3. Queen Elizabeth I – ( 1558-1603 )  Ruled England for 45 years.  Nicknamed “the Virgin Queen” and produced no heir to the throne  Restored Protestantism and formalized the Church of England  During her reign, the economy was weakened by inflation, food shortages, and high rent.  Outbreak of the black plague, food riots, Catholic conspiracies, threats of invasion, etc.  During the Elizabethan Period, hundreds of people were convicted as witches and executed

4. King James I – ( 1603-1628 )  Renamed Shakespeare’’s acting troupe “The King’s Men”  Believed in the supernatural and interested in witchcraft  Religious and believed in the existence of supernatural evil  Commissioned a translation of the bible from Latin to English  Published a book about witchcraft called “Demonologie“ in 1597

5.  Witches and witchcraft were a morbid fascination  Between 1560-1603, hundreds of people (nearly all women) were convicted as witches and executed  Witches could predict the future, bring on daytime and nighttime, cause fogs and storms, and change into animals  If convicted, people would be subjected to torture and death by hanging or burning at the stake  King James I was fascinated by witchcraft  Signs of possession were: trance, change of appearance, inability to pray, visions, disturbed behavior, lack of fear, indifference to life, and invitations to evil spirits to possess one’s body.  Shakespeare’s audience were religious Christians who believed in heaven and hell

6. The Plays  Early plays, 1590’s, were mainly comedy  Comedy (and this could be extended to most of Shakespeare's history plays as well) is social--leading to a happy resolution (usually a marriage or marriages) and social unification.  Shakespeare began to focus on tragedy/dramatic themes in the early 1600’s  Tragedy is individual, concentrating on the suffering of a single, remarkable hero-- leading to individual torment, waste and death  1608 marks a change in tone from tragedy to romance, light, magic, and reconciliation

7. Comedy of Errors 1592 The Taming of the Shrew 1592-94 Love's Labor's Lost 1594-95 Two Gentlemen of Verona 1594-95 A Midsummer Night's Dream 1595-96 The Merchant of Venice 1596-97 Much Ado About Nothing 1598-99 As You Like It 1599-1600 Twelfth Night 1599-1600 Merry Wives of Windsor 1601-02 Troilus and Cressida 1601-02 All's Well That Ends Well 1602-03 Measure for Measure 1604-05

8. Titus Andronicus 1593-94 Romeo and Juliet 1594-95 Hamlet 1600-01 Othello 1604-05 The Tragedy of King Lear 1605-06 Macbeth 1605-06 Timon of Athens 1607-(?) Cymbeline 1609-10 The Winter's Tale 1610-11 Tempest 1611-12

9. Henry VI parts I, II, III 1590-92 Richard III 1590-92 King John 1594-96 Richard II 1597-(?) King Henry IV part I, part II 1597-98 Henry V (1599) 1598-99 Julius Caesar 1599-1600 Henry VIII 1613-(?) Antony and Cleopatra 1606-07 Coriolanus 1607-08

10. When in a play...  Only men were permitted to perform  Boys or effeminate men were used to play the women  Costumes were often the company’s most valuable asset  Costumes were made by the company, bought in London, or donated by courtiers

11. Staging Areas  Stage --  platform that extended into the pit  Dressing & storage rooms in galleries behind & above stage  Second-level gallery & upper stage --  famous balcony scene in R & J  Trap door -  ghosts  “Heavens”-  angelic beings

12. English Theater  Plays were most often performed in outdoor theaters  Performances took place during the day so that the stage would be illuminated by natural light

13. The Globe Theater

14. THE GLOBE THEATER  Built in 1599  The most magnificent theater in London  Shakespeare was 1/5 owner  He earned 10% of the total profit, approximately £200-250 a year  The Bard retired to Stratford and lived on the profits he earned from the Globe  June 19, 1613 the Globe burned to the ground during a performance of Henry VIII

15. The Globe Theater –  Many of Shakespeare’s plays were performed here  The stage was a large, rectangle that jutted out into the yard  Held 2,000-3,000 people tightly packed  An open playhouse with a wooden structure three stories high  It was shaped like a 16 sided polygon  General admission = 1 Penny entitled a spectator to be a “groundling”-someone who could stand in the yard.  More expensive seats were in the roofed galleries and most expensive seats were chairs set right on the stage along its two sides  Rebuilt in 1900’s

16.  Aristocrats  The Queen/King  The Groundlings!

17. Actors  Only men and boys allowed onstage  Young boys whose voices had not changed play women’s roles  It would have been considered indecent for a woman to appear on stage

18. Differences  No scenery  Settings > references in dialogue  Elaborate costumes  Plenty of props  Fast-paced, colorful>2 hours!

19. Spectators  Wealthy got benches  “Groundlings”>poorer people stood and watched from the courtyard (“pit”)  All but wealthy were uneducated/illiterate  Much more interaction than today

20. The Cost of a Show  1 shilling to stand  2 shillings to sit in the balcony  1 shilling was 10% of their weekly income  Broadway Today:  $85 Orchestra  $60 Balcony  10% of a teacher’s weekly salary

21. The Man That Would Be Shakespeare  1564-1616  Stratford-on-Avon, England  He wrote 37 plays & 154 sonnets  He started out as an actor

22. Background of the Bard  Born April, 1564 in Stratford on Avon  Parents John & Mary Shakespeare  Educated at Stratford Grammar School  Learned business as an apprentice for his father  Married Anne Hathaway November 28, 1582  She was 8 years his senior and 3 months pregnant when they married

24. Aristotle’s Definition of Tragedy  A man of high standard who falls from that high because of a tragic flaw that has affected many” ***Macbeth is one of the most famous examples of the tragic hero.

25. Prose  Ordinary writing that is not poetry, drama, or song  Only characters in the lower social classes speak this way in Shakespeare’s plays  Why do you suppose that is?

26. Did people really talk this way? Prose - language without metrical structure Verse - poetic language and style Blank Verse : unrhymed iambic pentameter. Iambic Pentameter : five beats of alternating unstressed and stressed syllables; ten syllables per line. 'So fair / and foul / a day / I have / not seen '

27. Shakespeare will be some of the most difficult reading you will ever attempt. BE PATIENT! Middle English vs. Modern English Reading Tips 1.Read the Introduction 2.Read everything twice 3.First time- try reading without looking at footnotes, mark any interesting or difficult items 4. Try reading aloud 5. Look up words you don’t know 6. Keep a list of characters

28.  Set in Scotland  Written for King James I (formerly of Scotland, now England)  Queen of Denmark (James’s sister) was visiting  Shakespeare researched The Chronicles – Banquo is an ancestor of King James I

30. “The Scottish Play”  It is believed to be bad luck to even squeak the word ‘ Macbeth ’ in a theatre  Legend has it you will lose all your friends involved in the production—horribly.  Since 1606, hundreds of actors, stage crew, etc. have been hurt or have died during the production of this play.  It is believed that Shakespeare included black magic spells in the incantations of the weird sisters.  People refer to this play as “the Scottish Play”  The only remedy to get rid of this curse is that the offender must step outside, turn around three times, spit, and whisper a foul word, and wait for permission to re-enter the theater.