Shakespeare overview

1. William Shakespeare
Widely regarded as the
greatest writer in English
Literature

2. Shakespeare
• 1563-1616
• Stratford-on-Avon, England
• wrote 37 plays
• about 154 sonnets
• started out as an actor

3. Stage Celebrity
• Actor for Lord Chamberlain’s
Men (London theater co.)
• Also > principal playwright for
them
• 1599> Lord Ch. Co. built Globe
Theater where most of Sh. Play’s
were performed

4. Shakespeare wrote:
• Comedies
• Histories
• Tragedies

5. Romeo and Juliet
• Written about 1595
• Considered a tragedy
• West Side Story (Movie)
based on R&J

6. The Theater
• Plays produced for the general
public
• Roofless>open air
• No artificial lighting
• Courtyard surrounded by 3 levels
of galleries

7. Spectators
• Wealthy got benches
• “Groundlings”>poorer people
stood and watched from the
courtyard (“pit”)
• All but wealthy were
uneducated/illiterate
• Much more interaction than today

8. Staging Areas
• Stage>platform that extended into
the pit
• Dressing & storage rooms in
galleries behind & above stage
• second-level gallery> upper stage>
famous balcony scene in R & J
• Trap door>ghosts
• “Heavens”> angelic beings

9. Differences
• No scenery
• Settings > references in
dialogue
• Elaborate costumes
• Plenty of props
• Fast-paced, colorful>2 hours!

10. Actors
• Only men and boys
• Young boys whose voices had not
changed play women’s roles
• Would have been considered
indecent for a woman to appear
on stage

11. Elizabethan (QE1) Words
• An,and: If
• Anon: Soon
• Aye: Yes
• But: Except for
• E’en: Even
• E’er: Ever

12. QE1 Words (contin.)
• Haply: Perhaps
• Happy: Fortunate
• Hence: Away, from her
• Hie: Hurry
• Marry: Indeed

13. QE1 Words (contin.)
• Whence: Where
• Wilt: Will, will you
• Withal: In addition to
• Would: Wish

14. Blank Verse
• Much of R & J is written in it:
– unrhymed verse
– iambic (unstressed, stressed)
– pentameter( 5 “feet” to a line)
• ends up to be 10 syllable lines

15. Prose
• Ordinary writing that is not
poetry, drama, or song
– Only characters in the lower
social classes speak this way in
Shakespeare’s plays
– Why do you suppose that is?

16. Plot
•The sequence of
events in a
literary work

17. Exposition
• The plot usually begins with
this:
–introduces>>>>
• setting
• characters
• basic situation

18. Inciting Moment
• Often called “initial incident”
– the first bit of action that occurs
which begins the plot
– Romeo and Juliet “lock eyes” at
the party

19. Conflict
• The struggle that develops
–man vs. man
–man vs. himself
–man vs. society
–man vs. nature

20. Crisis
• The point where the
protagonist’s situation will
either get better or worse
–protagonist>good guy
–antagonist>bad guy

21. Climax
• The turning point of the
story>everything begins
to unravel from here
–Thus begins the falling
action

22. Resolution
•The end of the
central conflict

23. Denouement
• The final explanation or
outcome of the plot
–If this is included in
literature, it will occur after
the resolution.

24. Tragedy (Shakespearean)
• Drama where the central character/s
suffer disaster/great misfortune
– In many tragedies, downfall results
from>
• Fate
• Character flaw/Fatal flaw
• Combination of the two

25. Theme
• Central idea or >>
• Insight about life
which explain the
downfall

26. Metaphorical Language
• Comparison of unlike things >
– Paris standing over the “lifeless
body” of Juliet, “Sweet flower, with
flowers thy bridal bed I strew…”
– “Thou detestable maw…”Gorged
with the dearest morsel of the
earth…” Romeo

27. Dramatic Foil
• A character whose
purpose is to show off
another character
–Benvolio for Tybalt
• look for others in R & J

28. Round characters
• Characters who have
many personality
traits, like real people.

29. Flat Characters
• One-dimensional, embodying
only a single trait
– Shakespeare often uses them to
provide comic relief even in a
tragedy

30. Static Characters
• Characters within a story
who remain the same. They
do not change. They do not
change their minds,
opinions or character.

31. Dynamic Character
• Characters that change
somehow during the
course of the plot. They
generally change for the
better.

32. Monologue
• One person speaking on stage
> may be other character on
stage too
– ex > the Prince of Verona
commanding the Capulets and
Montagues to cease feuding

33. Soliloquy
• Long speech expressing the
thoughts of a character alone
on stage. In R & J, Romeo
gives a soliloquy after the
servant has fled and Paris has
died.

34. Aside
• Words spoken, usually
in an undertone not
intended to be heard
by all characters

35. Pun
• Shakespeare loved to use them!!!
– Humorous use of a word with
two meanings > sometimes
missed by the reader because of
Elizabethan language and
sexual innuendo

36. Direct Address
• Words that tell the reader who is
being addressed:
• “A right fair mark, fair coz, is
soonest hit.”
• “Ah, my mistresses, which of you
all/ Will now deny to dance?”

37. Dramatic Irony
• A contradiction between
what a character thinks
and what the
reader/audience knows to
be true

38. Verbal Irony
• Words used to suggest
the opposite of what is
meant

39. Situational Irony
• An event occurs that
directly contradicts the
expectations of the
characters, the reader, or
the audience

40. Comic Relief
• Use of comedy within literature
that is NOT comedy to provide
“relief” from seriousness or
sadness.
• In R & J, look for moments of
comic relief that help “relieve” the
tragedy of the situation