Tues. April 23 r d
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Transcript of Tues. April 23 r d
Tues. April 23rd
Warm Up: 449th Anniversary - Happy Birthday Shakespeare!
Agenda/Objective: - Take notes on background information- Begin reading Macbeth - Watch Class of 2014 video http://youtu.be/hUvNuvaArHc
Homework:• Finish reading Act 1. Scenes 1- 2
Shakespeare &Macbeth
“The Scottish Play”
Background Information & Introduction
Shakespeare
• Born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564• One of 8 children
Shakespeare in His Time• Born in Stratford-upon-Avon
in 1564• Today is his 449th Birthday• Three types of plays: – Tragedies– Comedies– Histories
• 37-plus plays, sonnets• Did Shakespeare write all of
his plays?
Shakespeare Today
• Why are we still reading Shakespeare today?
• Invented and/or introduced THOUSANDS of words and phrases to the English language
• Still Culturally relevant– Plots– Allusions– Idioms
Heard Any of These Phrases?• "It’s Greek to me" (Julius Caesar()• "Fair play" (The Tempest) • "All that glitters isn’t gold" (Merchant of Venice)• "Wear one’s heart on one’s sleeve" (Othello)• "Break the ice" (The Taming of the Shrew) • "The lady doth protest too much" (Hamlet) • "Clothes make the man" (Hamlet) • "A laughing stock" (The Merry Wives of Windsor)• "Too much of a good thing" (As You Like It) • "In a pickle" (The Tempest)
Elizabethan Era
• Queen Elizabeth I• Bubonic Plague• Fires• Entertainment
The Theater: Then & Now
Elizabethan Theater
• Globe Theatre, London• Theater set-up was
different• All-male actors• A day at the theater
Blackfriars Playhouse – Staunton, VA
Shakespearian Structure in Five Acts:
1. A disorder or complication leads to two sides2. Development of rivalry and disorder3. Climax – Point of no return, leading to final
tragedy4. Reflective Act - beginnings of self-realization,
setting up the finale5. Final Climax – understanding, restoration of
order, resolution.
Conventions of Tragedy
• Death of innocents• Death of the tragic hero• Death of those deserving death
• Predictive elements:– Soliloquies, asides, dramatic irony,
symbolism, foreshadowing, imagery
“To be, or not to be? That is the
question!”
Macbeth Superstitions• There are many superstitions
surrounding performances of Macbeth…• Euphemism: “The Scottish Play”• Avoid reciting the incantations of
the witches before a performance!• Ritual: leave the theatre building, spin
around three times, spit, curse, and then knock to be allowed back in
• Or: quote from Hamlet, (Act 1, Sc. 4): “Angels and ministers of grace defend us!”
Origins of Superstition:• More sword-fighting than other
plays = more chances for injury• Globe Theatre burned down
during a performance of Macbeth (wrong – Henry VIII)
• Legend has it that the first actor to play Macbeth died shortly after the first performance
• The play is cursed because Shakespeare used actual witch spells
Double, double toil and trouble;Fire burn, and caldron bubble!
(Act 4. Sc.1)
Macbeth & Banquo
Lady Macbeth
Why is Macbeth so Good?
• Ambition & Power• Masculinity• Murder• Murder• Murder
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8bUdevCXeA&list=PLF03FFCFE3C861A5B
Macbeth in 90 seconds - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5nlx2XzP-4
Rupert Goold PBS adaptation of Macbeth (WWII theme) - 2½ Hours long http://video.pbs.org/video/1604122998/
Lecture/history of theatre - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYfM0RFZ5cs