Download What to Expect When Expecting… Shakespeare

What to Expect When Expecting… Shakespeare!
The things that people worry about and some strategies
1. Strange language (Old English)
-History of Old English will be addressed.
-There are archaic words that NONE of us use. We have to look them
up.
-We will try to have some fun with the language- (ie insults)
-Syntax (word Order)
I ate the sandwich
I the sandwich ate
Ate the sandwich I
Ate I the sandwich
The sandwich I ate
The sandwich ate I
Modern order—subject verb object: I ate the sandwich. It is not
incorrect to say otherwise, just uncommon. Shakespeare did so to
make rhymes or emphasis or to make a character seem foolish or
pompous. Experienced Shakespeare readers simply reorder words,
but it takes practice.
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2. Poetic Language (very short list)
Assonance- repetition of the same internal vowel sound
Metaphor- implied comparison between two unlike things achieved
through figurative use of words. “Now is the winter of our discontent/
Made glorious summer by his son of York”
Onomatopoeia- use of words to imitate natural sounds
Simile- an explicit comparison between two things using like or as
Synecdoche-(son-ek-de-key) the use of the part for the whole, or the
whole for the part “Take thy face hence”
3. Essays to write!?
Yes. But, for our first, we will write it as a class. It addresses the
question:
Does Juliet change over the duration of the play? It will be very
structured.
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Once you have learned how to do it, you will address the question in
an in class essay, Who is to blame for the downfall of Romeo and
Juliet?
4. Will I have to read out loud?
Yes, but I will do my best to offer options (ie of who you want to read)
and I will always try to give you a chance to look over it first.
Although this can be scary, it is essential to view and hear
Shakespeare. So, please be prepared to move. There is a reason
that we have been doing so much presenting so far this year, we
have been getting ready!
5. I just don’t get it.
A lot of us know the story, and that is alright. The play starts by
giving away the ending. We are trying to understand what is
happening, but we will get better as we go. We are also trying to
enjoy the language.
To start with we will use summaries, graphic novel versions, Coles
notes to help. We will not lean totally on this but it is nice to know it is
there. It isn’t cheating as long as you are trying your hardest with the
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text as well. Be prepared to re-read! It is the only way to really almost
get there.
Prologue to the Play: Romeo and Juliet
Two households, both alike in dignity,
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.
From forth the fatal loins of these two foes
A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life;
Whose misadventured piteous overthrows
Do with their death bury their parents' strife.
The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love,
And the continuance of their parents' rage,
Which, but their children's end, nought could remove,
Is now the two hours' traffic of our stage;
The which if you with patient ears attend,
What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend
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1. What story does this sonnet tell?
2. What does it reveal?
3. Mark the rhyme scheme (a, b, c, d, e, f, g)
4. Number the lines
5. How many syllables are there in each line?
6. Is there a pattern to the beat or sound of the syllables?
Sonnet Rules Class Note:

It must consist of 14 lines.

It must be written in iambic pentameter (duh-DUH-duh-DUH-duh-DUHduh-DUH-duh-DUH).

It must use the Shakespearean rhyme scheme:
A
B
A
B
C
D
C
D
E
F
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E
F
G
G
Every A rhymes with every A, every B rhymes with every B, and so forth. You'll
notice this type of sonnet consists of three quatrains (that is, four consecutive
lines of verse that make up a stanza or division of lines in a poem) and one
couplet (two consecutive rhyming lines of verse).
Ah, but there's more to a sonnet than just the structure of it. A sonnet is also an
argument — it builds up a certain way. And how it builds up is related to its
metaphors and how it moves from one metaphor to the next. In a Shakespearean
sonnet, the argument builds up like this:

First quatrain: An exposition of the main theme and main metaphor.

Second quatrain: Theme and metaphor extended or complicated; often,
some imaginative example is given.

Third quatrain: Peripeteia (a twist or conflict), often introduced by a "but"
(very often leading off the ninth line).

Couplet: Summarizes and leaves the reader with a new, concluding
image.
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Sonnet 18
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Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date.
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimmed;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimmed;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest,
Nor shall death brag thou wanderest in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest.
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.
Task:
1. Mark the rhyme scheme (a, b, c, d, e, f, g)
2. Number the lines
3. How many syllables are there in each line?
4. Is there a pattern to the beat or sound of the syllables?
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5. Do the quatrains (groups of 4) introduce different ideas? IF yes,
then what?
6. Can you write your own sonnet?
ANSWERS: DO NOT COPY
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The argument of Sonnet 18:

First quatrain: Shakespeare establishes the theme of comparing "thou" (or
"you") to a summer's day, and why to do so is a bad idea. The metaphor is
made by comparing his beloved to summer itself.

Second quatrain: Shakespeare extends the theme, explaining why even
the sun, supposed to be so great, gets obscured sometimes, and why
everything that's beautiful decays from beauty sooner or later. He has
shifted the metaphor: In the first quatrain, it was "summer" in general, and
now he's comparing the sun and "every fair," every beautiful thing, to his
beloved.

Third quatrain: Here the argument takes a big left turn with the familiar
"But." Shakespeare says that the main reason he won't compare his
beloved to summer is that summer dies — but she won't. He refers to the
first two quatrains — her "eternal summer" won't fade, and she won't "lose
possession" of the "fair" (the beauty) she possesses. So he keeps the
metaphors going, but in a different direction. And for good measure, he
throws in a negative version of all the sunshine in this poem — the
"shade" of death, which, evidently, his beloved won't have to worry about.

Couplet: How is his beloved going to escape death? In Shakespeare's
poetry, which will keep her alive as long as people breathe or see. This
bold statement gives closure to the whole argument — it's a surprise.
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