Shakespeare and The Globe Theatre

William Shakespeare April 23rd 1564-1616 Born and died on same day Cause of death unknown

Education and Work Attended grammar school in Stratford, England Latin classics, writing, memorization, and acting in Latin plays Until age 15 Father was a wealthy businessman Poet, actor, playwright, and director Partial owner of Globe Theatre

Shakespeare’s Plays Tragedy Comedy History The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet 1597

The Globe Theatre Opened 1599 2,000-3,000 Burned down in 1613 Rebuilt by 1614

Exterior of the Theatre Open air theatre Flag: indicated kind of play showing Red = history Black = tragedy White = comedy Why?

Interior of the Theatre The hut-storage space above stage The heavens-roof of the stage, elaborately designed with images of the heavens “Hell”-trapdoor in the middle of the stage

Seating and Pricing “the pit” or courtyard-ground level, standing room only, cheapest “seats” The galleries- three tiers of seating, wealthy seating Groundlings- people who watched from the pit 1 penny for pit 2 pennies for balcony 24 pence for side of the stage (4 pence = food and drink for a day)

Features of the Play Lighting- natural or candles Pace- fast b/c no costume changes or scene setup Costumes- elaborate, modern, hand-me-downs from nobles Scenery- little to none, setting described Actors- no women, all characters played by men and boys

Shakespeare’s Plays Iambic pentameter: a line of verse, 10 syllables long, follows unstressed then stress syllable pattern Prose: natural written or spoken language that does follow a rhythm or meter pattern Sonnet: a poem 14 lines long, in iambic pentameter, comprised of 3 quatrains(set of 4 lines) and a couplet (2 successive lines that rhyme) Rhyme scheme: abab cdcd efef gg Aside: a short remark only intended to be heard by one or some character(s) and/or the audience Soliloquy: long speech of character’s thoughts and feelings only heard by the audience, often character is alone on stage

Monologue: A long uninterrupted speech given by one character onstage to everyone. Couplets: Two consecutive lines that rhyme (aa bb cc). Usually followed when a character leaves or a scene ends.

He who farts in church sits in his own pew. Pun: A humorous play on words After that poisonous snake struck at me in the Arizona Desert, I was really rattled. A gossip is someone with a great sense of rumor. A carpenter must have been here. I saw dust. Energizer Bunny arrested - charged with battery. Corduroy pillows are making headlines. The executioner decided to drop out of Executioner School. It was just too cut throat for him. He who farts in church sits in his own pew.

The Real R&J Based on a true story Two wealthy feuding families in Verona, Italy “star-crossed” young lovers die for each other Story was well-known Romeo and Juliet is also based on Arthur Brooke’s long narrative poem the Tragicall Historye of Romeus and Juliet (1562). Borrowed from Ovid Metamorphoses (8 CE)