It’s Shakespeare!! An introduction

Should Shakespeare be taught in schools? Why or why not?

Who’s the smarty pants? What do we already know….or think we know….about Shakespeare? Create a 3 column KWL chart: KNOW WANT TO LEARNED KNOW Fill in the know and want to know columns with at least 5 bullet points

Um…..Who is Shakespeare? Shakespeare is possibly the most famous author of all time He wrote plays and poetry He lived in England in the late 1500s.

OK….and why is he interesting? Shakespeare literally invented 1,700 words in the English language. Many common words and phrases we use today, he invented.

Phrases invented by Shakespeare all that glitters isn't gold barefaced be all and end all break the ice breathe one's last catch a cold clothes make the man disgraceful conduct dog will have his day eat out of house and home elbow room fair play fancy-free foregone conclusion give the devil his due green eyed monster heart of gold heartsick housekeeping lackluster leapfrog live long day long-haired method in his madness mind's eye naked truth one fell swoop to thine own self be true too much of a good thing wear one's heart on one's sleeve

Words invented by Shakespeare accommodation amazement apostrophe assassination bedroom bloody bump changeful control (noun) countless courtship critic critical dishearten dislocate eventful exposure generous gloomy hurry indistinguishable laughable lonely majestic misplaced monumental obscene puke road submerge suspicious

So he’s important…but is he interesting? Random Shakespeare facts: In his will, Shakespeare only left his wife his "second-best" bed. Awwww how sweet. Boys and men played all the parts in Shakespeare's plays in Elizabethan times. (just think about Romeo and Juliet now….) No one knows how Shakespeare died. Among the possibilities are kidney disease, murder most foul, and too much to drink.

So he’s important…but is he interesting? So many people have used Shakespeare's works in their books or plays that if he were alive today, he would earn 55 million dollars a year without lifting a finger! All knock, knock jokes began with Shakespeare: he coined the phrase “knock, knock, who’s there?” (macbeth) In Shakespeare’s time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes. When you pulled on the ropes the mattress tightened, making the bed firmer to sleep on. That’s where the phrase, “goodnight, sleep tight” came from.

Good, but not great. I want more interesting!!! The Box Office In Elizabethan times many of Shakespeare’s plays were performed at The Globe Theatre in London. To get in, you put one penny in a box by the door. Then you could stand on the ground in front of the stage. To sit on the first balcony, you put another penny in the box held by a man in front of the stairs. To sit on the second balcony, you put another penny in the box held by the man by the second flight of stairs. Then when the show started, the men went and put the boxes in a room backstage - the box office. The phrase “the box office” is still used today to tell people how much money a movie makes.

Cool. But still not convinced…. Ever heard the term “break a leg”? The groundlings were soooo stupid, that they would forget to close their mouths during good performances, and they would begin to drool. You knew your play was great when the groundlings were so captivated that a river of drool would flow along the front of the stage. If an actor did so well as to get all the groundlings to drool, then he might “break a leg” by slipping in it. Gross.

Shakespearian biography…as painless as I can make it. Willim Shakespeare was an English playwright and poet who lived in the late 1500s and early 1600s. He was born on Henley Street to parents John Shakespeare, a glover and civil servant, and Mary Arden. His father was elected mayor, but was given the boot when he fell in to debt….can you say political scandal?!

All grown up! Shakespeare went to King Edward VI Grammar School. This was a sign that his parents’ had cash, as they were of a class who could afford to have their sons not enter the workforce.

We don’t need no education… He left school at 14…..and did not go to university. 4 years later, Shakespeare married a lovely woman….8 years older than him. Annnnd she was already pregnant with his child. But she already had her own place though!

Workin’ 9 to 5 By the time he was 20, he had a wife and 3 kids! Here’s the question: how do you provide for a family, when even your own father is having financial woes? OFF TO LONDON!!

