1. W ILLIAM S HAKESPEARE Background Notes on Shakespeare and His Career With a Focus on The Tragedy of Romeo & Juliet

2. A S HAKESPEAREAN J OKE While visiting his Grandma in Texas, Billy spotted a bowlegged cowboy. “Look at dat dare bowlegged cowboy. I ain’t never seen nuttin like dat no how!” Grandma was shocked and made Billy read Shakespeare every day for a month. On the way home to Wyoming he saw a whole group of bowlegged cowboys. Billy commented, “Behold! What manner of men are these, who wear their legs in parentheses?”

3. T HE EARLY YEARS William Shakespeare was born in Stratford- upon-Avon, (allegedly) on April 23, 1564 Church records from Holy Trinity Church indicate that he was baptized there on April 26, 1564. Parents were John Shakespeare who was a glover and leather merchant, and Mary Arden, a landed local heiress. John Shakespeare had a remarkable run of success as a merchant, alderman, and high bailiff of Stratford, during William's early childhood. His fortunes declined, however, in the late 1570s. William, according to the church register, was the third of eight children in the Shakespeare household—three of whom died in childhood.

4. S CHOOL D AYS Scholars believe that Shakespeare attended the grammar school in Stratford. There are no records to prove this claim, but Shakespeare's knowledge of Latin and Classical Greek would tend to support this theory. In addition, Shakespeare's first biographer, Nicholas Rowe, wrote that John Shakespeare had placed William "for some time in a free school." John Shakespeare, as a Stratford official, would have been granted a waiver of tuition for his son. We do not know how long William attended the school, but the literary quality of his works suggest a solid education. What is certain is that William Shakespeare never proceeded to university, which has stirred some of the debate concerning the authorship of his works.

5. H IS W IFE AND C HILDREN The next documented event in Shakespeare's life is his marriage to Anne Hathaway on November 28, 1582. William was 18 at the time, and Anne was 26— and pregnant. Their first daughter, Susanna, was born on May 26, 1583. The couple later had twins, Hamnet and Judith, born February 2, 1585 and christened at Holy Trinity. Hamnet died in childhood at the age of 11, on August 11, 1596.

6. S HAKESPEAREAN M YSTERY For the seven years following the birth of his twins, William Shakespeare disappears from all records, finally turning up again in London some time in 1592. This period, known as the "Lost Years," has sparked as much controversy about Shakespeare's life as any period.

7. S HAKESPEARE ’ S C AREER It is thought that Shakespeare arrived in London around 1588 and began to establish himself as an actor and playwright. Shakespeare garnered envy early on for his talent, as shown by the critical attack of Robert Greene, a London playwright, in 1592: "...an upstart crow, beautified with our feathers, that with his Tiger's heart wrapped in a player's hide, supposes he is as well able to bombast out a blank verse as the best of you: and being an absolute Johannes fac totum (Jack- of-all-trades), is in his own conceit the only Shake- scene in a country.“ [quite insulting—really!] Shakespeare must have shown considerable promise. By 1594, he was not only acting and writing for the Lord Chamberlain's Men (called the King's Men after the ascension of James I in 1603), but was a managing partner in the operation as well.

8. C AREER C ONTINUED Shakespeare's success is apparent when compared to other playwrights of the day. His company was the most successful in London. He had plays published and sold in octavo editions, or "penny-copies" to the more literate of his audiences. (This had never been done while a playwright was alive and working). In addition, Shakespeare's ownership share in both the theatrical company and the Globe made him as much an entrepreneur as artist. While Shakespeare might not be accounted wealthy by London standards, his success allowed him to purchase “New House” and retire in comfort to Stratford in 1611.

9. A LL IN ALL —S HAKESPEARE W ROTE -- Shakespeare's legacy is a body of work that will never again be equaled in Western civilization. His words have endured for 400 years. 12 Comedies 11 Tragedies 10 Histories 154 Sonnets & various other poems Can you identify the definitions and distinctions?

10. E XIT STAGE LEFT.... William Shakespeare wrote his will in 1611 He left his properties to his daughter Susanna (who married in 1607 to Dr. John Hall). To his surviving daughter Judith, he left £300 To his wife Anne left "my second best bed." The best bed would be for company. William Shakespeare allegedly died on his birthday, April 23, 1616. (This is probably more of a romantic myth than reality)

11. T HE E ND — OR IS IT ? Shakespeare was interred at Holy Trinity in Stratford on April 25, 1616. Even in death, he leaves a final piece of verse as his epitaph: Good friend, for Jesus' sake forbeare To dig the dust enclosed here. Blessed be the man that spares these stones, And cursed be he that moves my bones

12. T HE G LOBE T HEATRE ( NOTE THE SPELLING — IT ' S NOT WRONG ; IT ' S B RITISH ) One of four major theatres in the area, the Globe was first erected circa 1598 in London's Bankside district. It was an open-air, octagonal amphitheater of three stories, and it held up to 3,000 spectators. The rectangular stage was nearly 43 feet wide and 28 feet deep with some trap doors and overhead rigging.

13. R EDUCE, R EUSE, AND R ECYCLE The Globe was actually constructed of materials from an earlier theatre called— how original—”The Theatre.” The Theatre was going to be torn down because the landowner did not want to renew the lease...and so... A party of workmen—associated with the original owner's sons—assembled at the Theatre on the night of December 28, 1598; stripped the building down to its foundation and moved the materials across the Thames to Bankside and constructed the Globe.

