1. Elizabethan Drama vs. Today’s Drama
The importance of words
Real life versus stage life
Symbolic art
Elizabethan Drama vs. Today’s Drama

2. Shakespeare’s plays were primarily verbal, not visual
He uses words to express the setting and mood
Today: VISUAL – everything looks real
Importance of Words

3. Characters in a play are understood to be portraying real people, not actual people
Modern dramas suggest that everything is real, especially the place and the people
Real life vs. Stage life

4. Influenced by the medieval era are because of its symbolism
Focus on universals:
Universal: Evil= villian
Universal: Holiness/goodness = saints and halos
Others: Truth, beauty, and justice
Symbolic Art

5. Analysis and Modern Day Shakespeare
Three Ways to Analyze Characters
Changes to Shakespeare’s Dramas
What the say
What others say about them
What they do
Remove lines or characters
Change the setting entirely
Analysis and Modern Day Shakespeare