1. Introduction to William Shakespeare

2. ABOUT the man Born April 1564, died April 1616 Wrote 37 plays
Wrote over 150 sonnets
Director, Producer, Actor, poet, playwright

3. Types of Plays Shakespeare wrote:
Comedies - light and amusing, usually with a happy ending revolving around love
Tragedies –serious dramas with disastrous endings
Histories – involve events or persons from the past

4. About Comedy The main action is about love
The lovers must overcome obstacles and misunderstandings
Eventually united in harmonious union (wedding)
Twelfth Night has 3 couples
Frequently contains elements of the improbable, fantastic, supernatural or miraculous
Sometimes contains a philosophical aspect involving issues and themes

5. The Theatre The Globe Theatre: Open ceiling Three stories high
No artificial lighting
Plays were shown during daylight hours only

6. The Audience Wealthy people got to sit on benches The poor
(called “groundlings”)
had to stand and watch
from the courtyard
There was much more
audience participation
than today

7. The Actors Only men and boys Young boys whose voices had not changed
played the women’s
roles
It would have been
indecent for a woman to
appear on stage

8. Theatrical Terms Act: a unit of action, or sequence of incidents
Scene: A unit of place and time (setting)
Action: The sequence of events between the introduction and the conclusion of a play
Climax: The point at which the rising action begins falling towards a resolution.
In Shakespeare usually in Act 3

9. Shakespeare’s Words
Obsolete words: Words that were once common to the English language but are now out of general use.
Example: Thou wilt perish presently.
Archaic words: Words that were once common to the English language but are now considered old-fashioned and rarely used.
Example: Thou shalt pierce yonder quat with a sharpened rood.
*ACTIVITY*