Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet

What do you already Know? What do you know about Shakespeare, the play, the characters, etc.? Teacher will ask students to access prior knowledge, see what they already know about Shakespeare’s time or the play. Teacher will type in student responses during class

Understanding Shakespeare’s Audience What was the last R-rated film you saw? Why was it rated R? It was R-rated for: Sex, violence, and profanity

How do you react? When you hear an inappropriate joke, how do you react? When you hear an inappropriate joke, do you: A) laugh a lot and share it with your friends B) think about making a profit from the joke C) pretend to be shocked, but secretly find it interesting D) react with disgust and horror, thinking that it is entirely inappropriate and nasty

Audiences Today & Shakespeare’s audience Shakespeare’s audience was comprised of these 4 groups: A) Groundlings poor people, usually uneducated and illiterate working class. Enjoyed bawdy (sexual) humor. Stood to watch the show. B) Merchants Sold supplies to audience members, sought a profit C) Nobles Showed off their wealth, seated very close to the stage. Theater for them was about being seen. They were more proper. D) Puritans Boycotted Shakespeare’s show because of the sexual content, they were disgusted by Shakespeare’s humor.

Shakespeare used Bawdy Humor to interest the Audience Dealing with sex in a way that is meant to be funny Shakespeare uses bawdy humor to attract the groundlings interest Synonyms: ribald, racy, rude, suggestive, crude, vulgar, offensive Antonyms: refined, proper, clean, wholesome, G-rated

Historical Background His plays were performed in the Globe Theater Nobility, pay to sit in nicer seats. Usually sit close to stage to be seen Groundlings & merchants, stand for the entire play Puritans protest outside of the theater

The Four Humours & temperament) During the Elizabethan Era, people believed that man is made of the elements—earth, air, fire and water—which translate to the four “humours.” the excess of a particular humour determined a person’s characteristic traits or actions The perfect balance of the humors resulted in an ideal temperament (personality) It is important to understand these humors because we will see Shakespeare describe his characters based on these temperaments

The Four Humours Choler Sanguine Phlegmatic Melancholy Sad, depressed, miserable, gloomy, unhappy, dejected Usually a person is reserved, solitary or sentimental Associated with the earth because we look down at the earth when we are sad Choler Hot-headed, rage, anger, passion, lust, temper The person would be sensitive, impulsive, envious, vengeful Associated with fire because of the passion. Sanguine Light, happy, free, playful, sociable Associated with air A person who is of a sanguine temperament might act like they have their head in the clouds Phlegmatic Dull, listless, torpid, heavy, lethargic, slow, inactive, lacking energy Associated with water A phlegmatic person might be slow to respond, they would be inactive.

The Four Humours Melancholy Choler Sanguine Phlegmatic

Ground rules for Reading Shakespeare Everyone is a second language learner when they read Shakespeare You are not the only one that thinks this is challenging You don’t have to understand every word to understand the significance of the story There are always multiple meanings and interpretations Please share your interpretations, they are important!