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.The epic poem.

➔ The word comes from the Greek nous epos (oral exposition);
➔ Iliad and Odyssey are the two major epic poems written by the Greek poet Homer;
➔ Aeneid written by Virgil;
➔ Beowulf written by an anonymous;
➔ The epic poem is a long narrative poetical composition;
➔ Typical elements:
▪ it deals with the recollection of a glorious;
▪ brave deeds of heroes;
▪ supernatural elements;
▪ the society described is aristocratic and military;
▪ vivid and rich language;
▪ the style is elevated
▪ pictorial flashes;
➔ Type-scenes:
▪ the banquet;
▪ the battle;
▪ the voyage;
▪ the funeral;
➔ The main theme is the nature of heroic life;
➔ Celebration of heroic values (all man should perform action which lead of glory);
➔ Structure:
▪ each line is divided into two halves by a break;
▪ four stresses;
▪ alliteration links the two halves of the lines.

.The medieval ballad.

➔ Dramatic story with no moral aim;
➔ Series of rapid flashes;
➔ Very simple language;
➔ Mixture of dialogue and narration;
➔ The narrator does not speak in the first person;
➔ Structure:
▪ four-line stanzas
▪ rhyme scheme (ABCB);
➔ The frequent use of repetition and refrain;
➔ No real description of the characters;
➔ There are supernatural creature (fairies, witches, ghost);
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➔ Type of ballads:
▪ ballads of magic (about fairies, ghost, witchcraft and transformation,
power);
▪ border ballads (about the rivalry between the English and the Scottish
people);
▪ ballad of love and domestic tragedy;
▪ ballads of outlaws (with the cycle of Robin Hood):

.The medieval narrative poem.

➔ A narrative poem tells a story in verse;
➔ Contains narrative elements:
▪ the setting in time and place;
▪ the description of characters;
▪ the narrator (in the first person);
➔ The greatest example of narrative poem in medieval literature is Goeffrey Chaucer
(The Canterbury Tales ).

.Beowulf: a national epic.

➔ DATE:
▪ written in old English;
▪ is the oldest surviving epic poem;
▪ originally untitled;
▪ the title referred to the Scandinavian hero’s name;
▪ despite historical elements;
▪ the hero and the story are fiction;
▪ was probably composed as an elegy for a king (who died in the seventh
century);
▪ written down in the eleventh century;
➔ SETTINGS:
▪ warriors fight one another;
▪ the first action took place in Denmark (king Hrothgar);
▪ Beowulf defeat the monster in Hearot;
▪ Beowulf fought against the monster’s mother into a misty lake;
▪ the last part of the poem took place in the land of the Geats in Sweden;
➔ PLOT:
▪ the poem is divided into three parts with the same hero;
▪ King Hrothgar of Denmark built a hall, where his men could gather;
▪ a terrible monster, Grendel, frightened them every night;
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▪ Beowulf went to Denmark;

▪ he fighting and killing the monster;
▪ but Grendal’s mother searched for a revenge;
▪ she was killed by Beowulf;
▪ Beowulf want back to Scandinavia;
▪ he became king of Greats and ruled for fifty years;
▪ Beowuld killed a fire-breathing dragon;
▪ but was mortally wounded;
▪ his warriors burnt hi body and buried him in a barrow overlooking the sea;
➔ THEMES:
▪ description of the warrior society;
▪ relationship between the king and his men is based on loyalty;
▪ they defend the interests of their king for materiaò provisions (gold,
weapons, silver, food and drink);
▪ fate and destiny ruled the world;
▪ battle between good and evil;
➔ THE LANGUAGE OF EPIC STYLE:
▪ Beowulf contains the typical elements of the epic style:
➢ repetition;
➢ the language is elevated;
➢ there are long lists of leaders;
there are mythical and religious elements;
➢ lots of alliteration;
➔ BEOWULF AND GRENDEL: THE FIGHT (T2):
▪ Grendel bursts into Hearot for gis nightly kill;
▪ the monster's arrival at Hearot creates a great sense of dramatic tension;
▪ while he is devouring the first soldier;
▪ next the monster reaches for Beowulf;
▪ the hero seizes the monster’s wicked claw and holds on to it;
▪ at first Grendel is confused to find his arm gripped with such great
strength;
▪ Grendel tries to escape;
▪ Beowulf keeps on struggling against him;
▪ Beowulf’s men heroically try to join the struggle:
▪ the weapon on earth is capable of harming Grendel;
▪ Beowulf summons even greater strength;
▪ succeeds in fatally wounding Grendel;
➔ BEOWULF’S FUNERAL (T3):
▪ the Geats people built a pyre for Beowulf;
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▪ it was four square metres;

