Art and Literature
Question What are some art forms?
Drama Middle Ages: based on stories from the Christian religion Early 15th Century: “morality plays” characters called Knowledge, God, Death, Beauty, etc Late 15th Century: non-religious plays began to develop
Drama Elizabeth I (queen 1550 - 1603): “The golden age of English drama” plays were very popular They are much less popular now Until 19th Century, drama was almost all written in verse Now, almost none is verse
Question What language are the most famous Western operas written in? Answer: Italian
Opera (Carmen)
Opera Music, singing, acting, dancing classical music Popular in Europe and America during 18th and 19th centuries
Musical theatre Similar to opera, but using “popular” styles of music (rather than classical) eg. The Sound of Music, Cats Reached their peak in 1940s, 1950s Later, many movies were made in this style Even today, these areas are famous for musical theatre: West End (London), Broadway (New York)
Novels First successful novel published in England in 1719 Robinson Crusoe (by Daniel Defoe) Some genres (types) of novel: romance western (historical American frontier) mysteries (also called whodunits) fantasy (set in different worlds, with dragons, swords, heros, etc)
Question What recent, popular film was based on a fantasy novel?
Fantasy Novels Lord of the Rings was one of the first fantasy novels published 1954