MRS. WHITEHEAD SPRING 2015 Romeo and Juliet

Shakespeare Born in Stratford Upon Avon in 1564  No one is sure on what day, but we assume that Shakespeare was born April 23, three days before he was baptized. Playwright, Poet, Actor  Shakespeare was known for having a number of different roles in his acting troupe The Lord Chamberlain’s Men (later known as the King’s Men)  Influential in building The Globe, one of the most successful theaters of the time period.

Shakespeare Has the Same Birthday as John Cena – Actor and former professional wrestler George Lopez – Comedian, actor Shirley Temple – Child actor from the early days of film Michael Moore – Filmmaker and documentarian James Buchanan – Former U.S. president

Monarchies Shakespeare wrote during the time of two well known British Monarchs.  Queen Elizabeth (the Elizabethan period)  Known as the “Virgin Queen” because she never chose a husband  The primary reason that British literature flourished during the period  King James I (the Jacobean period)  Primary contributor to the colonization of America  Influential in religion, translating the bible so that common people could read it. The “King James Bible” was named in his honor

Literature Plays (~38)  Histories - Stories that have most of their foundation in fact, with a some drama thrown in  Comedies- Meant to entertain the audience, usually has some sort of supernatural occurrences, usually ends in a wedding  Tragedies- Meant to teach the audience a lesson, usually ends with death or a funeral Sonnets (154)  Consists of 14 lines  Every other line rhymes, except for the last two which are rhymed  The length of the line is called Iambic Pentameter  5 sets of unstressed/stressed syllables

Sonnet 18 Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate: Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer's lease hath all too short a date: Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, And often is his gold complexion dimm'd; And every fair from fair sometime declines, By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimm'd; But thy eternal summer shall not fade Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st; Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade, When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st; So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

Sonnet Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? A 2. Thou art more lovely and more temperate:B 3. Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,A 4. And summer's lease hath all too short a date: B 5. Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,C 6. And often is his gold complexion dimm'd; D 7. And every fair from fair sometime declines,C 8. By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimm'd;D 9. But thy eternal summer shall not fadeE 10. Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st;F 11. Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st I his shade,E 12. When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st; F 13. So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,G 14. So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.G

Romeo and Juliet Shakespearean Tragedy about two Italian Teenagers that are in love. Written and performed sometime between 1591 and 1595  The Exact date is unknown, because records were not kept on Shakespeare’s plays during his lifetime  The first time the play is published is in the “quarto version” in 1597

Plot Two families (the Montagues and the Capulets) in the city of Verona, Italy have a feud dating back before anyone can remember. Members of the families, including servants have been getting into fights in the street for no reason. A lovesick Romeo Montague is coerced into going to a party at the Capulet mansion, and falls in love with his enemies’ daughter, Juliet Capulet. You can imagine where this goes from here.

Setting

Main Characters Romeo – Lovesick year old Juliet – Sheltered 13 year old Tybalt – Juliet’s cousin, hates the Montagues Mercutio – Romeo’s best friend, member of the royal family Benvolio – Romeo’s cousin, hates fighting Paris – Wants to marry Juliet Families – Montagues, Capulets, Royal Family Servants – Not really members of the family, but think they are

A Warning This section of the class is going to be a little difficult. The English used in Romeo and Juliet is not the modern English that you are used to, but if you can follow along you should be fine. The longer you work with the language the easier it becomes, and if you don’t ask questions you won’t be able to learn. If there is anything that doesn’t make sense to you, please talk to me, and we’ll try to work it all out. You’re all capable of the material, so don’t get bogged down with the language!