▪ in the pyre there were helmets, heavy war-shields and armour;
▪ Beowulf was laid in the middle of the pyre;
▪ the warriors kindled the biggest of all funeral fires;
▪ they were disconsolate and sad;
▪ then the Geat people built a mound (tumulo) on a headland (promontorio),
height and imposing;
▪ it was their hero’s memorial;
▪ in hero’s memorial they buried torques (collane), jewels and trove
(tesoro-treasure);
▪ the warriors were distraught (distrutti dal dolore) chanting in dirges (xanti
funebri);
▪ Main features of the epic poem in the text:
➢ long narrative poetical composition;
➢ type-scene → funeral;
➢ elevated styles;
➢ vivid language;
➢ military and aristocracy society;
➢ kenning → hot bone-house (calda casa delle ossa → il corpo morto
di Beowulf);
➢ run-on-line (enjambment);
➢ caesura;
➢ long list.

.Lord Randal.
➔ It is a ballad of love and domestic tragedy;
➔ This ballad is a dialogue between Lord Randal and his mother;
➔ He has been hunting in the forest;
➔ Here he met his “true-love”;
➔ She gave him poisoned food;
➔ The young man is dying;
➔ The last four stanzas contain Lord Randal’s oral testament:
▪ his mother will inherit her son’s cows;
▪ his sister is going to inherit silver and gold (as a dowry for her future
marriage);
▪ his brother will receive his land;
▪ his “true-love” hell and fire (metaphor);
➔ Structure:
▪ the first line of each stanza is always a question;
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▪ which is repeat in the second line;

▪ the third line is the answer;
▪ the four line is the refrain;
▪ in the sixth stanza there is a climax (the realisation that the young man has
been poisoned);
▪ in the last stanza there is another climax (Lord Randal’s curse against his
“true-love”).

.Goeffrey Chaucer.
➔ Chaucer was born about 1343;
➔ His father was a rich wine merchant;
➔ He followed Edward III's son to war in French;
➔ Chauser grew up in close contact with the royal family;
➔ He travelled between England and France;
➔ During his journeys took him to Italy;
➔ He became interested in Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio;
➔ He became a Member of Parliament for Kent;
➔ The year 1386 was quite a difficult;
➔ In this period he began to work on his masterpiece ( The Canterbury Tales );
➔ He was the first poet to be buried in what is known as Poets’ Corner in Westminster
Abbey;
➔ THE FATHER OF ENGLISH LITERATURE:
▪ Chauser is regarded as the father of English literature;
▪ he was the first major secular poet;
▪ he is one of the English poets to be known by name;
▪ his language, the dialect of his native London became the basis of Modern
English;
▪ in The Canterbury Tales he was able to give a portrait of English society of
his time;
▪ Chauser’s work are divided into three periods:
➢ the French period (it includes poems modelled on French romance
styles);
➢ the Italian period (skill in the manipulation of the metres);
➢ the English period (it includes Chauser’s most famous work, The
Canterbury Tales ).
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.The Canterbury Tales.

➔ PLOT:
▪ it is set in spring;
▪ it tells the story of thirty people:
➢ men;
➢ women;
➢ monks and other members of the clergy;
➢ artisans;
➢ merchants;
➢ narrator;
➢ Chaucer;
▪ they are going on a pilgrimage;
▪ they are travelling to Canterbury in Kent to the shrine of Thomas Becket;
▪ they meet at the Tabard Inn in London;
▪ every pilgrim should tell two stories while going to Canterbury, and two
coming back;
▪ the best story win a prize;
▪ if someone doesn’t want to tell the story they will receive a penalty;
▪ all the pilgrims agree;
➔ STRUCTURE AND STYLE:
▪ The Canterbury Tales is a long narrative poem;
▪ rhyming couplets made up of iambic pentameter;
▪ ten-syllable lines altering unstressed and stressed syllables;
▪ general prologue for every pilgrims;
▪ in this introduces the theme of the tale;
▪ Chaucer describes the pilgrims with irony;
▪ he created a sort of interplay between real and unreal;
▪ the tales often have realistic elements;
➔ SETTING:
▪ the pilgrimage provides a dynamic frame;
▪ there is no logical order of events;
▪ the point of departure is London → is very human and linked to worldly
pleasure;
▪ the destination is Canterbury → is holy, is the symbol of the celestial city;
▪ the journey of the pilgrims becomes an allegory of the course of human life;
▪ the work is unfinished;
➔ CHARACTERS:
▪ Chaucer wanted to give a portrait of English society:
➢ feudal society;
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➢ members of the clergy;

