Elizabethan Drama vs. Today’s Drama The importance of words Real life versus stage life Symbolic art Elizabethan Drama vs. Today’s Drama
Shakespeare’s plays were primarily verbal, not visual He uses words to express the setting and mood Today: VISUAL – everything looks real Importance of Words
Characters in a play are understood to be portraying real people, not actual people Modern dramas suggest that everything is real, especially the place and the people Real life vs. Stage life
Influenced by the medieval era are because of its symbolism Focus on universals: Evil=villian Holiness/goodness = saints and halos Truth, beauty, and justice Symbolic Art
Analysis and Modern Day Shakespeare Three Ways to Analyze Characters Changes to Shakespeare’s Dramas What the say What others say about them What they do Remove lines or characters Change the setting entirely Analysis and Modern Day Shakespeare