a character’s inner thoughts Soliloquy—a speech delivered while alone on a stage, revealing a character’s inner thoughts Dialogue Turn and talk: Is a playwright more likely to use direct or indirect characterization? Why? Older person answers, younger person checks for objective

Theme 4 corners Move with body peacefully Index cards will indicate who speaks to explain position