➢ middle classes;
▪ he did not portray the aristocracy or peasants;
▪ the nobleman wouldn’t have travelled with commoners;
▪ lower-class people couldn't afford the expense of such a trip;
▪ Chaucer have the new importance to women;
▪ the new factor in The Canterbury Tales is individualisation → the character
exists because he/she has reactions and is the moviment;
▪ descriptions of the pilgrims:
➢ what they wear;
➢ what he/ does or things;
➢ Chaucer described tools, clothes and personal qualities;
▪ the names given to the pilgrims refer to their profession and suggest a
society;
➔ THEMES:
▪ the main theme is that of the journey;
▪ the pilgrimage is set in the calendar of seasons;
▪ springtime is defined in terms of rebirth;
➔ THE PRIORESS (T7):
▪ she is part of the high clergy;
▪ Chaucer describes the Prioress as a charming and elegant lady;
▪ she is named Englantyne;
▪ description:
➢ broad forehead;
➢ perfect nose;
➢ blue-grey eyes;
➢ small mouth;
➢ her smile is shy and simple;
▪ interests:
➢ she knows the French;;
➢ she can sing;
➢ she eats in a clear way;
▪ her sentiments:
➢ she is fond of animals;
➢ feeds her dogs with roasted meat;
▪ she should strictly follow the rules of simplicity and poverty;
▪ what she wears:
➢ Jewellery → red-coral rosary;
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➢ elegant gold brooch with the motto Amor vincit omnia (love conquers
all);
➢ her cloak;
➢ her veil;
➔ THE WIFE OF BATH (T9):
▪ physical appearance:
➢ deaf;
➢ gab-teeth;
➢ large hips;
➢ bold;
➢ handsome face;
▪ business and social skills:
➢ make cloth;
➢ good and laugh with other person;
▪ personality:
➢ societable;
▪ the clothes she wears on sunday:
➢ soft new shoes;
➢ scarlet red hose (calze);
➢ gartered;
▪ she had five husband;
▪ places she has been:
➢ Jerusalem;
➢ Rome;
➢ Boulogne;
➢ St James of Compostella;
➢ Cologne;
▪ the clothes she wears on pilgrimage:
➢ mantle;
➢ hat;
➢ wimplo;
➢ heels (tacchi).

.Elizabethan drama.
➔ ORIGINS:
▪ mediaeval religious celebration (commemorate great Christian events);
▪ the performances took place in the nave of churches;
▪ Latin was replaced by English;
▪ the laity replace the priests and monks in these performances;
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➔ REASONS FOR DEVELOPMENT:

