William Shakespeare

1
William Shakespeare

• Man of Mystery and Controversy

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The Dramatic Types

• Comedy
• Nobody dies
• History
• Historic British Kings
• Tragedy
• Death is certain
• Romance
• Possible Death
• Exotic locale

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Name the Type
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The Verse

• Iambic Pentameter The Meter, five iambic feet
• Blank Verse Unrhymed Iambic Pentameter
• Meter The beat or pulse
• Feet smallest unit within the meter a beat
• Iambic Foot Unstressed syllable followed by a
  stressed.

• Examples
• Go bid thy mistress, when my drink is ready.
• She strike upon the bell. Get thee to bed.

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Reading Tips

• Know the setting
• Take notes determine and question meaning.
• Read through line breaks. Stop at punctuation.
• Read aloud.
• Read footnotes.
• Dont let fancy words and old dialogue push you
  around. Battle it out!

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The Man

• 1564 1616
• Stratford Upon Avon
• Middle Class background
• Married Anne Hathaway
• Twins Judith,Hamnet
• 1585 1592 The Dark Years
• 1590s Emerged in London
• Prolific 38 plays in 25 years Sophocles, Homer

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The Theater

• 1576 The Theater built by Richard Burbage
• 1598 The Globe Theater constructed
• The Scene
• Rowdy, crowded, Noisy
• Religious opposition
• Building Design
• 3 Stories High
• 3000 people capacity
• Pit up front
• Open roof
• Heaven and Hell

• Queen Elizabeth
• Patron and fan
• Protestant
• Catholic opposition

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Much Ado About Nothing

• 1598 1600
• Thematically linked to Twelfth Night and As You
  Like It
• The Mask plays an integral role.
• Nothing Noting
• Misunderstandings

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(No Transcript)
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Important Works

• Titus Andronicus 1589
• First Play
• Classical References
• Violence and Brutality
• Romeo and Juliet
• Love theme
• Less violence
• Greater complexity
• The Romances
• 1608 1611 late in career
• Cymbeline, A Winters Tale

• The Tempest
• Final Play
• Great Mysticism
• Farewell to the stage

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Influences

• Greek Mythology
• Mystery Plays
• Religion
• Closeness to the audience
• Morality Plays
• Allegory Every Man
• Thomas Kyd
• The Spanish Tragedy
• Christopher Marlowe
• Dr. Faustus