William Shakespeare

Widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in English

Literature

His Plays

Comedies

• Protagonists:– The main characters are

usually a young couple(s) that must overcome an obstacle

Tragedies• Protagonists:

– The main character is an admirable hero, but he has one fatal flaw that will destroy him. In King Lear, for instance, the King’s flaw is arrogance. His ego actually topples his entire kingdom.

• Plot:• In the characters’

pursuit of love, they get mixed up in all sorts of complicated predicaments.

• Plot:• Tragedies often deal

with revenge, murder, war, doomed love, and political conspiracies.

His plays con’tComedies• Tone:

– Comedies treat heavy subjects lightly. The Bard (aka Shakespeare) used metaphors, insults, and puns to make the audience laugh and to make them think more deeply.

Tragedies• Tone:

– The audience feels powerless because the tragedy is usually avoidable. For example, if only Romeo had received the Friar’s letter, he and Juliet could have lived happily ever after!

• Love Triangles:• A love triangle happens when two

people have a crush on the same person. In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a love triangle starts a plot involving fairies, hasty getaways, magic, and a donkey – seriously!

• Supernatural Beings:• Otherworldly creatures like

witches and ghosts mean trouble. Hamlet, Macbeth, and Julius Caesar all have supernatural beings that spell catastrophe.

His Plays Con’t

Comedies• Mistaken Identities:

– Confusing one character for another leads to many mishaps. For example, in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, Viola pretends to be her twin brother in order to get a job. When her brother shows up, things get out of hand.

Tragedies

• Bad weather:– As a tragedy unfolds, society

gets chaotic – and so does the weather. Killer storms and creepy mists are a clue that something bad is happening.

Ending:A comedy always ends well, usually with a marriage or two.

Ending: Most of the characters die. Including the hero.

The Play Plot

Act IExpositi

on

Act IIRising Action(complication

s)

Act IIICrisis or

Turning PointAct IVFalling Action

Act VClimax

and Resoluti

on

Act 1 - Exposition

• Establishes the setting, introduces some of the main characters, explains background, and sets up the characters’ main conflict.

Act II - Rising Action

• Consists of a series of complications.

• These occur as the main characters take action to resolve their problems.

Act III – Turning Point

• The crisis, or turning point, is the moment in Act III when a choice is made by the main characters that determines the direction of the action: upward to a happy ending in a comedy or downward to sadness in a tragedy.

• It can be the most dramatic and tense moment when the forces of conflict come together.

Act IV – Falling Action

• Presents events that result from the action taken at the turning point.

• In a Tragedy, these events push the characters deeper and deeper into disaster; with each event we see the characters falling straight into tragedy.

• In a Comedy, things begin to clear up and a happy resolution is in sight.

Act V – Climax

• The final and greatest scene occurs at the end of the play – in comedies a marriage will usually happen, while in tragedies the main characters usually die.

• The loose parts of the plots are all tied up.

• The play is over.

Romeo and Juliet

• Written about 1595

• Considered a tragedy

• 18 movies, an opera, and a ballet have been created based on this play. It is still being used and remade today.

Shakespeare• Not much was recorded about Shakespeare and his life.

• He was born in the town of Stratford-Upon-Avon on the date many believe is April 23, 1564.

• At the age of 18, Shakespeare marries Anne Hathaway. A woman 8 years older than her. Could it be she was with child?

• On May 26, 1583, Shakespeare first of three children is born.

• His only son, Hamnet, dies at age 11 while his twin sister lives to be 77.

• In 1585 he runs off to London to begin his career in the theater.

Shakespeare

• He died on April 23, 1616.

• His last direct descendant died in 1670.• William Shakespeare is attributed with writing &

collaborating on 38 plays (of them 18 are comedies & 10 are tragedies), 154 sonnets, & 5 poems between 1590 & 1613

• Two of his most famous plays were Romeo & Juliet (based on the initial poem “The Tragical Historye of Romeus and Juliet” by Arthur Brook) and Hamlet.

After Queen Elizabeth I died, the new King James I allowed Shakespeare & his men to be called “The King’s Men” in return for entertaining the court.

Stage Celebrity• Actor for Lord Chamberlain’s Men

(London theater co.)

• Also, he was the principal playwright for them

• In 1599, Lord Ch. Co. built Globe Theater where most of Sh. Play’s were performed (Sh. Was 1/5 owner & earned 10% of the total profit.)

The Theater• Plays produced for the general public

• Roofless = open air

• No artificial lighting

• Courtyard surrounded by 3 levels of galleries

• The theaters were closed from 1593-1594 due to the Plague

The Globe Theater• Built in 1599 by Richard Burbage

• Is three stories and able to hold up to 3,000 spectators and is 100 feet in diameter

• The base of the stage is called “the pit” and is where the “groudlings” (aka poor folks) paid a penny to stand and watch a performance

• Color coded flags were used out the theater to advertise the type of play being performed: red = history, white = comedy, black = tragedy

• Burns to the ground in 1613 and is rebuilt in 1614

Spectators• Wealthy got benches• “Groundlings” = poorer people stood

and watched from the courtyard (“pit”)• All but the wealthy were

uneducated/illiterate• Wealthy women wore masks to disguise

their identities• Much more interaction than today

Spectators• Audience members behaved poorly in the theater.• They laughed, flirted, and fidgeted.• They gossiped to each other while waiting for the

show to start.• The audience didn’t hesitate to show

disappointment if they were not pleased with the performance.

• They would throw rotten fruit or say unkind words.

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

Costumes• Were very important to actors & crucial to a

performance because there were no scenery.

• More well-established actors/acing groups owned their own costumes that were appropriate for many roles.

• Audience could distinguish the more significant roles by what the actors wore.

Costumes• They used wigs, masks, & different colored

suits.

• They spent lots of money on costumes that was decorated with braid, embroidery, pearls, jewels, lace, & artifical flowers.

• Props included flashing swords & swirling banners.

Actors

• Only men and boys

• Young boys whose voices had not changed played women’s roles

• Would have been considered indecent for a woman to appear on stage

Dramatic Foil

• A character whose purpose is to show off another character–Benvolio for Tybalt

•look for others in R & J

Monologue

• One person speaking for a length of time on stage; may be other character on stage too–Ex. the Prince of Verona

commanding the Capulets and Montagues to cease feuding

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.

Aside

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

Pun

• Shakespeare loved to use them!!!

–Humorous use of a word with two meanings that is sometimes missed by the reader because of Elizabethan language and sexual innuendo

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

The End