▪ drama became the main form of Elizabethan art;
▪ characterised the common life;
▪ public performances were illegal in the City of London;
▪ Theatres were built on the South Bank;
➔ THE STRUCTURE OF ELIZABETHAN THEATRES:
▪ James Baurbage built the first permanent theatre;
▪ theatres were circular or octagonal;
▪ three tiers of roofed galleries;
▪ pit → where the poorer spectators (groundlings) sit;
▪ apron stage (prosenio);
▪ shadow (tetto in paglia), which covered the actors from the rain;
▪ trap door (used for apparitions and disappearances);
▪ tiring house → where the actors changed their costumes;
▪ two door for entrances and exits;
▪ inner stage (palcoscenico interno), concealed by a curtain;
▪ there is not a curtain;
▪ balcony → used by musicians;
➔ ELIZABETHAN AND MODERN THEATRES:
▪ in the modern theatres there is the curtain;
▪ the performances took place at 2 pm → there isn’t light electricity;
▪ there was no scenery;
▪ the props were limited;
▪ the action was continuous;
▪ the female part were acted by boys;
➔ SOURCES:
▪ the Elizabethan drama was heavily influenced by popular sources:
➢ allegorical types;
➢ vivid caricatures;
➢ realistic comedy;
➢ the idea of man’s place within an ordered universe;
➢ the changeability of fortune and stars;
▪ the Italian Commedia dell’arte:
➢ Niccolò Machiavelli:
○ exhibition of horror;
○ unnatural crimes;
○ vice and corruption;
○ intrigues;
○ lies;
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○ villains;
▪ Greek tragedies;
▪ Seneca:
➢ division of the opera into five acts;
➢ tragic and bloody episodes;
➢ taste for revenge;
➢ creation of a good rhetoric from conflicting emotions and passions;

.The sonnet.
➔ THE GOLDEN AGE OF POETRY:
▪ the Renaissance is considered the “golden age” of poetry;
▪ the sonnet came from Italy;
▪ its invention is attributed to Iacopo de Lentini in the first half of the
thirteenth century;
▪ the Italian poet Petrarch (Canzoniere) became the model for all the
European Renaissance poets;
➔ PETRARCHAN SONNET:
▪ fourteen-line poem;
▪ iambic pentameter;
▪ fixed rhyme scheme;
▪ an octave rhyming ABBA ABBA;
▪ a sestet rhyming CDE CDE or CDC CDC;
▪ the octave present a situation;
▪ the sestet contains the solution or personal reflections;
▪ turning point at the end of he eighth line;
▪ the ninth line is introduced by:
➢ and;
➢ if;
➢ so;
➢ but;
➢ yet;
➔ SHAKESPEAREAN SONNET:
▪ the sonnet is divided into three quatrains and a couplet;
▪ it rhymes ABAB CDCD EFEF GG;
▪ the quatrains present a theme or three different arguments;
▪ the final couplet draw a conclusion;
➔ THEMES AND LANGUAGE:
▪ the traditional theme of the sonnet is love and desire for a lady;
▪ the lady is the embodiment of physical and moral perfection;
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▪ the lady causes madness and despair in the poet;

▪ the love is expressed by oxymoron (figure of speech that combines two
contradictory terms → light and dark, life and death);
▪ the lady is beautiful but she is cruel, because she doesn’t love the poet;
▪ Sheakspeare introduced other themes:
➢ beauty;
➢ decay;
➢ art;

.William Shakespeare.
➔ He was born on April 23 in 1564;
➔ His father was a yeoman → he had financial problems;
➔ He was the eldest son;
➔ He studied at the local grammar school (where he learned about classical authors
and he English language);
➔ He married Anna Halthaway;
➔ He had 3 children (Susanna and two other twins);
➔ He leaves Stratford → because he is caught while hunting deer and that it was
forbidden and goes to London;
➔ He entres a company and establishes himself as an excellent writer;
➔ In 1593 the London theatres were closed;
➔ When the theatres reopened he becomes the main writer of his London company
“Lord Chamberlain’s men”;
➔ In 1599 they built a theatre where his performances are implemented;
➔ He wrote historical drama between 1590 and 1596;
➔ Between 1595 and 1605 he wrote important tragedies;
➔ In 1616 he died.
➔ SONNETS:
▪ The shakespearean sonnets:
➢ Shakespeare’s sonnets were published in 1609;
➢ in 1590 they were probably written;
➢ the collection includes 154 sonnets in decasyllables;
➢ Shakespeare didn't use the Petrarchan form → he used three
quatrains and a couplet;
▪ The fair youth, the dark lady and time:
➢ his sonnets were not chronological;
➢ they had no title;
➢ they could be divided into two sections:
● “the fair youth”:
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➤ Dedicated to the young patron;

