Conventions of Shakespearean Drama What to take note of

A minor beginning Watch this: https://youtu.be/WqeykHtKUbk What kind of information is being presented? Why is it necessary? In your pod come up with an alternative beginning, in essence: How do you deliver this information to an audience without using this same device? How would you do this for a live performance?

Soliloquies, Monologues, Asides A soliloquy is….. Character is alone on stage Expresses inner thoughts and emotions Delivered for benefit of audience Can be accepted as truth…as the character sees it A monologue is….. A speech delivered to another character or characters Cannot be assumed to be the truth An aside is….. Breaking the “fourth wall” and talking directly to the audience Expresses thoughts of the character Is not heard by other characters onstage

On strange words… Archaic words: words no longer in common use Thee, thy, thou (the easy to understand) Betwixt (the slightly more complex) Obsolete words: words no longer in use, and no longer in most dictionaries (like “beteem”) Requires use of footnotes to understand Contracted words: words in which a syllable is left out Generally done to preserve the meter of the line Know’st, ‘twill, wi’

Wordplay Pun: a play on words, often using sound to create double meanings Two vultures board an airplane, each carrying two dead raccoons. The stewardess looks at them and says: “I’m sorry, gentlemen, only one carrion allowed per passenger Double entendre: a word or phrase with more than one meaning, one of which is risqué Malapropism: the mistaken use of a word in place of a similar-sounding one, often to great amusement I remember because I have photogenic memory.