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Shakespearean & English
Renaissance History
Exploration & Colonisation
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The reign of Elizabeth
was a great age of
English exploration
and expansion led
eventually to the
foundation of the
British Empire in the
C17th & C18th but
brought England into
conflict with Spain.
• The later years of Elizabeth's reign also saw a
long and expensive war in Ireland.
English Renaissance History
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Dates: approximately 1500-1650
Renaissance literally means “rebirth.”
This term was chosen because the
Renaissance was a time when
classic literature, art, music, and
philosophy were being “reborn.”
History of the Printing Press
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During the 15th century, books were
relatively scarce and had to be copied
by hand
Between 1440-1450, Johannes
Gutenberg developed the printing press
Within 20 years, the printing press
had revolutionized information
dissemination, fueling the start of the
English Renaissance
Religion
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As a result of growing intellectual
curiosity, humans began to question
the rules and tenets of the Catholic
Church
On October 31, 1517 Martin Luther
nailed his 95 Theses to the door of
the Castle Church, sparking the
Protestant Reformation
Soon after, the Catholic Church
launched a Counter-Reformation,
filled with heavy propaganda
Elizabeth I promoted tolerance to
all religions, although the Anglican
Church was the official Church of
England
Humanism
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The central tenet of humanism was that
learning would make humans more just
Humanism emphasized the power of the
individual to influence both himself and
those around him
Famous humanists: Sir Thomas More,
Erasmus
Shakespeare: His Life and Times
Adapted from
http://www.public.asu.edu/~muckerrm/English_321_S2005/Introduction.ppt
Shakespeare’s Language
• Shakespeare did NOT write in “Old English.”
• Old English is the language of Beowulf:
Hwaet! We Gardena in geardagum
Þeodcyninga Þrym gefrunon
Hu ða æÞelingas ellen fremedon!
(Hey! We have heard of the glory of the SpearDanes in the old days, the kings of tribes, how
noble princes showed great courage!)
Shakespeare’s Language
• Shakespeare did not write in “Middle English.”
• Middle English is the language of Chaucer, the
Gawain-poet, and Malory:
Whan that aprill with his shoures soote
The droghte of march hath perced to the roote,
And bathed every veyne in swich licour
Of which vertu engendred is the flour;
When April with his showers sweet with fruit
The drought of March has pierced unto the root
And bathed each vein with liquor that has power
To generate therein and sire the flower;
Shakespeare’s Language
• Shakespeare wrote in “Early Modern
English.”
• EME was not very different from
“Modern English,”
Shakespeare’s Language
• A mix of old and very new
• Rural and urban words/images
• Understandable by the lowest
peasant and the highest noble
Early Life
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Born 1564—died 1616
Stratford-upon-Avon
Parents: John and Mary Arden
Shakespeare
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Mary—daughter of wealthy landowner
John—glovemaker, local politician
Location of Stratford-upon-Avon
From: http://www.where-can-i-find.com/tourist-maps.html
Stratford-on-Avon in Shakespeare’s Time
As reproduced in William Rolfe, Shakespeare the Boy (1896).
Stratford-upon-Avon Today
From Stratford’s web site: http://www.stratford-upon-avon.co.uk/index.htm
Shakespeare’s Birthplace
From: http://perso.wanadoo.fr/danielle.esposito/
Education
• Probably attended King’s New School in
Stratford
• Educated in:
• Rhetoric
• Logic
• History
• Latin
King’s New School
From: http://perso.wanadoo.fr/danielle.esposito/
Married Life
• Married in 1582 to Anne Hathaway, who
was pregnant at the time with their first
daughter
• Had twins in 1585
• Sometime between 1585-1592, he moved
to London and began working in theatre.
Anne Hathaway’s Cottage
From: http://perso.wanadoo.fr/danielle.esposito/
Theatre Career
• Member and later part-owner of the Lord
Chamberlain’s Men, later called the King’s Men
• Globe Theater built in 1599 by L.C.M. with
Shakespeare as primary investor
• Burned down in 1613 during one of
Shakespeare’s plays
The Rebuilt Globe Theater, London
The Globe Theater
The Globe
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The Plays
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38 plays firmly attributed to Shakespeare
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14 comedies
10 histories
10 tragedies
4 romances
Possibly wrote three others
Collaborated on several others
The Poetry
• 154 Sonnets
• Numerous other poems
Elizabethan
Theatrical
Conventions
A theatrical convention is a
suspension of reality.
 No electricity
 Women forbidden
to act on stage
 Minimal, contemporary
costumes
These
control the
dialogue.
 Minimal scenery
Audience members must have a willing suspension of disbelief.
 Soliloquy
 Aside
 Blood
 Use of supernatural
Types of
speech
Audience
loves to be
scared.