➤ It was organised from sonnet 1 to sonnet 18;
➤ It was dedicated to the theme “increase”;
➤ From sonnet 19 to sonnet 126 the poet is concerned
about the destructive power of time;
➤ from sonnet 78 to sonnet 86 it focuses on the “rival
poet”;
● “dark lady:
➤ from sonnet 127 to the end;
➤ she is physically unattractive;
➤ the poet finds her irresistibly desirable;
▪ Themes:
➢ in Shakespeare’s sonnets there is also a reversal of the traditional
themes of love sonnets;
➢ Shakespeare introduces now themes:
● death;
● time;
● love;
● beauty;
● art;
▪ Style:
➢ has reich and descriptive language;
➢ the dialogues are immediate;
➢ it has a dramatic character → which can be seen form the use of the
pronoun “thou” and “thee” (colloquial style);
➔ SHALL I COMPARE THEE:
▪ Structure:
➢ Three quatrains and a final couplet;
➢ the rhyme scheme is ABAB CDCD EFEF GG;
▪ The main themes:
➢ love;
➢ eternal love through the sonnet;
▪ Analysis:
➢ the “fair youth” is a close friend of Shakespeare;
➢ comparisons between the “fair youth” and a summer’s day;
➢ the summer and the time will finish very soon;
➢ the beauty and love are eternal and endless → because they can be
still alive through the power of his verses;
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➢ The aim of this sonnet is to point out (mettere in risalto) the

importance of a sonnet where everything can live through its words;
➢ Figures of speech → simile (in line 5 “the eye of heaven” which refers
to the sun);
➢ the term “fair” refers to “beauty” → it also means “clear” and
“light”;
➢ the sun in line 6 is personified “his gold complexion” (the sun is
considered a human being);
➢ Sonnet structure:
● line 1 → a question;
● line 2 → the anwer;
● line 3-8 → the justification to the anwer;
● line 9-12 → a promise;
● line 13-14 → the result of the promise;
➢ summer is imperfect to the poet’s eyes because it flies away quickly;
➢ dramatic quality → with the expressions “thou” and “thee” the poet
addresses him directly and seems to find himself in a theatre (drama
→ teatro);
➔ MY MISTRESS’ EYES:
▪ the lady’s eyes are nothing like the sun;
▪ her lips are not as red as coral;
▪ her breasts are not as white as snow;
▪ her hair is like wires;
▪ her cheeks are nothing like roses;
▪ her breath is not like perfumes;
▪ her voice is not like music;
▪ she doesn't move like a goddess;
▪ the comparison in line 1-10 is not conventional because he describes his
woman's beauty as less pleasing than nature because he wants to show us
the real and objective beauty of her;
➔ SHAKESPEARE THE DRAMATIST:
▪ Dating the plays:
➢ only half of Shakespeare’s writing are printed when he is alive, others
are printed afterwards and for this there are different versions;
➢ to date them they combine 3 different types of evidence:
● external:
➤ the most valuable type of evidence;
➤ Crear mantion reference to a particular play;
● internal:
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➤ the game itself includes a reference to an identifiable

event;
● stylistic:
➤ it’s the most difficult;
▪ Evolving scenes:
➢ the development of Shakespeare’s work is linked to the gradual
clarification of things since they are initially mysterious and then
they slowly clear up;
➢ themes are hidden;
➢ during development, options about performance are created;
➢ there is a frequent contrast between:
● scene with few characters in scene with many characters;
● public scenes and private scenes;
● scenes with a lot of action and reflection scenes;
➢ the larger scenes are preceded and followed by smaller scenes which
serve to give information on what will happen;
➢ in the end the poet leaves open questions to keep the public
reflecting;
▪ Structure:
➢ Shakespeare does not follow the pattern, time, place and action;
➢ the structure is flexible;
➢ does not give importance to the division into act;
➢ there is no curtain → so when a scene ends the actors come off the
stage;
➢ there are soliloquies (public reflections);
➢ little dialogues;
➢ there is a prologue at the beginning introduced by the choir, and it is
introductory;
▪ Stage directions:
➢ most directives were given by publishers;
➢ the text gave information on the atmosphere → on how the actors
had to enter or exit, or the scene;
➢ the directives or descriptions were hidden or inside questions or
metaphors;
➢ Shakespeare asked for an active participation of the public;

▪ Characters:
➢ they do not belong to a single social class but there is a hierarchy;
➢ gives a lot of importance to family ties which are often in conflict;
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➢ there are correspondences, for example so if there are two brother

there will be two sisters;
▪ Variety of style:
➢ he uses different language → according to the character;
➢ the language often changes;
▪ Imagery:
➢ Shakespeare’s language is characterised by many rhetorical figures
(similes, metaphors etc.);
➢ there are characteristic motifs of the image;
➢ he uses empty lines → when words are missing he invents them
(variety in the structure of the line).

