1. Shakespeare
What’s up with him??

2. He wrote a long, long time ago
We don’t always get the references (science, government, slang, etc.)
Some words are archaic
Some words have changed meanings

3. He didn’t like stage directions
Usually only get entrances and exits
Don’t get information about HOW an actor says something or to whom
Some stage directions are odd
Asides
Soliloquies

4. He’s writing poetry Iambic pentameter causes him to
Rearrange order of sentences
Separate parts of sentences that should go together
Omit syllables

5. Figurative language can be difficult to understand—whether old or not!
Uses A LOT of imagery
(since he had few
special effects
options)

6. Shakespeare wrote… Sonnets 4 different types of plays..
“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”
4 different types of plays..
Tragedies (hero with flaw, everyone dies)
Hamlet
Othello
Romeo and Juliet

7. Comedies (big problems, cross dressing, then everyone’s happy)
Taming of the Shrew
Twelfth Night
Much Ado about Nothing

8. Romances (there’s a trip to the country involved
Romances (there’s a trip to the country involved...and fathers keep losing their daughters…)
The Tempest
Cymbaline

9. Histories (you know…from history)
Richard III
Henry V
Julius Caesar