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English Renaissance
Q ui ck Ti m e ™ an d a T I FF ( U nc om p r es se d) de co m pr e ss or ar e n ee de d t o se e t hi s p i ct u re .
Qu i c k Ti m e ™ a n d a TIFF (Un c o m p r e s s e d ) d e c o m p re s s o r a re n e e d e d to s e e t h i s p i c tu re .
• Elizabeth I (Protestant) in power
• Rose to power after death of her older half
sister ‘Bloody Mary' (Catholic)
• Elizabeth’s mother was Anne Boleyn who was
executed by husband Henry VIII
• Music, Art, & Literature began to flourishartisans came from smaller towns to London
to market their talents
• Artists considered vagabonds until Queen
Elizabeth accepted them in her court (later
King James would follow her footsteps)
English Renaissance
• Hygine was not of utmost importance (open
gutters, raw sewage, etc)
• Onset of Black Death in major cities from
1563-1603 then in London in 1592 and
theatres and other public venues were closed
• Theatre enterprise in disfavor with
religious/political authorities who were afraid
of
– propaganda in plays
– immorality/profanity
– Contagions
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Bubonic Plague
• Top: Illustration of
medieval
impressions of the
plague
• Bottom: Cross
section of plague
carrying flea
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English Renaissance
• Theatres built on outskirts of city out of county
jurisdiction
• Areas called “Liberties”
• Naturally also a breeding ground for thieves,
pickpockets, criminals, etc: slum areas
• Employers often reluctant to allow workers to go see
plays because of the “Liberties” demographics
• Other popular forms of entertainment included:
bear/bull-baiting, cock fights…anything bloody and
gory!
• One of the main draws of the theatre was the hope of
seeing bloody fight scenes and deaths (real animal
blood used in death scenes)
Shakespeare’s Life (or what
little we know of it!)
• Lived from April 23, 1564-April 23, 1616 in
Stratford on Avon
• Went to school at Stratford Grammar school
where he got ideas for plays from
Greek/Roman history, Plautus, Seneca, and
learned Latin (school was very rigorous-9
hours per day all year round!)
• Married Anne Hathaway when he was 18
(she was 26 and pregnant!)
• Anne gave birth to daughter Susanna 6
months after they were married
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QuickTime™ and a TI FF (Uncompressed) decompressor are needed to see this pict ure.
• Top: Stratford-uponAvon,
Shakespeare’s
birthplace
• Bottom: Anne
Hathaway’s cottage
before she married
Shakespeare
Shakespeare’s Life
Later had twins Judith and Hamnet
Little is known of his life between when he left
Stratford and arrived in London: it was
speculated he was poaching and therefore
was driven out of Stratford
During these “Lost Years” he could have done
anything: sailor, soldier (helped defeat the
Spanish Armada), printer, gardener, etc.
The first time documentation of his
whereabouts surfaced was in 1592 by Robert
Greene (see handout)
Shakespeare’s Life
Quic k Ti me™ and a T IFF (Unc om pres s ed) dec om pres s or are needed to s ee t his pic t ure.
o Shakespeare was a part of the the Lord
Chamberlain’s Men (later, when James I took
over the throne, they became the King’s
Men)
o Between 1589-1613, Shakespeare wrote 36
plays, 154 sonnets, and 2 narrative poems
(sonnets and poems mostly written during
time of plague when theatre were shut down
in 1592)
o He retired a wealthy man having invested in
real estate
o His death is something of a mystery, though
Q ui ck Ti m e ™ an d a T I FF ( U nc om p r es se d) de co m pr e ss or ar e n ee de d t o se e t hi s p i ct u re .
Shakespeare’s Tombstone
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GOOD FRIND FOR JESUS SAKE
FORBEARE,
TO DIGG THE DUST ENCLOASED
HEARE.