.Romeo and Juliet.

➔ PLOT:
▪ First act:
➢ it opens in a Verona street;
➢ Romeo goes to a Capulets party in disguise;
➢ Romeo meets Juliet;
➢ they fall in love at first sight;
➢ they discover that their families are professed enemies;
▪ Second act:
➢ Romeo overhears Juliet express her love for him;
➢ they declare their love;
➢ their desire to be married;
➢ secret wedding of the two lovers → Friar Laurence;
▪ Third act:
➢ Mercutio (Romeo’s friend) is killed by Tybalt (Juliet’s cousin),
➢ Romeo kills Tybalt;
➢ he is banished from Verona to Mantua;
➢ Romeo and Juliet’s wedding night (ends of the act);
▪ Fourth act:
➢ Juliet refuses to marry Count Paris;
➢ Juliet takes a drug that makes her look dead → it given to her by
Friar Laurence;
➢ the friar send a messenger to Mantua;
➢ Romeo hears that Juliet is dead;
➢ he decides to return to Verona;
▪ Fifth act:
➢ Romeo arrives at Juliet’s tomb;
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➢ he takes some poison → dying as he kisses her lips;

➢ Juliet wakes from the trance;
➢ seeing Romeo dead beside her;
➢ she stabs herself with his dagger;
➔ SETTING:
▪ Italian city of Verona → Italians were popularly considered violent and
passionate;
▪ social context → struggles (lotte) between two families (the Capulets and
the Montagues);
▪ most of the action happens out-to-doors;
➔ CHARACTERS:
▪ Romeo Montague:
➢ in the first act he is presented as a man belonging to the “courtly
love convention”;
➢ he uses the image of light typical of this kind of love;
➢ he compares Juliet to the brilliant light of the torches;
➢ loyalty and love for Juliet → he commits suicide rather than live
without Juliet;
▪ Juliet Capulets:
➢ beautiful;
➢ rebellious;
➢ kind;
➢ loving;
➢ at the beginning she appears as an obedient child;
➢ her first meeting with Romeo causes her to move toward maturity;
➢ She shows:
● determination;
● strength;
● desire for Romeo;
➢ she is a real woman;
➢ she compares her love to light;
➢ Juliet’s suicide needs more determination → Romeo uses the poison,
she kills herself with a dagger;
➔ THEMES:
▪ The power of love:
➢ Romeo and Juliet’s love is so powerful;
▪ Passion and violence:
➢ the same passion leads from violance → from Tybalt’s death to the
lovers’ suicides;
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➢ the two families hate is as strong as the two lovers’ love;

▪ Individual against society:
➢ conflicts between the two lovers want and what their families and
society want;
➢ Romeo can’t just change his name;
➢ the final horrible tragedy which gets them to change;
▪ The power of fate:
➢ the chorus state that Romeo and Juliet are “star-cross’d love” →
their love will end tragically;
➔ STYLE:
▪ his rhythms are regular;
▪ rhymes are common;
▪ imagery is all about oximora (life-death, love-hate, dark-light);
➔ THE PROLOGUE:
▪ the text introduced:
➢ the setting of the play → Verona;
➢ two rival families → the Montagues and the Capulets;
➢ the doomed love of two young people;
➢ the deaths of the two young lovers necessary to stop the fighting
between their families;
➢ the length of the play → two hours;
▪ word and phrases linked to the epilogue of the play:
➢ a pair of star-cross’d lovers (lovers destined to an unhappy end)
take their life (line 6);
➢ doth with their death (line 8);
➢ death-mark’d love (line 9);
➢ Their children’s end (line 11);
➔ THE BALCONY SCENE:
▪ the two lovers declare their love;
▪ Romeo says his name to tell her that he will never be Romeo from that time
on;
▪ the theme of Juliet’s monologue:
➢ problem of Romeo’s name;
➢ he belongs to her rival family → the Monatgues;
➢ if Romeo had had another name, he would have been easier;
➢ if Romeo had changed his name, he would always have been Romeo;
➔ WITH A KISS I DIE:
▪ this scene is set at night → in a graveyard with the Capulets’ vault in the
background;
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▪ the effect of Juliet’s potions is beginning to disappear;

