William Shakespeare

Popular Entertainer No cinema, no television, no football –Wealthy people hired musicians, actors, dancers and fencers –Everyone else had to find entertainment: In London, it was Theater Today: Go to a movie, then a bar or nightclub Then: Go to a play, then a tavern

Shakespeare’s Works Sonnets (poems) –14 lines –iambic pentameter –abab cdcd efef gg rhyme scheme Plays –Histories –Tragedies –Comedies

Blank verse – iambic pentameter “These times of woe afford no time to woo.” -- Paris

Names of a few of His Plays Julius Caesar Macbeth Hamlet A Midsummer Night’s Dream King Lear Othello The Tempest

The Theater in Shakespeare’s Time “The Theatre”—the first permanent theater in England 1599, The Theatre was torn down From many of the timbers of “The Theatre,” Shakespeare and his company built the Globe Theatre

The Wooden “O” The Globe Theatre was a large, round (or polygonal) building Three stories high Large platform stage Curtained-off inner stage Small balcony or upper stage Trap doors

Plays were performed in the afternoon Stage was open to the sky Very few sets, very little scenery The stage was “set” by the language Costumes were often elaborate Female parts played by young men or boys Groundlings stood at the foot of the stage

Terms Blank verse—poetry that is written in iambic pentameter but does not rhyme Motif—a small, recurring theme; repeated patterns of images. (stars, seasons, fate, feud, etc.)

Foil—any character who by contrast emphasizes the distinctive qualities of another

Romeo and Juliet

Romeo & Juliet Shakespeare took the plot from a poem entitled “The Tragicall Historye of Romeus and Juliet” by Arthur Brooke Takes place in Verona, Italy Takes place in the 1500’s

Themes in R & J Themes are based on: –Youth and old age –Public and private –Love and hate –Fate or destiny –Love –The dual nature of all creation

The End