William Shakespeare

Romeo and Juliet

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9t11BsE0yk

Important Dates inShakespeare’s Life

• 1564 William Shakespeare is born in April (probably the 23rd) in Stratford-On-Avon (94 miles from London) to John and Mary.

• 1582 Marries Anne Hathaway on November 27th.

When they married, he was 18 and she was 26. They had 3 children.

Important Dates inShakespeare’s Life

• 1583 Susanna Shakespeare is born.

• 1585 The twins, Judith and Hamnet Shakespeare, are born.

• 1587 Shakespeare left for London, leaving his family

behind. He worked at the Globe Theatre and

appeared in many small parts.

Important Dates inShakespeare’s Life

• 1592 He became a member of The Chamberlain's Men.

Theatrical groups relied on the support of wealthy patrons. Lord Chamberlain supported this acting troupe.

• 1593 He first appeared as a poet.

Important Dates inShakespeare’s Life

• 1596 Hamnet dies at the age of eleven.

• 1599 The Globe Theater is built from the pieces of 'The Theater' in July.

• 1603 The Lord Chamberlain's Men became The King's Men.

This group was directly supported by King James.

Important Dates inShakespeare’s Life

• 1611Shakespeare retired from writing and he returned to Stratford

to live in a house which he had built for his family.

• 1613 The Globe Theatre burns during a performance of Henry VII when a canon fired on the roof sets fire to the straw thatch. The theatre is rebuilt, but Shakespeare retires.

Important Dates inShakespeare’s Life

• 1616 Shakespeare dies on April 23, in Stratford, on his 52nd

birthday.

The inscription from Shakespeare’s gravestone.

Writing . . .• In his time

Shakespeare wrote 13 Comedies, 13 Histories, 6 Tragedies, 4 Tragicomedies, as well as many sonnets.

• Some of Shakespeare's universal themes are: loyalty and betrayal, love and hate, honor and dishonor.

Writing . . .• Most of Shakespeare’s play were

based on well-known stories – Romeo and Juliet was based on an Italian epic!

• Shakespeare’s style includes puns, metaphors, blank verse, soliloquies, asides, and oxymorons.

Writing . . .• Shakespeare wrote in unrhymed iambic

pentameterex:

“A horse, a horse! my kingdom for a horse!”(Unrhymed iambic pentameter is also called blank verse.)

u / u / u / u / u /

Unrhymed Iambic Pentameter activity:

• March around the room in circle to an iambic beat. Softly placed left foot followed by a sharply stomped right. I will begin to call out lines.

Unrhymed Iambic Pentameter activity cont:

i DO not LIKE green EGGS and HAMi DO not LIKE them, SAM i AMi WOULD not EAT them IN a BOATi WOULD not EAT them WITH a GOATi DO not LIKE them IN a BOXi DO not LIKE them WITH a FOXi DO not LIKE them HERE or THEREi DO not LIKE them ANyWHERE!

Living Iambic Pentameter

Click here for video

Life during Shakespeare’s time

Noteworthy Events • 1592-93 Theaters were closed by the Black

Plague. • 1599 The original Globe Theatre was

built.

• 1603 Elizabeth I died (at the age of 70!).

• 1603 Another plague hit London.

• 1604 James IV of Scotland became James I of England.

• 1613 The Globe is burned to the ground.

Elizabeth I

James IV with Mary

The Globe Theatre• It is important to

understand the Globe Theatre because it influenced what Shakespeare wrote.

• Before theatres, many plays were performed in the courtyards of inns.

• In 1576 The Theatre was built by James Burbage. This first official theatre looked like a courtyard of an inn.

• In 1599 the first Globe Theatre was built.

The Globe Theatre• Shakespeare himself

gave The Globe a nickname. In Henry V, Shakespeare called his theatre a “wooden O”. The “Wooden O” was aptly named - it was round and made of wood.

• All plays were performed in the afternoon, lighting was provided by the daylight.

• The theatre announced the theme of the day by raising a flag

Some important facts about Shakespeare’s chosen venue . . .

The Globe Theatre• Groundlings were people that stood and

watched the play for a penny.• Since people did not bathe often, the

smell was sometimes quite oppressive.

The Globe Theatre• Theatrical scenery in

Shakespeare's time was suggested by the language of the play.

• Although there were few sets, characters wore elaborate costumes.

• Women were not allowed to be actors, all characters (including men) were played by men.

• In 1642 English Parliament passes an ordinance sponsored by the Puritans that all theatre is evil. All playhouses in London are closed.

The Globe Theatre - Construction

• Round building• Three tiers (stories)• Many acting areas:

1. a large platform stage called a forestage with trapdoors and

open to the sky2. small curtained-off stage called the inner stage3. small balcony, often called the upper stage

Globe Theatre

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OV-ExS2tIZw

The Globe’s Connection to the Modern Stage

The stage has undergone changes since Shakespeare’s time. . .

• The part of the stage that projected into the yard got narrower.

• The small curtained inner stage grew larger. (The modern stage that we see today is called the proscenium stage – the effect is like looking inside a window or a picture frame.)

Shakespeare’s Romeo and

Juliet

ACTV

Shakespeare’s Tragedies5 part plot structure

A tragedy is a narrative about serious and important actions that end unhappily. A tragedy ends with the deaths of the main characters. In some tragedies the disaster hits totally innocent characters; in other the main character are in some way responsible for their downfall.

EXPOSITIONCLIMAX ANDRESOLUTIONACT I

ACTII

ACTIII

ACTIV

RISI

NG A

CTIO

NFALLING ACTION

Exposition1. establishes the setting2. introduces the main characters3. gives background, introducing

previous events necessary to understand the story

4. introduces the main CONFLICT or

problem

Rising Action1. this part of plot consists of a series of complications. These occur as the main character(s) take action to resolve the problem

Crisis or Turning Point

1. moment when a choice is made by the main characters determines the direction of the action (often called the “moment of choice”)

if the situation improves then we have a comedy if the situation gets worse, we

have a tragedy 2. peak of the play, but not necessarily emotional3. the dramatic or tense point when the forces of conflict come together

FALLING ACTION1. presents the incidents resulting from the decision at the turning point2. emphasizes the tragedy's destructive forces3. maintains suspense and relieves

tension as catastrophe approaches4. with each event we see the characters falling straight into tragedy

Climax (catastrophe) and Denouement

1. Climax - emotional peakincludes the tragedy's catastrophe (the deaths of the main characters)

2. Denouement – resolutionconclusion of the play, the loose parts of

the play are tied up and the play is over

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWhvd3apun0

Original 1968 Movie Trailer of

“Romeo and Juliet”