▪ Romeo plans:
➢ open Juliet’s vault;
➢ see his wife’s face;
➢ take a ring from her finger;
▪ while Romeo was opening the vault, Count Paris comes;
▪ Romeo kills Paris;
▪ Romeo drinks the poison and dies → because he couldn’t live without Juliet;
▪ Juliet wakes up;
▪ Juliet finds an empty cup of poison in Romeo’s hands;
▪ she sees Romeo dead;
▪ she tries to take some poison from Romeo’s lips;
▪ she takes the Romeo’s dagger;
▪ she stabs and she dies;
▪ figures of speech:
➢ metaphors:
● the doors of breath (line 14) → le pareti del respiro (lips →
bocca);
● world-wearied flesh (line 12) → questa carne stanca del
mondo (body → corpo);
➢ personifications:
● Death (line 15) → considered a person;
● friendly drop;
● happy dagger;
▪ dominant theme in the Romeo’s soliloquy:
➢ love and death;

.Hamlet.
➔ PLOT:
▪ Fist act:
➢ Hamlet’s father has been dead for only two months;
➢ his mother, Queen Gertrude, has married her brother-in-law
(cognato), Claudius;
➢ a ghost (Hamlet’s father) has appeared to sentries at the castle of
Elsinore;
➢ Hamlet and his friend Horatio meet the ghost;
➢ the ghost tells them he was murdered by Claudius;
➢ Claudius poured poison in his ear while he was sleeping;
▪ Second act:
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➢ Hamets pretends to be crazy;

➢ Polonius (king’s counsellor) thinks Hamlet’s madness is caused by his
love for his daughter Ophelia;
➢ Hamlet organised a show similar to the ghost’s tale;
➢ Claudies sees it and he goes away;
▪ Third act:
➢ Hamlet goes to his mother's bedroom;
➢ during an argument with her, he kills Polonius → he is hiding the
conversation;
➢ Hamlet has been sent to England by the king;
▪ Fourth act:
➢ Laertes (Ophelia’s brother) wants revenge for his father’s murder;
▪ Fifth act:
➢ the king prepares a poisonous drink for Hamlet;
➢ He puts poison on the tip of Laertes’s sword too;
➢ Hamlet refuses to drink the wine;
➢ his mother then drinks instead;
➢ Laertes wounds Hamlet with the poisoned tip of his sword;
➢ Hamlet takes the poison sword and wounds Laertes;
➢ the queen dies;
➢ Laertes dies;
➢ Hamlet stabs the king;
➢ the king dies;
➢ Hamlet asks Horatio to tell his story;
➢ recommending that Fortinbras (Prince of Norway) be elected King of
Denmark;
➢ than he too dies;
➔ SETTING:
▪ the story of Hamlet is set in the late Middle Ages;
▪ around the royal castle in Elsinore → Denmark;
▪ Denmark was a Protestant country;
▪ Hamlet studies where Martin Luuther started the Protestant Reformation;
▪ he is sceptical of the ghost;
▪ they didn’t believe in the purgatory;
▪ the subplot deals with a possible war against Norway;
➔ THE CHARACTER OF HAMLET:
▪ Hamlet is the most talkative of all Shakespeare’s characters;
▪ Hamlet’s language is ambiguity;
▪ everything he says is conveyed through:
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➢ metaphor;
➢ simile;
➢ wordplay;
▪ his words have a hidden meaning;
▪ the shock Hamlet receives on the death of his father and re-marriage of his
mother is the cause of his melancholy;
➔ THEMES:
▪ Hamlet could be read simply as a revenge tragedy;
▪ Shakespeare develops a series of themes that are central to humanity:
➢ the families relationships;
➢ Love relationship;
➢ madness;
➢ youth and age;
➢ action and inaction;
➢ the corruption linked to power;
➢ the existence of God and life after death;
➢ the meaning of the theatre itself;
▪ Hamlet is a play of life and death;
▪ another important theme is “honour” and honourable action;
➔ STRUCTURE:
▪ in the third act there is a play-within-the-play;