Bard to the Bone!

Shakespeare

1564-1616Birthplace: Stratford-Upon-AvonMarried Anne Hathaway November 1882 – she was 26; he was 183 children: Susanna and twins Hamnet, and

JudithBy 1592 he was living in London as a well-

known playwright

William Shakespeare: His Life

Wrote 37 playsPlays divided into three categories: comedies,

tragedies, and historiesWrote many poems, including many well-

known sonnetsContributed more words, phrases, and

expressions to the English language than any other writer.

William Shakespeare: His Work

Lived during The Renaissance: a time of renewed interest in science, commerce, philosophy, and the arts

Queen Elizabeth IThe Elizabethan Age (1558-1603)England’s first theater was built in 1576

England in Shakespeare’s Day

1599Lord Chamberlain’s Menthree stories high, 100 feet in diametercould seat 3,000 spectatorsBurned in 1613Rebuilt in 1996

The Globe Theatre

The Globe Theatre

Actors were maleActors played several rolesFew props were used

The Globe Theatre

Plays were advertised by colored flagsFerry would transport playgoers across the

ThamesAdmission was dropped in a box by the doorVendors sold nuts, beer, oranges, water,

gingerbread, apples, and seat cushionsThere was a new play every dayRehearsals were usually less than two weeks

The Globe Theatre

Drama that ends in catastrophe—often death—for the main character as well as several other important characters

Often life is controlled by a pattern of fortune and fatePoetic in nature (iambic pentameter)Moves the audience to feel pity and fearInvolves a tragic hero—noble figure who suffers a

reversal of fortune and faces uncommon suffering with uncommon dignity

Tragic hero is a literary character who makes an error of judgment or has a fatal flaw that, combined with fate and external forces, brings on a tragedy

Shakespeare wrote 10 tragedies

Shakespearean Tragedy

Elements of Drama

A remark made by an actor either to the audience or another actor that other characters on the stage are not supposed to hear

These are usually marked in the text and are spoken to the audience unless otherwise noted.

Abram: Do you bite your thumb at us, sir?Sampson: [aside to Gregory] Is the law of our side if I say

ay?Gregory: [aside to Sampson] No.Sampson: No, sir, I do not bite my thumb at you, sir; but I

bite my thumb, sir.Romeo and Juliet, Act I, scene i

Aside

A brief reference to something outside the work that the reader or audience is expected to know

Examples: historical events, other works of literature, biblical references, mythology

Should in the farthest East begin to drawThe shady curtains from Aurora’s bed.

Romeo and JulietAct I, Scene i

Allusion

A humorous scene, incident, or speech that relieves the overall emotional intensity

Thou tickleth thy funny bone with thine words of humor!

Comic Relief

A character whose qualities contrast with those of another character

The differences help emphasize the characteristics of each character

Foil

The audience is aware of something that the characters are not

Dramatic Irony

Situational irony is defined in literature when one's actions lead to a result which is the opposite of what was intended or expected.

A man who is a traffic cop gets his license suspended for unpaid parking tickets.

While situational irony can be used in comedy, it is used to profound effect in drama and is often associated with tragedy.In Romeo and Juliet, situational irony occurs when

Romeo attempts to prevent a fight later in the play.

Situational Irony

A long speech which is spoken to other characters on stage

Monologue

A long dramatic speech in which a character expresses his or her feelings

The character is usually alone on stage

Soliloquy

A statement that seems to contradict itself but is actually true and holds a deeper truth.

“So fair and foul a day I have not seen.”

Macbeth“Cowards die many times before their deaths.”

Julius Caesar

Paradox

A specialized paradox -- a fusing of opposite or contradictory words to suggest a paradox in a few words –a paradox is different from an oxymoron

because it contains contradictory words that are separated by one or more intervening words. In an oxymoron, the words are next to one another)

Oxymoron

The placing of two ideas, characters, or events in close proximity to one another so that their differences and similarities become clear – or come more sharply into focus.

In Romeo and Juliet, juxtapositions includepeasants and aristocrats;romantic Romeo and blazing Tybalt;the dreamy Romeo and the more practical Julietromance and purity of the balcony scene with

Romeo's friend Mercutio’s lewd sexual jokes in the previous scene

Juxtaposition

a figure of speech in which a spoken phrase is devised to be understood in either of two ways. Typically one of the interpretations is rather

obvious whereas the other is more subtle. The more subtle of the interpretations may

have a humorous, ironic, or risqué purpose

Double entendre

a recurring object, concept, or structure in a work of literatureStars in Romeo and JulietLight and darkLove being blind

Motif

A play on words

Math teachers have a lot of problems.

To write with a broken pencil is pointless.

I wondered why the baseball was getting closer. Then it hit me.

Pun

www.folger.eduwww.swainkids.comwww.howardcollege.eduwww.enotes.comwww.punoftheday.comStandard Deviants School of ShakespeareThe Language of Literature textbook

Resources