1. Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet

2. What do you already Know?
What do you know about Shakespeare, the play, the characters, etc.?
Teacher will ask students to access prior knowledge, see what they already know about Shakespeare’s time or the play. Teacher will type in student responses during class

3. Understanding Shakespeare’s Audience
What was the last R-rated film you saw?
Why was it rated R?
It was R-rated for: Sex, violence, and profanity

4. How do you react?
When you hear an inappropriate joke, how do you react?
When you hear an inappropriate joke, do you:
A) laugh a lot and share it with your friends
B) think about making a profit from the joke
C) pretend to be shocked, but secretly find it interesting
D) react with disgust and horror, thinking that it is entirely inappropriate and nasty

5. Audiences Today & Shakespeare’s audience
Shakespeare’s audience was comprised of these 4 groups:
A) Groundlings
poor people, usually uneducated and illiterate working class. Enjoyed bawdy (sexual) humor. Stood to watch the show.
B) Merchants
Sold supplies to audience members, sought a profit
C) Nobles
Showed off their wealth, seated very close to the stage. Theater for them was about being seen. They were more proper.
D) Puritans
Boycotted Shakespeare’s show because of the sexual content, they were disgusted by Shakespeare’s humor.

6. Shakespeare used Bawdy Humor to interest the Audience
Dealing with sex in a way that is meant to be funny
Shakespeare uses bawdy humor to attract the groundlings interest
Synonyms: ribald, racy, rude, suggestive, crude, vulgar, offensive
Antonyms: refined, proper, clean, wholesome, G-rated

7. Historical Background
His plays were performed in the Globe Theater
Nobility, pay to sit in nicer seats. Usually sit close to stage to be seen
Groundlings & merchants, stand for the entire play
Puritans protest outside of the theater

8. The Four Humours & temperament)
During the Elizabethan Era, people believed that man is made of the elements—earth, air, fire and water—which translate to the four “humours.”
the excess of a particular humour determined a person’s characteristic traits or actions
The perfect balance of the humors resulted in an ideal temperament (personality)
It is important to understand these humors because we will see Shakespeare describe his characters based on these temperaments

9. The Four Humours Choler Sanguine Phlegmatic Melancholy
Sad, depressed, miserable, gloomy, unhappy, dejected
Usually a person is reserved, solitary or sentimental
Associated with the earth because we look down at the earth when we are sad
Choler
Hot-headed, rage, anger, passion, lust, temper
The person would be sensitive, impulsive, envious, vengeful
Associated with fire because of the passion.
Sanguine
Light, happy, free, playful, sociable
Associated with air
A person who is of a sanguine temperament might act like they have their head in the clouds
Phlegmatic
Dull, listless, torpid, heavy, lethargic, slow, inactive, lacking energy
Associated with water
A phlegmatic person might be slow to respond, they would be inactive.

10. The Four Humours
Melancholy
Choler
Sanguine
Phlegmatic

11. Ground rules for Reading Shakespeare
Everyone is a second language learner when they read Shakespeare
You are not the only one that thinks this is challenging
You don’t have to understand every word to understand the significance of the story
There are always multiple meanings and interpretations
Please share your interpretations, they are important!