English 2034

Renaissance & Shakespeare

Roots of the Renaissance1348: The Black Plague kills about 1/3 of European citizens.Early 1400s: Gutenberg's printing press begins to produce books.1453: The Eastern Roman Empire ends as Muslim Turks occupy Constantinople (Istanbul). 1470: Leonardo da Vinci begins work as a professional artist in Florence as the Italian Renaissance gathers pace.1492: Columbus discovers America.

The RenaissanceA flow of new humanist ideas and newly-found Roman ideas and technology flows into Europe via Byzantine scholars and the printing press. Beginning in Italy around 1400, the “rebirth” of society flowers.

England: Growing naval power and confidence, especially after the Spanish Armada is defeated (1588), brings a “golden age” to England.•Elizabeth I•The rise of London in dialect, power, and culture•The growth of capitalism and urbanization with increasing trade

Medieval Mystery / Miracle Plays (1400s-1500s)

- Grew out of church skits about biblical narratives

- Performed by amateurs, but sometimes touring actors

- Performed in churchyards or public areas

- Religious themes, but often rough humor or jokes

- Their growth leads to ticketed, private, secular plays

- Best known is Everyman (c. 1510)

William Shakespeare 1564-1616

- Widely considered the greatest writer in the English language- Author of 38 plays and 154 sonnet poems- From Stratford-upon-Avon

- Son of an alderman and glove maker - Married Anne Hathaway at 18; three children- Moved to London around 1590- Member of a playing company; part owner of the Globe theater

Did he write his own plays?- About 40 historical documents describing him- Few medieval plays or stories were ‘invented.’ Most had traditional origins

Did Walt Disney “write” Snow White, Cinderella, or Beauty & the Beast?

Shakespeare’s 14th great-niece, Suzana Shakespeare (February 2014)

The Globe (Replica). Theaters were first built in 1575.

An Elizabethan Theatre

An Elizabethan Audience-Typically 3 tiers-Capacity 1500-3000-Little artificial light-Noisy and not always sober!

Many of the stage and acting conventions of a Shakespearean play are still done

Hamlet- Possibly based on chronicle history of Vita Amleth by Saxo Grammaticus in Gesta Danorum, early 1200s

- No surviving authorial manuscripts

- First Quarto (Q1, 1603), the Second Quarto (Q2, 1604), and the First Folio (F1, 1623)

Hamlet - Early versions may have been performed by 1589 - Dated to approximately 1599-1602 - Highly popular for 400 years on stage and in film and television productions

Central Themes• Supernaturalism (the ghost)• Revenge• Love• Indecision and procrastination• Misogyny (is the play anti-women?)• Suicide