14. R EBUILDING ( AGAIN AND AGAIN ) In 1613, the original Globe burned to the ground during a performance of Henry VIII. [everybody was able to escape!] A new Globe was built on the foundations of the previous one, and operated until 1642 when the Puritans closed all theatres and destroyed the building in 1644. (A new Globe opened in 1997; if you can— go see it!)

15. T HE “N EW ” G LOBE (1997) shakespeares-globe.org

16. Romeo and Juliet By William Shakespeare

17. Summary Romeo and Juliet is a story about two teenagers who fall in love but are forbidden to see each other by their parents. They meet one night at a party (Romeo is actually there to check out another girl, Rosaline) and quickly fall in love. Unfortunately, Juliet’s parents already have a husband picked out for her. So, the two decide to get married and enlist the help of Juliet’s nurse to act as a messenger between the two and Friar Laurence who agrees to marry them. However, plans go awry after Romeo is banished from Verona and doesn’t get filled in on the plans that Juliet has for them to live happily ever after…

18. Setting The story is set in the late 1500’s mostly in the town of Verona, Italy. However, there are a few acts set in Mantua, Italy a smaller town just a few miles away.

19. The Feud Romeo’s family, the Montagues, have a long standing feud with Juliet’s family, the Capulets. While the audience never learns about the source of the ancient quarrel, we do learn that it has recently grown stronger.

20. Comedy and Tragedy Elements of a tragedy Must have a tragic hero/heroine [an important person for whom the story ends unhappily] Story arouses pity, fear, awe Romeo and Juliet begins as a comedy but ends as a tragedy Elements of a comedy The shift from comedy to tragedy is what sets Romeo and Juliet apart from the rest of Shakespeare’s plays A struggle of young lovers to overcome difficulty that is often presented by elders Separation and unification Heightened tensions, often within a family

21. Motifs that can become Themes Love The power of love Love as a cause for violence Fate The inevitability of fate Hate Hate as a forced emotion

22. Motifs that can become Themes Maturity vs. Immaturity Tragedy vs. Comedy Etc. [We will discuss others]

23. Writing Style [more about this, later] Parts of Romeo and Juliet are written as a sonnet, a poem of 14 lines written and rhymed in iambic pentameter. Each sonnet ends with a couplet. In a Shakespearean sonnet the rhyme scheme is ABAB CDCD EFEF GG A couplet is two consecutive lines that rhyme. Iambic pentameter refers to the rhythm of each line. It is an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one. “Bŭt sóft! Whăt líght throŭgh yóndĕr wíndŏw bréaks?”

24. Plagiarism!? Shakespeare did not invent the story of Romeo and Juliet. A poet named Arthur Brooks wrote the story of Romeus and Juliet as a long poem that was itself not original, but rather an adaptation of adaptations that stretched across nearly a hundred years and two languages. Many of the details of Shakespeare’s plot are taken directly from Brooks’ poem, including the meeting of Romeo and Juliet at the ball, their secret marriage, Romeo’s fight with Tybalt, the sleeping potion, and the timing of the events at the end of the play.

25. Interesting… “Star-crossed lovers” refers to two people who are in love but have conflicting astrological signs. In Shakespeare’s times, people believed the course of their lives was determined by the exact second they were born. The Italian city of Verona, where Romeo and Juliet lived, receives about 6,000 letters addressed to Juliet every year. And a group of people actually read and respond to each letter!

26. Verona Today Today, Verona has an incredible amount of graffiti, which is legal, provided that you are writing about your love for someone.

27. D RAMATIC V OCABULARY A Drama or Play is a story written to be performed by actors; it features Characters facing a Conflict, or struggle, that propels the sequence of events called the Plot. The conflict reaches a Climax, the point of greatest tension, and is then resolved. The Dialogue, or speeches of the characters, tells the story, unlike in fiction, where the voice of a narrator tells the story. Acts and Scenes : make up the structure of the play. A drama may consist of one or more acts, each contain any number of scenes. Stage Directions : tell how the work is to be performed. May include how lines are to be spoken, how the stage is lit, the props available, who is on the stage, etc.

28. D RAMATIC V OCABULARY Sets : the constructions that establish the scene / setting for the drama. The setting / background in and against which the story is enacted Props : movable objects that the actors use onstage. Tragedy : shows the downfall or death of the tragic hero, or main character. In ancient Greek drama, the hero was an outstanding person brought low by a tragic flaw, a mistaken action or defect in character. In modern tragedy, the hero can be an ordinary person destroyed by an evil force in society. We will be reading a piece titled The Tragedy of Romeo & Juliet. What do you think will happen to the main characters?

29. D RAMATIC V OCABULARY Chorus : a group of performers who commented on the action. Shakespeare sometimes used a single actor in the role of the chorus. Dramatic Irony : when the audience knows something that a certain character onstage does not Comedy : has a happy ending, usually after an amusing series of predicaments. While tragedy emphasizes human greatness, comedy stress the weaknesses of ordinary people or of society itself. In some cases, the comedy of a scene relies on irony.

30. D RAMATIC V OCABULARY Monologue : is a long, uninterrupted speech delivered by a character to other characters who are onstage but remain silent. Soliloquy : is a speech in which a character who is usually alone on the stage reveals private thoughts that the audience is allowed to overhear. Aside : a brief remark in which a character expresses private thoughts to the audience rather than to other characters OR to another character in secret or as a private conversation