Download Elizabethan Period - Warren County Public Schools

The Renaissance and
Shakespeare
GHS Fall 2012
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Cultural movement
that spanned the
periods of the 14th
through the 17th
centuries
It was not a uniform
process. Not every
country experienced
the “Rebirth” at the
same time.
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Renaissance started in
Italy in the 1300’s.
Learning focused on
classical sources such
as the Romans (Latin),
Greeks, and Arabic
and Hebrew texts.
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Art accelerated in
production and
quality from the
Medieval period.
Important artists of the
period= Leonardo da
Vinci and Michelangelo.
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A move toward
Humanism and a
desire to seek the
“truth” about nature,
God, and man.
Christianity was not
rejected; many works
were devoted to it.
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Reinfusion of ancient texts long forgotten,
including Greek Christian works that would
lead to the Protestant reformation.
The period marked a period of Church reforms
and eventually movements that would birth
the American and French Revolutions.
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By the 15th and 16th centuries, European nations
had established their own native traditions,
religious dramas and farces based on Greek
and Roman plays.
Drama of the Renaissance mirrored or
reproduced classical themes.
Pastoral Drama
In this convention the purity and simplicity of shepherd
life is contrasted with the corruption and artificiality of
the court or the city.
 Intermezzo
Was a lighter, more comedic scene interpolated between
more serious scenes.
 Opera
Either comedic or serious, some dialogue but
accompanied with music. Singing used to frame and
enhance the action of the play.
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Opera
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfyHMZWMnQ
 Intermezzo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cap3qdSP
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 Pastoral
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cj0rly3JxY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCIx07t14j
w&feature=related
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The Elizabethan Period marked the beginning
of the Renaissance in England
It lasted 45 yrs, or the reign of Queen Elizabeth
I (1558-1603).
During this period all Arts blossomed, but
Drama and Theater excelled like no other.
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The Medieval Period had been primarily been a
vehicle for religious and moral messages.
The Elizabethan Period, including plays by
Shakespeare and his contemporaries, marked a
radical departure from this model.
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The new plays presented colorful and complex
characters, love, hate, jealousy, lust for power,
and revenge.
It was a very popular form of entertainment:
both common people and nobility alike
enjoyed it as a pastime.
However, the town officials and clergy
considered it tawdry and actors as vagabonds.
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Elizabethan theater was an interactive event.
Audiences commonly talked back to the actors
and even through fruit when displeased with
performances.
Women were not allowed to enter the
profession, so men played all parts including
female parts.
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Scenery was minimal in many productions.
Language and the poetry of the plays was the
centerpiece of a great production.
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Why do you think his works are important?
Which works of his do you remember?
Why should we study them?
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His father, John Shakespeare, was successful in
the leather business during Shakespeare's early
childhood but later met with financial
difficulties. During his prosperous years his
father was also involved in municipal affairs,
holding the offices of alderman and bailiff
during the 1560s. While little is known of
Shakespeare's boyhood, he probably attended
the grammar school in Stratford, where he
would have been educated in the classics,
particularly Latin grammar and literature.
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In 1594 Shakespeare became an actor and
playwright for the Lord Chamberlain's Men,
the company that later became the King's Men
under James I. Until the end of his London
career Shakespeare remained with the
company; it is thought that as an actor he
played old men's roles, such as the ghost in
Hamlet and Old Adam in As You Like It.
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In 1596 he obtained a coat of arms, and by 1597 he was
prosperous enough to buy New Place in Stratford,
which later was the home of his retirement years. In
1599 he became a partner in the ownership of the Globe
theatre, and in 1608 he was part owner of the
Blackfriars theater. Shakespeare retired and returned to
Stratford c.1613. He undoubtedly enjoyed a
comfortable living throughout his career and in
retirement, although he was never a wealthy man.
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Some of his Plays include: Romeo and Juliet, A
Comedy of Errors, Hamlet, Much Ado About
Nothing, As You like it, just to name a few.
Poetry: The Passionate Pilgrim, Love’s
Labour’s Lost, and many sonnets.
Hamlet
To be or not to be:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ksNbCHUns
Much Ado About Nothing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PV66ODrT
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