William Shakespeare

1
William Shakespeares The Tragedy of Romeo and
Juliet

• Goal Build background knowledge about the author
  and historical time period

2
William Shakespeare

• Life and times
• His works
• (plays and sonnets)
• Shakespeare today
• Common Archaic words

3
April 23, 1564-April 23, 1616

• Born in 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon (center of
  England). It is said that he was born on April
  23rd
• He was said to have died on April 23rd, 1616

4
His early years

• Believed that he went to junior school and then
  on to Stratford Grammar School by the age of
  seven
• Remained in school until about 14, which was
  normal in Elizabethan Age.

5
Marriage and family

• November 27, 1582, Shakespeare (18) married Anne
  Hathaway (26)
• The couples daughter, Susanna, was born on May
  26, 1583
• Dates???
• They had three children Susanna, and twins Judith
  and Hamnet
• The Lost Years 1586-1592
• (We are not really sure what he was doing.)

6
His writing years

• Shakespeare became an actor and a playwright by
  1592.
• Lord Chamberlains Companylater called the Kings
  Men when King James came to the throneLater,
  Elizabeth I was the royal who really fostered the
  arts
• Total of 37 plays and 154 sonnets (14 line poem
  with a specific rhyme scheme)
• None of his plays were published until seven
  years after his death.
• Shakespeare also coined many words and
  expressions such as into thin air, catch a cold,
  too much of a good thing, it was Greek to me, and
  the green-eyed monster.

7
His Theater

• The Globe-opened in 1599. Shakespeare referred
  to it as the Wooden O as it was a large, round
  theater made from wood.
• Plays were performed in the afternoon-no
  artificial lighting.
• Probably accommodated an audience of 3,000 from
  all social classes.
• The groundlings-paid a penny to get in and
  stood on three sides of the stage. Upper classes
  sat or stood in tiers covered from rain.
• Worked with limited props the outcome of each
  play depended solely upon Shakespeares words,
  the actors talents, and the participation of the
  audience.

8
His Theater (cont.)

• Three stories high, three-level seating
• Octagon-shaped
• Had a thatched roof
• Large platform stage that projected into the
  audience
• No fancy sets
• The theatre was closed in 1593 due to the plague
• Eventually burned in 1613, was rebuilt, but later
  torn down in 1644. A new Globe Theater stands
  today.

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The Globe
10

• Outside of the new Globe Theatre (opened
  in 1997)

11
Touring the Globe Theater

• Lets take a quick tour of Shakespeares theater.
• Virtual Tour

12
About the plays

• In Shakespeares time, all characters were played
  by male actorseven female roles.
• He wrote comedies, tragedies, and histories, and
  sometimes romance (types of plays)
• His plays should be read in the same fashion that
  you would read poetry but even more so, his swere
  meant to be watched

13
Shakespeares Plays

• A few of his 37 plays include
• Macbeth
• Hamlet
• Julius Caesar
• The Taming of the Shrew
• Othello
• A Midsummer Nights Dream

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Shakespeare in todays culture

• Song 1
• Song 2
• Song 3
• Song 4
• Movie Adaptations
• 1968
• 1998
• 2011

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Here are some of the most popular Shakespeare
phrases in common use today

• A laughing stock (The Merry Wives of Windsor)
• A sorry sight (Macbeth)
• As dead as a doornail (Henry VI)
• Eaten out of house and home (Henry V, Part 2)
• Fair play (The Tempest)
• I will wear my heart upon my sleeve (Othello)
• In a pickle (The Tempest)
• In stitches (Twelfth Night)

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Continued

• In the twinkling of an eye (The Merchant Of
  Venice)
• Mum's the word (Henry VI, Part 2)
• Neither here nor there (Othello)
• Send him packing (Henry IV)
• Set your teeth on edge (Henry IV)
• There's method in my madness (Hamlet)
• Too much of a good thing (As You Like It)
• Vanish into thin air (Othello)

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Five-Part Dramatic Structure
Act III Crisis or Turning Point
Act II Rising Action/ Complications
Act IV Falling Action
Act I Exposition/ Introduction
Act V Climactic Moment/ Resolution (denouement)
18
Elements of a Shakespearean Tragedy

• Supernatural
• Abnormal psychological states
• Use of coincidence or luck (usually bad)
• These elements lend the plays a Gothic atmosphere
  and a sense of Fate necessary to tragedy, but are
  not essential to the action

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Elements of a Shakespearean Tragic Hero

• High ranking his fate affects the destiny of his
  country, city, or family
• An extraordinary and admirable manusually good
  and noble, but even when evil, he has
  compensating traits, such as strength, courage,
  or ambition, in epic proportions.
• Hero has a basic flaw, bias, or fixation which,
  with the help of outside circumstances leads the
  hero to catastrophic calamity and death which
  contrasts sharply to the heros former happiness
  and glory.

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Elements of a Shakespearean Tragic Hero Continued

• Dual conflict generates the plays action
  external conflict between persons and groups, AND
  internal conflict of the hero.
• Good always triumphs in the end Even though the
  tragic hero has pulled his flawed world down on
  his head, there is another character there to
  restore order.

21
The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet

• Based on an Italian storymost famous love story
  of all time
• Two feuding familiesthe Montague family and the
  Capulet family.
• Two star-crossed lovers
• Set mainly in Verona, Italy some scenes are set
  in Mantua, Italy during the 14th century.

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The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet (cont.)

• Written between 1594-1596
• star-crossed-Elizabethans believed in
  astrology, believed that their lives were
  influenced by the star they were born under
  (look for references to the stars as we read)

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Motifs in Romeo and Juliet

• Motifrecurring pattern, object, idea, symbol,
  etc. in a text that helps develop a theme
• family / societal feud
• violence
• innocence / immaturity
• fate / destiny
• You will also be in charge of identifying more
  motifs.

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Themes of Romeo and Juliet

• Remember A theme statement is a one sentence
  message explaining the authors purpose in a text
• 1. Unresolved feuds lead to severe consequences
  and suffering.
• 2. Stubbornness and selfishness can trigger
  violence.
• 3. Innocence/immaturity leads to rash actions
  that cause irreversible problems.
• 4. Personal decisions alter ones fate or
  destiny.
• 5. Disorder and chaos lead to disaster.

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Language Some Archaic Words
Archaic Word Modern Meaning
a He
a On
an, and If
but If, only
hap, happy Luck or lucky
Jack Common fellow or ordinary man
Maid Young married girl
Marry! A mild swearing
nice Foolish, trivial
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Language Some Archaic Words
Archaic Word Modern Meaning
Owes Owns
Wot Know
Good morrow Good morning
Good day Afternoon greeting/parting
Good eve or eventide Good evening
God ye good den God grant
I bid you adieu Goodbye
By your leave With your permission
Shrift Confession
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Unit Objectives Reading Goals

• I CAN
• Explain and justify an interpretation of a text.
• Summarize and make generalizations from content
  and relate them to the purpose of the material.
• Use questions and predictions to guide reading.
• Recognize and analyze literary elements and drama
  terms in chosen passages.

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Unit Objectives Writing Goals

• I CAN
• Write an essay appropriate to purpose and
  audience, with clarity of focus, logical
  organization, appropriate explanation and
  support.
• Proofread for spelling, capitalization and
  punctuation (commas, semicolons, colons,
  apostrophes, quotation marks, etc.)
• Ensure that documents are MLA formatted.

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Unit Objectives Listening and Speaking

• I CAN
• Interpret and preform a scene from the play
• Act out a role with correct inflection and tone
• Verbally articulate my analytical thoughts