Elizabethan Age and

Shakespeare Notes

• Named after Elizabeth I, monarch of England (1558-1603)

• During their reign, a Renaissance (French for re-birth) of the arts and sciences was occurring.

• The Renaissance (1350-1600) marked a transition from the medieval to the modern world in Western Europe.

• English drama produced during this time is known as Elizabethan Drama

In general, there was not much scenery in Elizabethan drama, but costumes were quite elaborate and there were many props For example, a pig bladder full of blood was

used for Juliet’s death scene in Romeo and Juliet

All roles were played by men. Sometimes actors had to learn as many as six parts at a time.

Young boys played the female parts. That is why there are few romance scenes on stage.

Shakespeare’s Early Life

Born April 23, 1564 Birthplace: Henley Street, Stratford-on-

Avon, not far from London Parents: John Shakespeare; Mary Arden,

from a wealthy family inherited land to William because he was the

oldest of eight children

Married Anne Hathaway on November 27, 1582 (he was 18, she was 26)

Oldest daughter Susanna born six months later

1585- twins born - Hamnet and Judith

Hamnet died at age 11 (profoundly affected Shakespeare; Hamlet is a variation of that name)

Shakespeare’s Career He wrote 154 sonnets ( a fourteen line

poem) and two long poems He wrote 37 plays in his career. Most of his sonnets were written

between 1592-1594 because the theaters were closed due to the Black Plague

By the time he was 32, he was considered the best writer of comedy and tragedy

He died on his 52nd birthday (April 23,1616)

– The Globe was the most important of the public theaters

– “Groundlings,” - paid a penny for admission, stood in the open court

– Usually from the lower class• liked to throw food • yell at the actors on stage • and sometimes even sit on the stage, especially if

they didn’t like what they were seeing.– The higher priced tickets were two and three

cents.

Public Theaters

History of The Globe

built in 1599 seated 2,100 people Shakespeare was one of ten

owners 1613—burnt down (waterproof

thatch roof caught on fire during a performance of Henry VIII--- cannon)

Shakespearean Style and Figurative Language

Freytag’s PyramidAct 3 : Climax

Act 2: Rising Action

Act I: Exposition

Ac t 4: Falling Action

Act 5: Resolution

The chief poetic form Shakespeare used was blank verse, or unrhymed iambic pentameter.

–Examples: Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?

Blank Verse

• Soliloquies: a speech made by an actor who is alone on stage, intended to reveal his thoughts

• Asides: remarks made by a character that are meant to be heard by the audience and perhaps one other character on stage, but no one else. Asides are usually ironic because they

inform the audience about something of which the other characters are ignorant

Conventions: agreements between the artist and the audience. For example, it was assumed that all characters spoke in poetic form unless they were commoners, the dialogue was meant to be blunt, or the dialogue was relating serious information (as in a royal document or letter)

Anachronisms: out of place objects, customs or beliefs. For example, the Romans in the play Julius Caesar didn’t wear Roman attire. Rather they wore elaborate Elizabethan costumes.

Tragic flaw: a flaw, or error, in the tragic hero that is the cause of his downfall

Foil: two contrasting characters, used to show the similarities and differences between the two

Simile

• A comparison of two different things or ideas through the use of the words “like” or “as.”

• It is a stated comparison, where the author says one thing is like another

• e.g., The warrior fought like a lion.

Metaphor

• A comparison without the use of like or as.• The author states the one thing is another• It is usually a comparison between something

that is real or concrete and something that is abstract

• e.g., Life is but a dream.

Personification

• A kind of metaphor which gives inanimate objects or abstract ideas human characteristics.

• e.g., The wind cried in the dark.

Hyperbole

• A deliberate, extravagant, and often outrageous exaggeration.

• It may be used either for serious or comic effect.

• e.g., The shot that was heard ‘round the world.

Paradox

• A statement which contradicts itself. It may seem almost absurd.

• Although it may seem to be at odds with ordinary experience, it usually turns out to have a coherent meaning, and it reveals a truth that is normally hidden.

• e.g., The more you know, the more you know you don’t know.

Oxymoron

• A form of paradox which combines a pair of contrary terms into a single expression.

• This combination usually serves the purpose of shocking the reader into awareness.

• e.g., sweet sorrow

Pun

• A play on words which are identical or similar in sound but which have sharply diverse meanings.

• Puns may have serious or humorous uses.• E.g., In Romeo and Juliet as Mercutio is dying,

he says, “Ask for me tomorrow and you shall find me a grave man.”

Irony

• The result of a statement saying one thing while meaning the opposite.

• Its purpose is usually to criticize.• E.g., It is simple to stop smoking. I’ve done it

many times.

Apostrophe

• A form of personification in which the absent or dead are spoken to as if present

• Or• The inanimate is spoken to as if it is animate

(alive).• e.g., The answer, my friend, is blowing in the

wind.

Allusion

• A reference to a mythological, literary, historical, or Biblical person, place, or thing.

• E.g., Do not be deceived by the British and their Siren song.