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Romeo and Juliet – Background Information
Shakespeare’s World – EOL pg. 1022
England in Shakespeare’s Day
1.
Shakespeare started his literary career during Queen Elizabeth I’s reign, which lasted from 1558 to 1603.
2. What was the name of the first company that Shakespeare began acting in and writing plays for? The Lord
Chamberlain’s Men
Theater in Shakespeare’s Day
3.
Why did the London theaters do so well? They attracted an audience of rich and poor alike
4. How did Shakespeare appeal to audience members in all social classes? He included a great deal of variety in his plays
– speeches, action, humor, etc.
5. What did Shakespeare and the other shareholders of the Lord Chamberlain’s men do in 1599? They became joint
owners in the Globe Theatre
6. Describe the Globe Theatre: 3 story wooden structure, open air theater, could hold 3,000 spectators – most
paid just a penny to get in, richer theatergoers paid more to sit in the covered sections
7. Why did Elizabethan Theatre have to rely on the audience’s imagination? Most theaters had no curtains, no artificial
lighting, and very little scenery
8.
How did the audience know when and where a scene took place? Props, sound effects, and dialogue
9.
Who performed the female roles? Why? Young male actors, it was considered improper for women to be seen
onstage
Impact on Language
10. True or False: Shakespeare contributed more words to the English language than any other writer. True
More About the Man
11. True or False: We know a lot about Shakespeare’s private life. False
12. Where was Shakespeare born? Stratford-upon-Avon
13. When was Shakespeare baptized? April 26, 1564 (so he was probably born on April 23)
14. What did Shakespeare probably study in school? Latin, read works by ancient writers
15. Who did Shakespeare marry? Anne Hathaway
16. What are his children’s names? Susanna, Hamnet, and Judith (Hamnet and Judith were twins)
17. What happened to Shakespeare’s acting company in 1603? They became the King’s Men
18. When did Shakespeare die? April 23, 1616
Note on the Globe Theatre
I.
II.
Physical properties
a.
Located on the Thames River – had raw sewage and dead dogs floating in it
b.
Octagonal in shape (like a zero) – called the “Wooden O”
c.
Accommodated 3,000 people (the largest theater today in London seats about 1,160)
d.
Open-air theater – everyone was protected from weather except the Groundlings
Performances
a.
Minimal scenery, natural lighting - words gave time of day and place of scenes
b.
Lots of action, ghosts, murders, clowns, ghosts, etc. (Shakespeare starts almost every play with a fight)
c.
Plays lasted 2 1/2 hours and started around 2 p.m.
d.
Scene ended by
i. Tapestry walked across the stage
ii. Change of actors
iii. Music
e.
Props
i. Death/wound scenes – use pig bladders filled with blood worn under costume
ii. Minimal furniture props
f.
Costumes
i. Used costumes authentic to actor’s times, not the time period of the play
ii. One outfit usually cost more than 15 hours wages
g.
III.
IV.
Elizabethans loved music - almost every Shakespeare play had music in it
Actors
a.
Excellent memory
b.
Had to be able to fence, tumble, dance, and play 2 roles in one play
c.
Had to be able to play an instrument
d.
Might memorize 80 roles and perform in 40 plays in one season
Atmosphere
a.
Announcement of plays
i. Playbills posted in city
ii. White flag raised atop the theater
iii. Different type of flag was also raised to denote the type of play
V.
Motto of the Globe – “All the world’s a stage”
flag
The “Heavens”
Upper
stage
galleries
Tiring
house
Inner
stage
Support
pillar
Main
stage
Open
yard
Trap
door
Brick foundation
entrance
Terms to Know – Write the definition of the following terms. Use the Glossary of Literary Terms on pg. R102 in your Literature
textbook. If you cannot find the term in your textbook, you may use a dictionary; but, make sure that the definition you choose
applies to drama/literature.
1.
Pun – a joke that comes from a play on words
2.
Soliloquy – a speech in which a character speaks his or her thoughts aloud; the character is onstage alone
3.
Aside – a short speech directed to the audience, or another character, that is not heard by the other characters onstage
4.
Tragedy – a dramatic work that presents the downfall of a dignified character or characters who are involved in historically
or socially significant events
5.
Prologue – an introductory scene in a drama
6.
Comic relief – humorous scenes, incidents, or speeches that are included in a serious drama to provide a reduction in
emotional intensity
7.
Dramatic irony – when the audience knows something that the characters do not know
8.
Comedy – a dramatic work that is light and often humorous in tone, usually ending happily with a peaceful resolution of the
main conflict
9.
Drama – literature in play form – plots and characters are developed through dialogue and action
10. Foil – a character who provides a striking contrast to another character
11. Protagonist – the main character in a work of literature
12. Antagonist – the principal character or force acting against the main character
13. Oxymoron – a concise paradox that brings together two contradictory terms (agree to disagree; accidentally on purpose;
jumbo shrimp)
14. Paradox – a seemingly contradictory or absurd statement that may nonetheless suggest an important truth (“It was the best
of times, it was the worst of times.”)
15. Apostrophe – a direct address to an absent or dead person
16. Dramatic Monologue – a lyric poem in which a speaker addresses a silent or absent listener in a moment of high intensity
or deep emotion, as if engaged in a private conversation
The Language of Shakespeare – pg. 1028
1.
Shakespeare wrote his plays primarily in blank verse
a.
Resembles natural speech
b.
Made up of unrhymed lines of iambic pentameter
i. Define meter (use Glossary) – a regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a poem
ii. Iambic pentameter has five unstressed syllables followed by five stressed syllables
iii. Variations in the rhythm prevent the play from sounding monotonous
1.
Define rhythm (use Glossary) – a pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry;
it brings out the musical quality of language
2.
2.
Breaks in this pattern also emphasize important ideas or dramatic moments
An allusion is a reference to something that the audience is supposed to know
a.
Greek and Roman mythology
b.
3.
The Bible
Shakespeare was a master of puns
Poetry Terms to Know
o
Assonance – the repetition of similar vowel sounds in a sequence of nearby words (base/fade – long “a” sound)
o
Consonance – the repetition of consonants at the end of stressed syllables without similar correspondence of vowel sounds
(stroke/luck)
o
Alliteration - repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words (tongue twisters – Sally sells seashells by the
seashore)
o
End-stopped line – a line that has some form of punctuation at the end (period, comma, etc.)
o
Run-on line – a line that does not have any punctuation at the end
The Shakespearean Sonnet
-
14 lines
-
3 quatrains and 1 couplet
-
o
Quatrain = 4 lines
o
Couplet = 2 lines
Definite rhyme scheme:
Quatrain #1
A
B
A
B
-
Quatrain #2
C
D
C
D
Quatrain #3
E
F
E
F
Couplet
G
G
It’s a lyric poem: it does not tell a story, but is aimed only at expressing a speaker’s emotions or thoughts