 Use of disguises/
mistaken identity
 Last speaker—highest in
rank (in tragedies)
 Multiple murders
(in tragedies)
 Multiple marriages
(in comedies)
Background to Elizabethan
Drama
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Links back to medieval ‘miracle’ and ‘morality’
plays – linked to church
Early 16th century the relationship between
state and church changed – different sects
had varying views, theatre was supported by
the court
Contemporaries included Thomas Kyd, Thomas
Nashe and Christopher Marlowe – importance
of Dr Faustus
Aristotle and his Principles of
Tragedy – The Poetics
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Tragedy is a representation of an action,
which is serious, complete in itself and of a
certain length
Acted and not narrated
Excites pity or fear and allows catharsis - a
healthy release for such emotions
Tragic heroes are virtuous and good men
whose misfortune is a tragic flaw in character
and not a vice
Tragic plot is from happiness to misery – fall
from a great height
Chaucer on tragedy
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Tragedie is to seyn a certeyn stories,
As olde bookes maken us memorie,
Of hym that stood in greet prosperitee,
And is yfallen out of heigh degree
Into myserie, and endeth wrecchedly
GEOFFREY CHAUCER, The Monk's Tale (late
14th century)
Tragedy
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Injustice of life – trials and death of a hero
who was an important person (courtly). Their
death leads to the downfall of others
Hero falls due to weakness in character –
fatal flaw
Revenge Tragedy
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Melancholy hero is called upon to punish an
evildoer for a crime that has been committed
Ghost cannot rest until avenged (traditional
figure)
Private revenge for family honour
Ends with death
Elizabethan Theatre
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Drama became secularised
First theatre was built in 1576 – similar in
design to an Elizabethan courtyard
Audience consisted of a range of social
classes – defined by positioning in theatre
No curtain or scenery – indication of where
scene occurred was built into the words of
the play
Women did not perform on the stage
Shakespeare’s plays were not original – plots
borrowed from contemporaries and histories
Staging
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Awning above stage was called the heavens –
painted with zodiac symbols and stars
Area below the stage was hell
Middle area was the world of the living
Created a metaphorical universe – good
characters enter from or into heaven, bad
characters enter from or exit into hell
Scenery was symbolic and not realistic
Performances were in daylight – always!
Sketch
of the
Swan
Theatre
c. 1596
The Globe
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Vocabulary Review:
Create a Crossword Puzzle
RULES
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Use all 10 words
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Provide hints (but
NOT definitions)
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Provide a blank
puzzle AND an
answer key
Hamlet
The Story
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A revenge tragedy
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Hamlet is the story of a Danish prince whose
uncle murders the prince's father, marries his
mother, and claims the throne. The prince
pretends to be feeble-minded to throw his
uncle off guard, then manages to kill his
uncle in revenge.
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Traditionally, Shakespeare himself
is said to have played the Ghost in
the original production!
Who’s Who
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Hamlet - Prince of Denmark. A student at the
University of Wittenberg, Hamlet returns to
Denmark on his father's death. He is unhappy
because his mother has remarried quickly – to
his uncle, Claudius
Ghost - The ghost of the old king Hamlet. He
returns from Purgatory to tell his son he has
been murdered and asks him to revenge his
death.
Who’s Who
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Claudius - King of Denmark, the late king's
brother and Hamlet's uncle. Soon after the
old king's death, Claudius marries his sisterin-law Queen Gertrude.
Gertrude - Hamlet's mother, the old king's
widow, now married to Claudius.
Who’s Who
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Polonius The Lord Chamberlain, Claudius's
chief counsellor. He is the father of
Laertes and Ophelia.
Ophelia - Polonius's daughter, in love with
Hamlet.
Laertes - Polonius's son who goes to
France with permission from Claudius and
his father
Who’s Who
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Voltimand -A courtier, sent as ambassador to
Norway.
Osric - A courtier.
Francisco, Barnardo & Marcellus officers of
the watch
Who’s Who
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Horatio -A scholar and friend of Hamlet’s
from the University of Wittenberg.
Rosencrantz and Guildernstern - Old friends
of Hamlet paid by the new king, Claudius, to
spy on the prince.
Who’s Who
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Player King, queen & other actors in the
company - Who agrees to perform a play Hamlet
calls The Mousetrap Player Queen
First gravedigger - The man who digs Ophelia's
grave Second gravedigger
The gravedigger's assistant
Priest
The priest at Ophelia's funeral
Who’s Who
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Fortinbras - Prince of Norway, whose father
was killed in single combat by old King Hamlet.
Fortinbras wants to regain the lands Norway
lost to Denmark when his father died.
Norwegian Soldiers
“All the world 's a stage,
And all the men and women
merely players.”
So…..
Let’s dramatize
Shakespeare!!!