An Introduction to William Shakespeare and the Tragedy of Romeo & Juliet Adapted from a presentation by Ms. Forsyth and Mr. Bernstein for Honors English 9 at Bear Creek High School

To take notes only Shakespeare’s life… In the next several slides, there is a lot of information about Shakespeare’s life Do NOT write it all Write only the 10 most important details in your notes

April 23, 1564: William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-on-Avon to John and Mary Shakespeare. There is a baptismal registration for Shakespeare, but few other written records exist. He was the 3rd of 8 children.

Much of Shakespeare’s younger years remain a mystery, but there are rumors about what jobs he may have worked. Schoolmaster Lawyer Butcher Apprentice Lawyer

1582: According to church records, Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway. At the time of their marriage, William was eighteen and Anne was twenty-six.

William and Anne have three children together (Susanna, Hamnet, and Judith). Shakespeare left his family in 1591 to pursue writing in London. August 1596: young Hamnet died at the age of eleven. The cause of his death is unknown. Susanna Hamnet Judith

In 1592, Shakespeare began developing a reputation as an actor and playwright. As theatres were beginning to grow in popularity, it is probable that Shakespeare began earning a living writing plays (adapting old ones and working with others on new ones).

1594: William became involved with a company of actors named “The Lord Chamberlain’s Men.” This group later (1603) changed their name to “The King’s Men”.

In 1598, Shakespeare, in collaboration with other actors, designed and built The Globe. This circular theatre was the first of its kind, breaking away from the traditional rectangular theatres.

1612: Shakespeare moved back to Stratford where he retired both rich and famous.

1616: William Shakespeare dies on his birthday.

At the time of his death, Shakespeare is said to have written around 37 plays and 154 sonnets. He is also known to have contributed over two thousand words to the English language. Sniffledorfen

Shakespeare is also known to have written around 884 words throughout all of his works.

Good frend for Jesus sake forbeare To digg the dust encloasedheare Bleste be ye man [that] spares thes stones And curst be he that moves my bones.

Which do you prefer?

Or…..

Shakespearean Theater “The Globe” Write only the 5 most important details about this theater in your notes

Elizabethan Theatre Fun Facts The First Elizabethan Theater: “The Wooden O” Built in 1576, first permanent stage in London Built by James Burbage Shaped in form of a tavern 1599 theatre torn down, but Shakespeare’s company used it to build The Globe Theatre

Elizabethan Theatre Fun Facts The Globe Round/polygonal building with a roofless courtyard No artificial light Three stories high – upper levels were for the weathy The “groundlings” paid a penny a piece to stand on the floor in front of the stage (800 people) Large platform stage Back of platform was curtained off inner stage Two door entrances/exits on either side of curtain Small balcony/upper stage Elaborate costumes but no props Young boys played the parts of women; women weren’t allowed to be actors

Fire and Rediscovery Shakespeare’s Globe burned down, but its foundation was discovered in 1990. It gave us many clues to the Elizabethan experience such as hazelnut shells! A replica has since been rebuilt. You can visit it and see a play today.

In the last slides… Write down all the literary terms Use your own words to write them down and understand them

Dramatic Terminology Tragedy: A narrative about serious and important actions that end unhappily, usually with the death of the main characters. The play is broken up into acts and the acts are broken up into scenes. Monologue: A long uninterrupted speech given by one character onstage to everyone. Soliloquy: A long uninterrupted speech given by one character alone on stage, inaudible to other characters Aside: A short speech given by one character, traditionally the other characters cannot hear.

More terms Couplet: Two Consecutive Lines of Dramatic Poetry that Rhyme Rhyme=words that have the same ending sound but not beginning sound End, bend; shop, drop; Cling, Sing Dialogue: normal conversation between characters Prologue: An opening speech that introduces the play’s characters, plot, setting, and may foreshadow what is to come

Antagonist Protagonist The Good Guy, Hero, Main Character THE BAD GUY, WORKS AGAINST THE PROTAGONIST, STARTS CONFLICT

Dramatic Foil A piece of Thin, shiny material that thinks the world revolves around it; it’s not a drama queen, but it does have drama sheen JUST KIDDING! THAT WAS A JOKE!: REAL DEFINITION: A CHARACTER THAT IS THE OPPOSITE OF ANOTHER IN ORDER TO HIGHLIGHT A TRAIT

Dramatic Irony When the audience knows something that a character does not

Pun (my favorite) Use of a word with multiple meanings to make a joke or words that sound alike but mean different things

Shakespeare’s 5 Part Storytelling Pattern: Act III: Crisis/Turning Point A series of complications Act IV: Falling Action Results of the turning point; characters locked into deeper disaster Act II: Rising Action A series of complications Act I: Exposition Establishes setting, characters, conflict, and background Act V: Climax/Resolution/Denouement Death of the main characters and then the loose parts of the plot are tied up

Tips for Understanding Romeo and Juliet Don’t worry about understanding every word…Understand every page or so Thou, thine, thee, thy=YOU Ay (pronounced “I”) means yes Nay means no If a word looks familiar, but one letter is wrong, it’s still that letter (wert=were, art=are, e’er=ever) -EST or -ETH at the end of a verb doesn’t change it (comest=come, drawest=est, killeth=kill)