The Renaissance and Shakespeare

GHS Fall 2012

Cultural movement that spanned the periods of the 14th through the 17th centuries

It was not a uniform process. Not every country experienced the “Rebirth” at the same time.

Renaissance started in Italy in the 1300’s.

Learning focused on classical sources such as the Romans (Latin), Greeks, and Arabic and Hebrew texts.

Art accelerated in production and quality from the Medieval period.

Important artists of the period= Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo.

A move toward Humanism and a desire to seek the “truth” about nature, God, and man.

Christianity was not rejected; many works were devoted to it.

Reinfusion of ancient texts long forgotten, including Greek Christian works that would lead to the Protestant reformation.

The period marked a period of Church reforms and eventually movements that would birth the American and French Revolutions.

Renaissance Drama

By the 15th and 16th centuries, European nations had established their own native traditions, religious dramas and farces based on Greek and Roman plays.

Drama of the Renaissance mirrored or reproduced classical themes.

Renaissance Drama

Pastoral DramaIn this convention the purity and simplicity of

shepherd life is contrasted with the corruption and artificiality of the court or the city.

IntermezzoWas a lighter, more comedic scene interpolated

between more serious scenes. OperaEither comedic or serious, some dialogue but

accompanied with music. Singing used to frame and enhance the action of the play.

The Opera

Dates back to Florence, Italy in the late Sixteenth century (1500’s).

The purpose that lead to creation of Opera was the need to understand Greek drama and how music was an integral part of drama.

Even Gregorian chants of the Medieval period were a type of liturgical musical dramas, but the Opera looked to the classical period for its inspiration.

Opera

It imitated Greek musical drama, and incorporated the chorus and actors together.

For two hundred years, this art form accelerated.

The libretto, scenery, costumes, dance, music, etc. saw vast improvements and expansion.

Orchestration, vocal virtuosity etc. expanded the Opera to a high art form.

Examples

Operahttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfyH-

MZWMnQ Intermezzohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=Cap3qdSPRJw Pastoralhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=5cj0rly3JxYhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=UCIx07t14jw&feature=related

Elizabethan Period

The Elizabethan Period marked the beginning of the Renaissance in England

It lasted 45 yrs, or the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603).

During this period all Arts blossomed, but Drama and Theater excelled like no other.

Elizabethan Period

The Medieval Period had been primarily been a vehicle for religious and moral messages.

The Elizabethan Period, including plays by Shakespeare and his contemporaries, marked a radical departure from this model.

Elizabethan Period

The new plays presented colorful and complex characters, love, hate, jealousy, lust for power, and revenge.

It was a very popular form of entertainment: both common people and nobility alike enjoyed it as a pastime.

However, the town officials and clergy considered it tawdry and actors as vagabonds.

Elizabethan Period

Elizabethan theater was an interactive event.

Audiences commonly talked back to the actors and even through fruit when displeased with performances.

Women were not allowed to enter the profession, so men played all parts including female parts.

Elizabethan Period

Scenery was minimal in many productions.

Language and the poetry of the plays was the centerpiece of a great production.

Shakespeare

Why do you think his works are important?

Which works of his do you remember? Why should we study them?

Shakespeare’s Life

His father, John Shakespeare, was successful in the leather business during Shakespeare's early childhood but later met with financial difficulties. During his prosperous years his father was also involved in municipal affairs, holding the offices of alderman and bailiff during the 1560s. While little is known of Shakespeare's boyhood, he probably attended the grammar school in Stratford, where he would have been educated in the classics, particularly Latin grammar and literature.

Shakespeare’s Life

In 1594 Shakespeare became an actor and playwright for the Lord Chamberlain's Men, the company that later became the King's Men under James I. Until the end of his London career Shakespeare remained with the company; it is thought that as an actor he played old men's roles, such as the ghost in Hamlet and Old Adam in As You Like It.

Shakespeare’s Life

In 1596 he obtained a coat of arms, and by 1597 he was prosperous enough to buy New Place in Stratford, which later was the home of his retirement years. In 1599 he became a partner in the ownership of the Globe theatre, and in 1608 he was part owner of the Blackfriars theater. Shakespeare retired and returned to Stratford c.1613. He undoubtedly enjoyed a comfortable living throughout his career and in retirement, although he was never a wealthy man.

Shakespeare’s Works

Some of his Plays include: Romeo and Juliet, A Comedy of Errors, Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing, As You like it, just to name a few.

Poetry: The Passionate Pilgrim, Love’s Labour’s Lost, and many sonnets.

Examples

HamletTo be or not to be:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ks-

NbCHUnsMuch Ado About Nothinghttps://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=PV66ODrTRG4