Shakespearean Drama

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Shakespearean Drama

• The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet

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Shakespearean Drama

• Refers to the 37 plays written by English poet
  and playwright William Shakespeare.
  Characteristics include
• Soliloquy a speech that a character gives while,
  or as if, alone on stage.
• Aside a characters remark, to the audience or
  another character, that others on stage are not
  supposed to hear.
• Soliloquies and asides reveal a characters
  private thoughts and feelings.

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Shakespearean Drama

• Review
• An allusion is a brief reference within a work to
  something outside the work that the reader or
  audience is expected to know.
• Shakespearean drama contains allusions to
  historic and current events, Greek and Roman
  mythology, and the Bible.

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Shakespearean Drama

• Characters in Shakespearean drama can be
  categorized not only as major and minor but also
  according to these types
• REVIEW
• Protagonist central character or hero.
• Antagonist character who opposes the
  protagonist. Might also be a force of nature or
  set of circumstances the protagonist faces.
• NEW
• Foil a character whose personality or attitudes
  are in sharp contrast to those of another
  character in the same work.
• Comic relief inclusion of humorous character,
  scene, or dialogue to lighten the atmosphere a
  bit.

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Shakespearean Drama

• Line citation When you cite lines from Romeo and
  Juliet, you cite the act, scene, and line(s) in
  that order, using numerals.
• Consider this example, using the version of the
  play in our textbook
• O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?
  (2.2.33).
• Thats Act 2, Scene 2, line 33.

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Romeo and Juliet

• Act 1 Introduction
• Under the summer sun in Verona, Italy, two
  families battle in the streets. The grudge is
  older than most people who are doing the
  fighting.
• Most characters are tied in some way to these two
  families the Capulets (Juliet) and Montagues
  (Romeo).
• The Prince of Verona, Prince Escalus, tries to
  keep the peace between these bitter enemies.
• One odd character is the Chorus a group of
  people that speak as one. The Chorus is like an
  actor who helps the audience understand what will
  happen in the play.

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Romeo and Juliet

• Important things to note
• Shakespeare mixes dreamy images of love with
  language that is much more sexual, which often
  includes off-color humor and puns. Pay attention
  to the Nurse (Juliets nanny).
• Shakespeares audience understood that marriage
  did not always need love. It is acceptable to
  marry to increase or protect wealth and status.
  It is not so acceptable to marry only for love.
  Rich parents from two different families often
  set up marriages between their children.

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Romeo and Juliet

• In Act 1, Scene 1, Romeos conversation with
  Benvolio is littered with oxymorons.
• An oxymoron is a figure of speech in which
  contradictory terms appear side by side.
• O loving hate! O heavy lightness! Serious
  vanity! Feather of lead! Bright smoke! Cold
  fire! Sick health! (1.1.169-173).
• What might these contradictory expressions
  indicate about Romeos feelings about love?

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Romeo and Juliet

• Act 2 Considerations
• Head over heels in anger or in love that
  describes the mood of the young characters in the
  play. Their love is very strong or disappears in
  an instant.
• Whats in a name?
• Romeo romantic
• Mercutio mercurial or changing temperament.
• Can it last?
• Romeo and Juliet create a private, intense,
  separate world of romantic joy. Unfortunately,
  the outside world intrudes.
• Friar Laurence, Mercutio, and the Nurse try to
  act as friends, but they dont always know whats
  at stake Their advice is iffy.
• Mercutio is a funny guy
• Calls the nurse a bawd, implying shes a
  lustful woman.
• Bawd also meant someone who has arranged sexual
  encounters for others.