BLESTE BE Ye MAN Yt SPAARES THES
STONES,
AND CURST BE HE Yt MOVES MY
The Globe Theatre
Can this cockpit hold
The vastly fields of France? Or may we
cram
Within this wooden O the very casques
That did affright the air at Agincourt?
-Prologue, Henry V: referring to the
Globe Theatre
Globe Theatre
• Opened in 1599
• Theatre advertising was forbidden (Puritan
pressure) so a flag was raised and a trumpet
blasted before every performance, red for
histories, white for comedies, black for
tragedies
• Ticket priced depended on the location of the
seat-groundlings had penny seats
(groundlings) and royalty and wealthy sat
onstage
• Performances were only during the day
• Environment was very boisterous, loud, and
riotous, audience often threw food, beer, and
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Globe Theatre
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• Scenery and props were minimal, focus was
on the LANGUAGE! Although props and
costumes were often elaborate.
• No women actors were allowed, female parts
played by young men: this explains
Shakespeare’s lack of female roles…and love
scenes! (it wasn’t until 1660 that women were
allowed onstage)
• In 1613 the Globe was destroyed by cannon
fire as part of a production of Henry IV. It was
then rebuilt and then closed in 1642. The
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Shakespeare’s Works
• In 1623, 36 of his plays were collected by 2 of
his friends into what is now known as the First
Folio
• Shakespeare wrote in Early Modern English
• He wrote in Blank verse or Iambic
Pentameter:
– Iamb: a poetic unit with one stressed syllable
followed by an unstressed syllable
– Pentameter: ten syllables or beats in each line
Shakespeare’s Works
• Audiences back then wanted what audiences
of today want: violence, mystery, sex, deceit,
romance, and comedy
• Shakespeare borrowed plots from other
playwrights (TV producers of today do the
same thing…they go with what already
works…oops, did someone say ‘Reality TV?’)
Types of Plays
Shakespeare’s plays are divided into 5
categories: comedies, histories, tragedies,
problem plays, & romances
Comedy (genre):
Concerns lovers, treats characters and
situations humorously, concludes happily,
‘festive’ plays
History Plays (genre):
Large-scale chronicles of English history,
concerned with social order and monarchies
Types of Plays
• Tragedy (genre):
Tell story of noble hero with a character
flaw which eventually brings his
downfall in circumstances which
overpower him (usually involving other
characters conspiring against him) Hero
usually makes insights that make him a
fuller human being. Tragedies end in
(usually multiple) deaths
Types of Plays
• Problem Plays = Comedy + Tragedy:
Describes 3 plays in which
Shakespeare’s intention is ambiguous.
Some have humorous content, but end
tragically or vice versa. Alls Well that
Ends Well, Measure for Measure, and
Troilus and Cressida fall into this
category.
Types of plays
• Romances (genre):
“tragicomedies” Have potentially tragic
beginnings which give way to peace.
Powerful evil forces are overcome,
involve a reunion of family members (4
of his last five plays were romances,
parallel to his life)
Glossary
• Aside:
A theatrical convention: a speech heard by the
audience but not by other characters onstage
• Soliloquy:
A theatrical convention: a speech by a character
who is
alone onstage or whose presence is
unrecognized by the
other characters.
• Theatrical Convention:
Established theatrical techniques or plot devices
that audiences and performers even though they
are not realistic Ex: Aside, soliloquies, and the
convention that a character who is disguised, no
matter how thinly will not be recognized by the
other characters.
Glossary
• Blank Verse:
Unrhymed lines in iambic pentameter (a
meter made up of 5 ‘feet’, each foot
consisting of a stressed and unstressed
syllable)
• Imagery:
Language that appeals to the senses and
major
image patterns which reoccur
throughout the play (ex: Day and Night in R&
J)
Glossary
• Prologue:
Speech delivered by a member of the
chorus before the action starts which sets
the scene
for the play
• Epilogue:
A final address to the audience delivered
by a
character from the play which wraps
up the
action