Unit 8: Shakespeare Goal: to learn about the Shakespeare, his time period, and some basic drama terms

In 1583, 18 year old William Shakespeare married 26 year old Anne Hathaway. Six months later their first child was born. Shakespeare spent most of his married life living in London, and not with his family.

William Shakespeare 1564 - 1616 This drawing of Shakespeare was published about seven years after his death. It is considered a close likeness to him.

Elizabethan England Queen Elizabeth I ruled during Shakespeare’s life (1558 – 1603) and during her reign England became a world power with a very strong navy. The economy and the arts flourished. Her reign coincided with the English Renaissance – a renewed interest in science, commerce, philosophy, and the arts. Queen Elizabeth never married and had no children.

Theater in Shakespeare’s Time Before the first theater was built in 1576, acting companies toured through England. By the end of the 1590s, London had more theaters than any European capital. London theaters attracted both wealthy and poor – for the working class, the theater was one of the only forms of entertainment. 1599 – The Globe theater became Shakespeare’s & the Lord Chamberlain’s Men (acting company).

The Legacy of Shakespeare How has Shakespeare contributed to the English language and modern popular culture? Describe a movie or scene that you’ve seen that borrows from Shakespeare.

Shakespeare’s Tragedies – Reconsidering the Tragic Hero Time to evolve our thinking of the tragic hero or character… Instead of saying that a tragic hero will experience a downfall due to a tragic flaw they possess (hubris), let’s consider that the hero’s fall is a result of a tragic incompatibility between what makes the hero great and the circumstances of his/her environment. “Shakespeare’s tragic characters are visionaries, purists, idealists” living in a world that is perpetually in conflict and proves fatal to them.

Drama Terms – please define Tragedy Dramatic Foil Soliloquy Tragic Flaw Monologue Dramatic Irony Dialogue Allusion Aside

Check Definitions: Tragedy: a drama which deals with a serious or somber theme and which ends in disaster for the protagonist(s) Soliloquy: a long speech in which a character, alone on stage, presents his or her innermost thoughts to the audience Monologue: a long speech by a character on stage, which is made to other characters Dialogue: a conversation between characters Aside: a brief remark spoken by a character that is not intended to be heard by all other characters on stage (you can think of this as a “side comment”) Dramatic foil: a character who contrasts with another in order to highlight the other’s traits. For example, a serious character might have a comedic friend as a foil, highlighting his serious nature Tragic flaw: a weakness in a tragic hero that helps to bring about the character’s downfall and/or death in a tragedy Dramatic irony: a device in which the audience or reader knows more about the events of the plot than the characters Allusion: a reference to a well-known literary work, person, or event (such as a reference to the Bible or a Greek god)