Workin’ 9 to 5 Shakespeare left his wife and children to find work It is unknown exactly what he did from 1585-1592; but whatever he did, when he returned, he bought a new place for his family and paid off his family’s debt.

Such a drama queen. Shakespeare was an actor and a playwright, having written countless sonnets and marvelous plays He spent much of his career with an acting company called the Chamberlain’s Men After 1599, his plays were usually performed at The Globe, a circular theatre in London. It held 3000 people and there were 2 performances daily.

A life summary…in 3 minutes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMkuUADWW2A P.S. Can you spot the two grammatical errors?!?!

Tomorrow, it’s ON!! Now let’s fill out our LEARNED column of our KWL Chart Let’s Share!

Shakespeare World Lit

Shakespeare Born April 23, 1564—died 1616 In Stratford-upon-Avon Parents: John and Mary Arden Shakespeare Mary—daughter of wealthy landowner John—glovemaker, local politician

Probably attended King’s New School in Stratford (Little known about his childhood)

Married Life Married in 1582 to Anne Hathaway (26), who was pregnant at the time with their first daughter (Susanna) He was 18! Had twins in 1585 (Hamnet & Judith) Sometime between 1585-1592, he moved to London and began working in theatre. The Lost Years.

Such a drama queen. Shakespeare was an actor and a playwright, having written countless sonnets and marvelous plays He spent much of his career with an acting company called the Chamberlain’s Men After 1599, his plays were usually performed at The Globe, a circular theatre in London. It held 3000 people and there were 2 performances daily.

Conditions in London Thames River polluted with raw sewage Trees used up for fuel Poverty Bathing considered dangerous, body odor strong Childhood diseases, children often died before 5 years Small Pox & Bubonic Plague No running water Chamber Pots, Open Sewers Crowded

Theater Daytime/open air Limited set design Relied on music, sound, costumes, props and great description All Men Groundlings Stood around stage in “the pit” Threw rotten vegetables at bad performances

Life 37 plays & 154 Sonnets Died at 52 “Good Friends, for Jesus' sake forbear, To dig the bones enclosed here! Blest be the man that spares these stones, And curst be he that moves my bones." Holy Trinity Church

OK….and why is he interesting? Shakespeare literally invented 1,700 words in the English language. Many common words and phrases we use today, he invented.

Phrases invented by Shakespeare all that glitters isn't gold barefaced be all and end all break the ice breathe one's last catch a cold clothes make the man disgraceful conduct dog will have his day eat out of house and home elbow room fair play fancy-free foregone conclusion give the devil his due green eyed monster heart of gold heartsick housekeeping lackluster leapfrog live long day long-haired method in his madness mind's eye naked truth one fell swoop to thine own self be true too much of a good thing wear one's heart on one's sleeve

Words invented by Shakespeare accommodation amazement apostrophe assassination bedroom bloody bump changeful control (noun) countless courtship critic critical dishearten dislocate eventful exposure generous gloomy hurry indistinguishable laughable lonely majestic misplaced monumental obscene puke road submerge suspicious

Shakespeare's Language? Hwaet! We Gardena in geardagum Þeodcyninga Þrym gefrunon Hu ða æÞelingas ellen fremedon! Whan that Aprill, with his shoures soote The droghte of March hath perced to the roote And bathed every veyne in swich licour, Of which vertu engendred is the flour; Shakespeare wrote in “Early Modern English.” We write Modern English. They are very similar.

Omissions and Poetry 'tis ~ it is ope ~ open o'er ~ over gi' ~ give ne'er ~ never i' ~ in e'er ~ ever oft ~ often e'en ~ even We speak in prose (language without metrical structure).  Shakespeare wrote both prose and poetry (verse).  To understand his poetry , we need to understand these terms: Blank Verse:  unrhymed iambic pentameter. Iambic Pentameter:  five beats of alternating unstressed and stressed syllables; ten syllables per line.

Context of Julius Caesar Roman Government Tudors England 1400 Plutarch “Triumvirate” Pompey, Caesar, Crassus