1. Romeo and Juliet By William Shakespeare

2. William Shakespeare (1564 -1616)

3. Shakespeare (1564-1616): Who was he?
Born in Stratford, a small English village on the banks of the Avon.
Mother Mary Arden – well to do family
Father Jon Shakespeare – glove maker and politician
Studied classic literature in Latin and Greek in a local grammar school
At 18 married Anne Hathaway (8 years his senior)
Three children; Susanna and twin Hamnet and Judith
1592 moved to London, leaving his family behind while he pursued a career as an actor and Playwright

4. What established him as a successful playwright?
His history plays:
Henry the Sixth
The tragedy of Richard the Third

5. Playhouse and company
Shakespeare became a partner in a theater company known as the Lord Chamberlain’s Men.
They became popular in London
1599 they had enough money to build their own playhouse, the Globe Theatre.

6. Plays – at least 37 Tragedies: Romances: Histories: Comedies:
Romeo and Juliet
Hamlet
Julius Caesar
King Lear
Othello
Macbeth
Romances:
The Tempest
The Winter’s Tale
Histories:
The Life of Henry the Fifth
The Life of King Henry the Eighth
Comedies:
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Twelfth Night

7. Shakespeare’s Death Died at 52, wealthy Translated this reads as:
Buried at the Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-Upon-Avon
Good frend for Jesus sake forbeare,
To digg the dust encloased heare:
Blest be ye man yt spares thes stones,
And curst be he yt moves my bones.
Translated this reads as:
Good friend, for Jesus’ sake, forbear
To dig the dust enclosed here;
Blest be the man that spares these stones
And curst he that moves my bones.

8. Elizabethan vs. Modern Theater
Elizabethan theater was considered some what vulgar and rowdy place.
Actors were sometimes arrested as vagabonds.
Theaters were sometimes shut down because of the content of the plays
Theaters were located on the outskirts of towns and routinely shut down because of outbreaks of the plague.
Only by earning the support of a wealthy patron could a theater troupe survive.
Theater was allowed to flourish during this time because English literature was at a high

9. Performances
The stage looked bare at the Globe; theaters in Shakespeare’s day used little scenery and few props.
The audience had to imagine the setting according to characters’ descriptions of it.
Actors were all men and boys; in Shakespeare’s time it was considered improper for women to act in plays.

10. Audience
Included people from all stations of society; laboring people form the lower classes, middle-class merchants, members of Parliament, and lords and ladies.
Pickpockets mingled among the noisy, raucous groundlings crowding around the stage.
Noblemen and noblewomen at on cushioned seats in the first-tier balcony.
Shakespeare’s plays were written for everyone, from “the most able, to him that can but spell.” That may explain why they have such universal appeal even today.

11. “No Comment from the Peanut Gallery”
An audience that heckles the performer. The term originated in the days of vaudeville as a nickname for the cheapest (and ostensibly rowdiest) seats in the theater; the cheapest snack served at the theater would often be peanuts, which the patrons would sometimes throw at the performers on stage to show their disapproval. The phrases "no comments from the peanut gallery" or "quiet in the peanut gallery" are extensions of the name.

12. Shakespeare’s Language
Shakespeare actually introduced an estimated 3,000 new words into the English language:
Bedazzle, Silliness, Critical, Obscene, Hurry, and Lonely
PHRASES
“wear my heart upon my sleeve” (Othello)
“at one fell swoop” (Macbeth)
“fair play” (The Tempest)
“the world is my oyster” (The Merry Wives of Windsor)

13. Let’s Translate some Shakes
Ere before
Hie hurry
Marry (oath originally taken from “By the Virgin Mary)
Soft! (Hush up; wait a moment)
Want lack
Wherefore why
Anon soon

14. Contractions I’ in ‘tis it is Veil’d veiled Used different order too:
“know you don’t” – Shakespeare
“don’t you know” - expected

15. How many sonnets and plays did Shakespeare write?

16. Drama: a story told through characters played by actors
Drama: a story told through characters played by actors. Drama is meant to be spoken, acted out, given movement.
Tragedy: told the story of the fall of a person of high status
Today: describe a play about the downfall of a sympathetic character, or protagonist, and an unhappy ending.
Comedy: Entertainment with a happy ending.
Today: lighthearted or humorous literary work – stage or screen

17. Types of Characters
Tragic Hero: a main character that have a who has a tragic flaw
Tragic Flaw: weakness of personality that causes them to make fortunate choices
Foil: a characters who contrasts with a central character in order to highlight each other’s strengths, and more usually, weaknesses.
Comic Relief: humorous character to break up the seriousness and emotional intensity.

18. Type of logues…
Dialogue: a conversation between two or more characters
Monologue: a long speech made by one character
Soliloquy: a speech delivered by a character alone on stage that reveals the character’s thoughts and feelings.
Aside: is a statement made by a character in a play that’s intended to be heard by the audience but not by other characters on stage.

19. Stage Directions
Are the notes provided by the playwright to describe how the play should be presented or performed
Usually printed in italics and may be enclosed in brackets or parentheses.
Stage directions may describe:
Setting
Action
Special effects

21. Romeo and Juliet Romeo Montague Lady Montague Benvolio Mercutio
Balthazar
Abraham
Friar Lawrence (helps both)
Romeo and Juliet
Montagues
Capulets
Juliet
Capulet
Lady Capulet
Paris
Tybalt
Peter
Sampson and Gregory
The Nurse (helps both)