1. Romeo and Juliet (an easy to follow introduction to Shakespeare and Romeo and Juliet)

2. Shakespeare Background
Wrote in bars and pubs because:
Free light from candles
Cheap food
Inspiration

3. Globe Theater Nicknamed “The Wooden O” Pennystinkers/ Lower Class
First level– closest to the stage
Middle Class
At the bottom, on the benches behind the Pennystinkers
Royalty/ Clergy
Upper two levels, away from Pennystinkers

4. Levels of Shakespearean Writing
Sex/ love/ magic/ innuendo– Lowest or basest level. For the uneducated.
Plot– for the middle class & those that want to know first and foremost what happens.
Poetic Language– Reserved for the educated, usually the clergy or royalty.
Universal Truths– Reserved for those that think and are educated. (Critics, clergy, and/or royalty)

5. Types of Writings Shakespeare wrote Sonnets Three types of plays
Histories
Tragedies
Comedies

6. Sonnets 14 lines long Usually about love Written to the “Dark Lady”
Written in iambic pentameter
3 quatrains
1 couplet
Usually about love
Written to the “Dark Lady”
Could be an older female lover
Could be a young royal

7. Histories Tell the history of the kings of England
Boring for American students
Often ignored

8. Tragedies Five Elements Magic or fantasy Hero dies
Very Important People
(e.g., kings, princes, movers and shakers in Renaissance society)
Very Important Things
(e.g., wars, coronations, marriages, battles as the story begins)
Tragic hero with a tragic flaw
Tragic flaw– A personality defect that will cause the protagonist’s downfall.
Magic or fantasy
(e.g., ghosts, magical storms, witches, or witchcraft)
Hero dies

9. Comedies Five elements: End well and not necessarily funny
Usually end in at least one marriage
Bestiality
Confused gender/ identity
Magic or fairy involvement

10. Poetry Terms Monologue– One person speaking on stage
E.g., Antony’s speech to the plebeians about Caesar
Soliloquy– A long speech wherein a character tells his innermost thoughts and feelings.
e.g., Antony speaks aloud to himself after he shakes all the conspirators’ hands and tells of his plans for vengeance.
Aside– One person telling the audience something in a short statement.
Tragic flaw– A personality trait that leads to the downfall of the protagonist in a Shakespearean tragedy.
Brutus is gullible and trusts the wrong people.

11. Well-known Facts about Will
Great writer of England
Plays translated into all languages, musicals, ballets
Born Stratford-upon-Avon
Well-to-do, affluent while alive
Most quoted, other than the Bible

12. Lesser-known Facts
Teen father: married pregnant 26 year old Anne Hathaway when he was 18
Deadbeat dad: Left wife and children for London stage career
Father of twins
Elizabethan rapper: uses rhythm and rhyme
“Plagiarism” ?

13. The Competition Bear-baiting Races Gambling Music Drinking/socializing
Prostitution
Public executions

14. Conditions in London-BAD!
Thames River polluted with raw sewage
Trees used up for fuel
Poverty

15. Personal hygiene/health
Bathing considered dangerous
Body odor strong
Childhood diseases
Children often died before 5 years
Small Pox
Bubonic Plague

16. Living Conditions
No running water
Chamber Pots
Open Sewers
Crowded
                  

17. Clothes One set used all year long, rarely washed
Underclothing slept in, infrequently changed
Clothes handed down from rich to poor

18. Theater in London Performed in courtyards of inns
The Theater-first public theater-1576
Daytime/open air
Limited set design
Relied on music, sound, costumes, props and great description

19. The Globe Built in 1599 Across the Thames- “Wrong side of town”
King’s Players - Shakespeare’s company
Penny admission

20. Actors All men Female parts played by young boys
No actual kissing or hugging on stage

21. The groundling Poor audience member Stood around stage in “the pit”
Women not allowed (had to dress up as men to attend)
Threw rotten vegetables at bad performances

22. “Romeo and Juliet” Tragedy Written in 1595 Set in Verona, Italy
Themes: parental control/rebellious teens; fate/freewill; impulsive behavior/self-control

23. Play’s source Borrowed from a poem by Brooke-1562
Poem found in French translation by Brooke
Shakespeare gave story new life and beauty

24. The Renaissance 1500-1650 “Rebirth” of arts, culture, science
Discovery of “New World”
Copernicus: Sun-centered Universe (1543)
King Henry VIII = renaissance man (ideal)
Reformation of Catholic Church