Shakespeare

1
Shakespeare

• an Introduction

2
Dominant Renaissance World Views

• Christian Humanist
• History as moral
• Nature understood through Bible
• language metaphor
• growth toward essence, vertical concept of time
• identity more simple, ideal personality, the same
  with everyone

• Machiavellian
• History as natural cycle
• Nature understood by logic, reason
• language scientific
• change cyclical, horizontal concept of time
• identity plural, different in various situation,
  with different people

3
The Great Chain of Being

• derived from Ptolemaic view of earth at center
• orderly universe, everything has place and
  purpose
• the hierarchies used in metaphoric language
• king associated with sun, lion, head, air
• antagonist associated with moon, snake, feet,
  earth
• reality tied with moral truth, what ought to be
• mans place in the world determined by birth
• belief in the guiding hand of Providence

4
Characters often found in Shakespeare plays

• the Fair
• past as heroic myth
• ideal world
• world of heroic action
• advice giving and tradition
• innocence and idealism
• belief and trust
• ideal character
• remembered past

• the Foul
• present as corrupt society
• unweeded garden
• world of Machiavellian intrigue
• spying and conflict
• experience and cynicism
• suspicion and doubt
• malcontent, deceiver
• experienced present

5
Staging

• No set design -- actors must establish setting,
  time
• Few props -- actors must bring on throne, table,
  chair, then take them off stage again
• If a character dies, Shakespeare must find a way
  to get the body off the stage
• Shakespeare must invent reason for characters to
  exit the stage
• The stage is a fixed place, so certain areas can
  be associated with a character
• stage has trap door, two entrances, balcony area

6
Reading the plays

• No Act, scene divisions originally, editors added
• Use of 5 acts is an editors choice
• could see all plays in three acts
• Act 1 -- introduces issues, ends in instigating
  event
• Act 2-4 -- develops issues and characters
• includes midpoint pivotal event
• includes second turning point
• Act 5 -- climax, resolves conflicts
• No stage directions (ie enter Hamlet), dialogue
  used

7
Characters

• Primary
• dynamic, change
• complex, are revealed
• Protagonist
• Antagonist

• Secondary
• static, dont change
• simpler, stereotyped
• Reflective, reveal something about main characters

8
Plot structures

• Rise and Fall
• external / condition
• gaining/losing power
• internal / character
• become more aware
• become more complex
• less formal, fixed to role
• more analytical of self
• language less formal

• Main plot/subplot
• Main plot
• protagonist/antagonist
• court world/macrocosm
• major actions
• Subplot
• reflective characters, comment on main actions
• foiling with main characters
• private world/microcosm