Shakespeare and Elizabethan Theatre

William Shakespeare 0 A playwright, poet, actor, and director who is responsible for forty plays, one hundred fifty-four poems (or “sonnets”), and one thousand seven hundred words in our modern English language 0 NOT Old English! This is early modern English, and is more of the beginning of the way we speak.

Real Old English vs. Shakespeare 0 Hwæt we garde- na ingear dagum, þeod cyninga þrym ge frunon huða æþelingas elle[n] fremedon. 0 As opposed to… 0 How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight

Words Shakespeare Created 0 Beached 0 Elbow 0 Rant 0 Gossip 0 Luggage 0 Torture 0 Drugged 0 Bedroom 0 Bet 0 Worthless 0 Critic 0 Undress 0 Mimic 0 Blushing 0 Obscene 0 Assassination 0 Advertising 0 Addicting 0 Bump 0 Fashionable 0 Eyeball 0 Hint 0 Lonely 0 Majestic 0 Blanket 0 Amazement 0 Buzzer 0 Deafening 0 Lower 0 Fixture 0 Gloomy 0 Puking 0 Scuffle 0 Swagger 0 Flawed 0 Excitement 0 Dawn

Not only that… 0 Shakespeare is often remembered for the dialogue and expressions that he created. We still use many of them today 0 Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all 0 All’s fair in love and war 0 All that glitters is not gold 0 In a pickle 0 Heart of Gold 0 And even one of the first “yo mama” jokes 0 “Thou hast undone our mother” 0 “Villain, I hath done thy mother!”

What Did He Do? 0 While living, Shakespeare founded the “Lord Chamberlain’s Men”, a travelling theatre company that became so famous, it eventually performed for the Queen and King of England 0 Wrote and directed the plays that they would put on, usually writing a part for each actor he had 0 Plays came in two genres… 0 Comedy: A play with a happy ending 0 Tragedy: A play with a tragic ending

Performances 0 Shakespeare was NOT a high-brow writer; meaning, he did not write for those who were educated or wealthy 0 The majority of his audience were illiterate and lower class 0 Not a very forgiving audience…where we get the idea of throwing vegetables at performers 0 While they did travel, they eventually settled in The Globe Theater

Why We Read What We Read 0 Had to consistently remind audience of what was happening 0 Props and sets were minimal—no electricity and limited machinery 0 Written in iambic pentameter 0 Needed to write something for each character. Why there is often… 0 A comic relief: For the comedian of the group 0 A chorus: A group of ensemble members with lines read as a group 0 Also a Greek idea

Romeo and Juliet 0 Considered one of Shakespeare’s most famous tragedies 0 About two families in Verona, Italy that hate each other, and a young man and woman from each falling in love 0 The Capulets 0 Juliet: Capulet daughter, in love with Romeo 0 Tybalt: Juliet’s cousin 0 The Nurse: Juliet’s maid, the comic relief 0 Capulet and Lady Capulet: The parents 0 The Montagues 0 Romeo: Montague son, falls in love with Juliet 0 Montague and Lady Montague: Romeo’s parents, concerned about his behavior 0 Mercutio: Romeo’s quick tempered friend 0 Benvolio: Romeo’s cousin and peacekeeper

Other Important Characters 0 Friar Laurence: A priest who hears Romeo’s confessions, wants the feud to end 0 Paris: A nobleman who wants to marry Juliet 0 Escalus: The prince of Verona, trying as hard as he can to keep the peace.

Helpful “Translations” 0 Thee/Thou: You 0 Thine: Your 0 Art: Are 0 Hath: Has 0 Wherefore: Why 0 Dost/Doth: Does or Do 0 Marry: Indeed 0 Hence: Away 0 Ere: Before

Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. From forth the fatal loins of these two foes A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life; Whose misadventured piteous overthrows Do with their death bury their parents' strife. The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love, And the continuance of their parents' rage, Which, but their children's end, nought could remove, Is now the two hours' traffic of our stage; The which if you with patient ears attend, What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend.