Background Notes Shakespeare, Globe Theater, Social Customs, Language Born in Stratford-on-Avon, April 23, 1564 (Baptismal Date) FYI: 1st born son of Mary (Catholic) and John Shakespeare (farmer & trader) (2 older sisters died young); 1 of 8 brothers and sisters FYI: Although his parents were Catholic, Catholic faith had to be renounced under Queen Elizabeth, who took power in 1558 debate over whether Shakespeare was Catholic, because couldnt be publicly FYI: likely attended Stratford grammar school learned basic reading/writing as well as Latin and Latin authors left school at 14 (lost years likely to help with family; suspect he worked as law clerk, teacher, scribe, soldier/sailor, and traveled to Italy) didnt attend University Married Anne Hathaway in 1582 (he was 18, she was 26) FYI: 3 children (Susanna, Judith) son Hamnet died young 10 year gap (Lost years): likely member of traveling company settled in London - actor and playwright joined new company Lord Chamberlains Men 1599 his company built The Globe as their own theatre renamed Kings Men- patronage of King James I Wrote approximately 37 plays Known as Bard of Avon Retired to Stratford respected/wealthy from play admissions Died on his birthday (April 23) in 1616 Buried in Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon On his tomb - written a curse for those who think about moving his bones: Good friend, for Jesus sake, forbear To dig the dust enclosed here; Blest be the man that spares these stones And curst he that moves my bones. Will: left most to daughter Susanna; left wedding bed to wife Built in 1599; 3,000 spectators Wooden O round shape 20 sides, 3 levels FYI: Based on Roman Coliseum FYI: Motto "Totus mundus agit histrionem" (the whole world is a playhouse). Shakespeare wrote plays for Globe, acted there, and helped pay for its construction Romeo and Juliet probably written and first acted in 1595; based on poem written in 1562 supposedly based on real couple in Verona in 1300s lasting due to universal theme of star- crossed love FYI: Globe destroyed by fire in 1613; 2nd Globe Theatre built on same site by June closed 642. Now rebuilt bit further from the original place Performances advertised by playbills posted around city Play took place during daylight and good weather Flag was raised to show play will go on FYI: Black flag = tragedy, white = comedy, red = history. Approximately 10 performances of a given play No breaks or intervals, so a play was performed in ~ 2 hours Entire company male (or boys) illegal for women to act No scenery, so setting description crucial Costume: Modern Elizabethan dress (doublet/hose) 1 penny (~10% daily wage) to stand in the pit or yard around the stage called Groundlings FYI: Groundlings very loud, smelly, ate/drank ( hazelnuts, beer, gingerbread, apples, and oranges) sometimes threw at actors onstage FYI: put penny in box at door, hence Box Office Gallery seats - 1 more penny for each level +1 to sit + 1 for cushion; ~ 6 pence for Lords rooms Englands citizens saw world as a huge morality play - written, staged, directed by God Believed everything happened to maintain balance of good and evil Children had no rights except those allowed by parents Married young, often 14 or 15 Father had right to force his daughter to marry against her will if refused, he could send her to a convent Social Hierarchy: King (Queen Elizabeth) Church leaders Noblemen Clergy Common people Early Modern English Everyday language of 16 th and 17 th centuries Language changes over time Pay attention to footnotes Read by punctuation, not line endings Each word matters because compressed (poetry) Use imagination! Gave us 3,000 words 30,000 words vs. our 6,000-15,000 vocabulary Verse (poetry) vs. Prose not all in blank verse, but a lot Omissions: left out letters/syllables/words for sake of poetry Apostrophe takes place of letters Been to class yet? No. Heard Fahrbachs givin a test. Whasup wi that? vs Have you been to class yet? No, I have not been to class. I heard that Mrs. Fahrbach is giving a test today. tis ope gineeroerieerofteen it is open giveneveroverineverofteneven Addition of eth th st est and Word Changes Hath doth goeth artwert hast hadst dost didst seest sawest grewest Has does goes arewere have had do/does did see saw grew Thine/ye/thee/thouproper nice silly cousin ay verily yours/you handsome delicate innocent kinsman yes truly Unusual Word Arrangements: Yoda speak 4 words ~ 6 unite sentences ~ Same meaning! Rearrange words to an order that makes sense to you Usual Syntax: Subject (I) + Verb (ate) + Object (sandwich) I ate the sandwichI the sandwich ate Ate the sandwich IAte I the sandwich The sandwich I ateThe sandwich ate I Made Big Contributions to English Language 30,000 word vocabulary (average person = 15, 000 words) 10% of words he used had never been used before gave us 3000 new words (courtship, birthplace, fairyland, fashionable, priceless, unreal, perplex, unearthly, assassination, laughable, critic, lonely, majestic, amazement, monumental, hurry) Memorable words and phrases (Its all Greek to me, all the worlds a stage, fools paradise, good riddance, fair/foul play, high time, in a pickle, love is blind, wild goose chase, eye- sore) Popular Part of Our Culture Movies (over 250), references in songs, books, TV, commercials Wrote Stories with intricate plots, rich characters, and universal themes still loved by people today Makes reading/understanding other literature seem easy Teaches Mythology, Culture, History, Religion, Poetry References to Characters in the Bible, morals, principles, and use of Christ figures Had deep understanding of human nature and helps reveal our own nature Brilliant dramatist and poet Used wide variety of literary techniques (imagery, irony, rhythm, symbolism, etc) Improves writing and reading skills through exposure, analysis, logical thought, vocabulary Meter which Shakespeare usually used for verse. Unrhymed iambic pentameter = Blank Verse Most plays written in iambic pentameter, except for lower-class characters, who speak in prose (everyday language, lacking rhythm/rhyme) Ten syllables in each line; Five pairs of alternating unstressed and stressed syllables (Iambs or Iambi) rhythm of heartbeat/emotion The rhythm in each line sounds like: ba-BUM / ba-BUM / ba-BUM / ba-BUM / ba-BUM I am / a pi- / rate with / a wood- / en leg Two house- / holds both / a-like / in dig- / ni-ty If mu- / -sic be / the food / of love, / play on In his plays, Shakespeare didnt always stick to ten syllables. He often played around with iambic pentameter to give color and feeling to his characters speeches. Feminine Ending - Sometimes Shakespeare added an extra unstressed beat at the end of a line to emphasize a characters sense of contemplation. To be, / or not / to be: / that is / the ques- / -tion Inversion - Shakespeare also reverses the order of the stresses in some iambi to help emphasize certain words or ideas. If you look closely at the fourth iambus in the Hamlet quote above, you can see how he has placed an emphasis on the word that by inverting the stresses. Occasionally, Shakespeare will completely break the rules and place two stressed syllables in the same iambus, as the following quote from Richard III demonstrates: Now is / the win- / -ter of / our dis- / content Wrote 154 Sonnets Sonnet Structure and Rhyme: 14 lines Last two rhyming lines = Heroic Couplet English sonnet, aka Shakespearean sonnet Rhyme Scheme: abab cdcd efef gg Italian Petrarchan sonnet Rhyme Scheme: abbaabba cdcdcd