1. WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE Romeo & Juliet

2. CHILDHOOD  Parents: John Shakespeare and Mary Arden  Birthday: April 23, 1564  Born and raised in Stratford upon Avon

3. YOUNG ADULTHOOD  Married Anne Hathaway in 1582  Children: Suzanna Judith Hamnet

4. IN THE BEGINNING  Shakespeare started as an actor for the Lord Chamberlain’s Men (London Theatre)  He was the principal playwright for them  1599 LCM built Globe Theatre where most of his plays were performed

5. SHAKESPEARE WROTE:  Comedies  Histories  Tragedies Wrote 37 plays About 154 sonnets But started as an actor

6. THE GLOBE

7. THE THEATRE  Plays produced for the general public  Roofless or open air  No artificial lighting, meaning all plays were performed during the day  There was a courtyard surrounded by 3 levels of galleries  The actors were only men and boys Young boys whose voices had not yet changed would play women’s roles.

8. SPECTATORS  Wealthy got benches  Groundlings were poorer people that stood and watched from the courtyard (“pit”)  All but the wealthy were uneducated/illiterate

9. STAGING AREAS  Stage was a platform that extended into the pit  Dressing & Storage rooms in galleries behind and above the stage  Trap door: in bottom of stage, where “ghosts” entered and exited  “Heavens” where angelic beings entered and exited  No scenery  Setting was referenced in dialog  Elaborate costumes  Plenty of props  2 hours

11. GLOBE CONTINUED  The theatre was often closed by Queen Elizabeth I due to disease that was spreading through London.  1613: A cannon shot during a showing of Henry VIII consumed the theatre in flames  1614: Theatre was reopened  1643: Theatre was closed by Puritans who thought that theater was unholy  1644: Theatre was lit aflame and completely destroyed by those Puritans

12. The Flag: Black=Tragedy Red=History White=Comedy

13.  Blank Verse Unrhymed verse Iambic (unstressed and stressed) Pentameter (5 “feet” to a line) 10 syllables WRITING  Prose Ordinary writing that is not poetry, drama, or song Only characters in the lower social classes speak this way in Shakespeare’s plays This was to show how the lower social class in uneducated

14.  Written about 1595  Considered a tragedy  West Side Story (movie and musical) based on R&J ROMEO AND JULIET

15.  Drama where the central character/s suffer disaster or great misfortune  In many tragedies, downfall results from Fate Character Flaw/fatal flaw Combination of two  Tragic Hero: the main character of a tragedy TRAGEDY (SHAKESPEAREAN)

16.  Dynamic Character: character that changes somehow during the course of the plot. They generally change for the better.  Static Character: Character within a story who remains the same. They do not change. They do not change their minds, opinions, or character throughout the play. NEED TO KNOW VOCAB  Round Character: character who has many personality traits, like real people.  Flat Characters: one- dimensional, embodying only a single trait Shakespeare often uses them to provide comic relief even in a tragedy

17.  Character Foil: a character whose purpose is to show off another character Benvolio for Tybalt  Protagonist: the main character in the story to which the theme in centered, “good guy”  Antagonist: the force working against the protagonist, “bad guy”

18.  Monologue: One person speaking on stage; however, there may be other characters on stage too  Soliloquy: Long speech expressing the thoughts of a character while alone on stage LITERARY DEVICES  Ditrect Address: words that tell the reader who is being spoken to “A right fair mark, fair coz, is soonest hit.”  Comic Relief: Use of comedy within literature that is NOT a comedy to provide “relief” from seriousness or sadness  Aside: Words spoken, usually in an undertone not intended to be heard by all characters

19. WORD PLAY: ANY CLEVER USE OF THE DOUBLE MEANINGS OR MATCHING SOUNDS OF WORDS  Pun: Humorous use of a word with two meanings sometimes missed by the reader because of Elizabethan language and sexual innuendo Shakespeare LOVED puns!!  Allusion: a reference within a work to something that the audience is expected to know

20. DRAMATIC IRONY  When the audience knows something that the characters do not.

21.  Died April 23 rd, 1616  52 years old  Cause of death is unknown HIS DEATH