Shakespeare

I. A Brief Biography II. The Globe Theater III. Themes, Motifs, and Symbols in Romeo and Juliet IV. Dramatic Terms

Shakespeare: A Brief Biography

Born in April 1564 at Stratford-on-Avon John Shakespeare (father)
tanner, glover, dealer in grain town official (alderman, and later mayor)

Mary (mother)
daughter of Robert Arden, a prosperous gentleman-farmer.

Shakespeare: A Brief Biography

Attended the Stratford Grammar School Did not go to Oxford or Cambridge

Shakespeare: A Brief Biography

Married Anne Hathaway in 1582 Three children born: Susanna, Judith, and Hamnet

Shakespeare: A Brief Biography

By 1590, he was an actor and playwright Leader of the Lord Chamberlains Men and the Kings Men died April 23, 1616

Shakespeare: A Brief Biography

He was buried in Stratford; the inscription on his tombstone reads. . .

Shakespeare: A Brief Biography

Good Friend, for Jesus sake, forbear To dig the dust enclosed here; Blest be the man that spares these stones And curst be he that moves my bones.

Shakespeare: A Brief Biography

Author of 37 plays and 154 sonnets Robert Greene, a critic, attacked Shakespeare, a mere actor, for writing plays. He acted before Queen Elizabeth in 1594. The exact year in which William Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet is unknown, but it is definitely one of his earlier works, and one of only two tragedies written in the period from 1590 to 1595

The Globe Theater

He wrote his plays to be performed in the Globe Theater. The only account we have of the Globe is from a diary of a Swiss doctor who visited London and crossed the Thames River to see a play in a theater with a thatched roof.

The Globe Theater

It was built in 1599 and burned down 14 years later in 1613. It was an 8 sided building with a central yard.

The Globe Theater

Spectators price of admissions was
one penny - to stand in yard around stage (these were called the groundlings) two pennies - to sit in 2nd and 3rd floor galleries three pennies - to sit in the first floor galleries

The Globe Theater

Stage
1/3 of yard was filled with 6ft high platform no curtain no artificial lighting back wall had at least two doors balcony was used for hilltops, walls of cities, or second story scenes. trapdoors were used to raise or lower actors and props.

The Globe Theater

Take a tour of the new Globe Theater. . . . Shakespeare's Globe Theatre

Shakespearian Drama
Tragedy: A drama that ends in catastrophemost often deathfor the main character and often for several other important characters as well Tragic Hero: The main character, someone who is nobly born and has great influence in his or her society. This character has weakness or errors in judgment (Tragic Flaws) that lead to his or her downfall. Fate may play a role in the course that events take.

Shakespearian Drama
Comic Relief: A humorous scene, incident, or speech that relieves the overall emotional intensity in the play. Comic relief helps the audience absorb the tragic events in the plot of a play.

Shakespearian Drama
Allusion: A brief reference, within a work, to something outside the work that the reader or audience is expected to know. Many of Shakespeares allusions are to mythology or the Bible.

Shakespearian Drama
Foil: A character whose personality or attitudes are in sharp contrast to those of another character in the same work. This highlights the other characters traits

Shakespearian Drama
Soliloquy and Aside: A Soliloquy is a speech made by an actor alone on stage to let the audience know what is on that characters mind. An Aside is a characters remark to the audience or to another character that others on stage arent supposed to hear. The purpose of an aside is to reveal that characters thoughts.

Shakespearian Drama
Blank Verse: Unrhymed lines of iambic pentameter. Shakespeare wrote all of his plays in blank verse.

Shakespearian Drama
Example of Blank Verse
~ / ~ / ~ / ~ / ~ / But soft.|What light| through yon|der win|dow breaks? ~ / ~ / ~ / ~~ / ~ / It is| the east|, and Jul|iet is |the sun!