1. 10 minutes of book love

2. What did your research tell you about Shakespeare and his time period?
Services and Occupations:
Betrothal and Weddings:
Love and Marriage:
Honor and Dueling:
Filling the Time:
The City of London:
Turn and talk with your group members—I will ask every group for at least one fact so be ready with at three just in case someone steals yours!

3. Please take out your notes sheets—we’re finishing the video!

4. Why Study Shakespeare? Universal stories
Foundations of modern cultural clichés
Connecting then to now—realizing that human truths exist across centuries and that the same stories have always been part of us

5. Who was Shakespeare?
He was born in 1564 (probably in April, though we can’t know the exact date)
He became an actor in London before he was a poet and a playwright
Though he had a family from the time he was 18, his “city life” and his “country life” were fairly separated
He did his work in London and occasionally visited his family
We know very little about him until he became famous and became a playwright and partner of a major acting company, The King’s Men
His work was hugely popular and he died a celebrity in 1616.

6. Elizabethan England: Shakespeare’s England
Refers to the time period that Queen Elizabeth I reigned( )
Only 3% of the population was “noble”—what you imagine when you think of this time period
But that’s because the rest of the population was uneducated and did not keep journals or record/preserve their lives in any way, so we don’t know much about them
Before this time, only 5% of people lived in cities/towns, but as businesses and industries grew, more people moved into cities—changing the environment drastically

7. Major Life Changes for People in Elizabethan England
There was room to grow (for once) and seek to do better than your parents before you
There was a middle class of merchants and business owners
People were slowly becoming more literate—from 1/5 of the population merely able to sign their names at the beginning of her reign, to 1/3 of the population becoming literate by the end
Middle and upper class children usually had some kind of education—though schooling wasn’t free for anyone

8. Social Classes
There were noble, middle class, and poor citizens, and it determined:
What you were allowed to wear
The amount and quality of schooling you received
Your lifespan
The food you consumed

9. Family Life Everyone was expected to marry
Women, especially, who remained unmarried appeared “suspicious”, and were often accused of witchcraft
Having children was a norm as well, and Elizabethan couples tried to have as many as possible, considering that many children never made it to adulthood
Just in case
Plan A
Plan B

10. Life Expectancy and Hygiene
Illness and early death were common during this time because of the lack of sanitation
There were open sewers in the streets and garbage everywhere (every once in a while, they cleared this out by dumping it in to the local river—the Thames)
Diseases were spread by fleas, rats (both of which cased the Black Death/Bubonic Plague, which killed 1/3 of the population at the time), lice, and other vermin
There was no running water (which allowed diseases like typhoid to spread)
Most people drank alcohol instead of water because it was much safer to drink

11. Medicine
The best they could really do was bleed patients (both by simply having them bleed and by occasionally using leeches) to get rid of the “bad blood”
They also made herbal mixtures they believed could reduce the pain of symptoms, though there was little hope of curing someone of something like the Plague
At times, outbreaks of disease would be so severe, theatres and other places where people gathered close together were shut down to prevent further infection

12. Theatre
Playwrights wrote for everyone—the goal was to ensure anyone could enjoy your play regardless of social class or education
Theatre was associated with crime and prostitution, and if Elizabeth I hadn’t loved theater as she did, it would have never become so popular

13. How Theatre Differs (Then and Now)
It was a common place—audiences were never quiet or respectful, but rather walked around, ate, drank, and made comments at the actors (somewhat like watching a game at a sports arena)
Theaters were open, and depending on how much money you had, you stood in the pit or the gallery
Women were not permitted to act (it was considered indecent) and so young boys played women
There was rarely a backdrop or set, but instead, huge investment in costumes

14. Types of Shakespearian Plays
Histories
Comedies
Tragedies

15. Histories
Histories: stories loosely based on historical figures from England’s Medieval history

16. Modern Examples?

17. Comedies
Comedies: stories generally based on misconception and resolution. Just about all of them end in marriage, and throughout, they are full of puns, irony, and blundered disguises

18. Modern Examples?

19. Tragedies
Tragedies: stories generally based on someone who falls from grace and struggles to succeed in accomplishing some noble task due to the efforts of a villain, or else a fatal flaw within the hero’s own self

20. Modern Examples?

21. Why was Shakespeare so popular?
He had universal appeal, meaning he found a way to present stories people of every class could enjoy
The theatre itself was one of the few places where people from all walks of life gathered and socialized
The Queen was a frequent patron, which boosted his popularity

22. Romeo and Juliet
A Shakespearian comedic-tragedy about young love in the face of prejudice
Just about every 9th grade class in America has read or will read this play
One of the first comedic-tragedies of its time!

23. Things that happen in the play:
Crude jokes
Gang fights
Murder
Elopement
Suicide

24. So why on earth do we teach it?
Okay. So. Tell me if this story sounds familiar:
There are two groups of people that don’t like each other (pretty openly) and frequently fight
Two people from those two groups meet and fall in love despite the fact that the groups they’re part of hate each other
The couple decides to run away together, defying everyone else, and true love conquers all

28. Why do we read it?
This story is such a significant part of our culture, knowing it and understanding why we are so drawn to it is important

29. 10 Minutes of Independent Reading

30. Grammar Warm Up: Phrases and Clauses
Talk with your table group and be ready to answer:
What is the difference between a phrase and a clause?
What is the difference between a dependent clause and an independent clause?

31. Based on your review…
Independently complete the phrases and clauses sheet

32. Grade yourself as we go: If we had a quiz on this tomorrow, how would you do?

33. Shakespeare Notes
Please take out your movie notes so we can review them together!

34. Shakespeare Predictions
Based on the opening monologue we read together, please predict what responsibilities each character has and what problems each will encounter when Romeo and Juliet fall in love