Transcript William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare
(1564-1616)
“He was not of an age, but for all time”
Ben Jonson.
The Renaissance
The word “ Renaissance” means “ vebirth” in French and
was used to denote a phase in the cultural development of Europe
between the 14th and 17th centuries.
It was the verbirth of ancient Greek and Roman art and literature.
Ancient culture attracted new writers and artists because it was full
of joy of life and glorified the beauty of man.
The writers and learned men of the Renaissance turned against
feudalism and roused in men a wish to know more about the true
nature of things in the world. They were called humanists. Man was
placed in the centre of life. He was no longer an evil being. He had
a right to live, enjoy himself and be happy on earth.
The Renaissance was the greatest cultural revolution that mankind
had so far experienced. It was a time which for giants and
produced giants – giants in power, thought, passion, character, in
university and learning. There was hardly any man of importance
who had not travelled extensively, who did not speak four or five
languages.
Drama in the Renaissance
During
the
Renaissance
became a very popular genre.
Drama from its very beginning
was divided into comedy and
tragedy. The first English
tragedies and comedies were
performed in London in about
1550.
The first playhouse in London
was built in 1576. It was called
“ The theatre”. A more famous
theatre was “ The Globe”, built
in 1599.
Biography
William Shakespeare was an
English poet and playwright.
He was born and raised in
Stratford-upon-Avon.
W. Shakespeare was the son of
John Shak, a successful glover
and Mary Arder. She was farmer’s
daughter. John and Mary had 8
children, 4 girls and 4 boys, but
their 2 eldest daughters died at an
early age. The third child was
William.
His
unknown
birthday
is
traditionally observed on 23 April,
St. George’s Day.
Shakespeare’s life
He was educated at the King’s
New School in Stratford.
When Shakespeare was about
14 years old, his father lost his
property and fell into debt and so
the boy had to leave school and
help his family.
At the age of 18 he married
Anne Hathaway, who bore him 3
children: Susanna, and twins
Hamnet and Judith
Shakespeare’s literary work
Poet
and
playwright
William
Shakespeare was one of the greatest
titans of Renaissance.
His works consists of 38 plays, 154
sonnets, 2 long narrative poems and
several other poems.
Shakespeare’s literary work is usually
divided into 3 periods:
The first period – from 1590 to 1601
–when he wrote histories, comedies
and sonnets.
The second period – from 1601 to
1608 – was the period of tragedies.
The third period – from 1608 to
1612 – when he wrote mostly tragicomedies.
These three periods are sometimes
called optimistic, pessimistic and
romantic.
The First period
(1590-1601)
Comedies :
The first period is marked by youthful optimism,
great imagination and extravagance of
language. In these years Shakespeare
created a brilliant cycle of comedies. They
are all written in his playful manner. The gay
and witty heroes and heroines of comedies
come into conflict with unfavourable
circumstances and wicked people. But their
love and friendship, intellect and faithfulness
always take the upper hand.
The best comedies of that period are:
Love’s Labour’s Lost - 1590
The Comedy of Errors – 1591
The Two Gentlemen of Verona – 1592
A Midsummer Night’s Dream – 1594
The Merchant of Venice – 1595
The Taming of the Shrew – 1596
Much Ado About Nothing – 1599
The Merry Wives of Windsor – 1599
As You Like It – 1600
Twelfth Night - 1600
The First Period
Sonnets:
The sonnet is a poetical form that appeared in
Italy in the 14th century. It was introduced
into English literature during the first period
of the renaissance. Shakespeare’s sonnet
has 14 lines. It is divided into 3 stanzas of 4
lines with a final rhyming couplet.
The sonnets of Shakespeare were published in
1609, but were probably written between
1597-1600. the first 126 are addressed to a
man, a certain “W.H” whose identity remains
unknown. Shakespeare complains of his
hard life in which his love for his friend is
the only comfort (sonnets 26-29), but his
friend often forgets him (sonnet 33).
Beginning with sonnet 127 a new person
appears – The Dark Lady. The author and
his friend are in love with her. The author
both loves her and hates her for making him
and his friend suffer (sonnet 133). Thus the
sonnets are connected by their common
theme – love and friendship.
Histories:
During the first period Shakespeare wrote
histories (chronicles) which are a poetic
history of England. Shakespeare gives a
broad panorama of England life. Scenes of
private life alternate with episodes of war
and political intrigues. Shakespeare shows
the terrible world of feudal relations
between people. The histories show the
defeat of the feudal lords and the necessity
of a strong national state united under the
power of the king.
The historical plays are:
King Henry VI – 1592,
The Tragedy of King Richard III – 1593,
Romeo and Juliet - 1593
Titus Andronicus – 1594,
The Tragedy of King Richard II – 1594,
The Life and Death of King John – 1594,
King Henry IV – 1597,
The Life of King Henry V – 1599 ,
Julius Caesar - 1599
Shakespeare’s first tragedy
Shakespeare turned from
the romantic comedies to
make the romantic
tragedy of Romeo and
Juliet. The play is still
very popular and the
names of Romeo and
Juliet are used to
describe any great lovers.
In the tragedy the problem
of love is raised to a deep
social problem. The play
treats love as a serious
tragic subject
For never was a story of more woe
Than this of Juliet and her Romeo
My opinion about Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet are the victims of a
long senseless feud between their
families.
The world of the Montagues and
Capulets is antagonistic to their
love. The young people are to
fight against medieval traditions
and patriarchal morality.
The death of the young people makes
the older generation realize the
absurdity of their feud and leads
to the reconciliation of the two
families. The tragedy ends in an
optimistic mood.
This tragedy is very touching. It’s
prove again that true love is live
and I recommend to read it.
The Second Period
(1601-1608)
In the plays of this period the dramatist reaches
his full maturity.
Shakespeare showed that people had to look for
another and more perfect life. Society could
achieve progress and happiness only
through struggle. He had faith in man’s
virtue. In Shakespeare’s tragedies the evil
forces are victorious only to a certain point,
in the end the good wins.
During the second period Shakespeare wrote the
following tragedies:
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark – 1602,
Troilus and Cressida – 1603,
Othello – 1604,
The Moor of Venice – 1604,
King Lear – 1605,
Macbeth – 1606,
Antony and Cleopatra – 1607,
Coriolanus – 1608,
Timon of Athens – 1608.
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
Hamlet is a philosophical drama,
the tragedy of a humanist.
Hamlet is at the University of
Wittenberg. A poor student
Horatio becomes his friend.
Unexpectedly Hamlet learns of
his father’s death and hurries
home to Elsinore. On his
Hamlet is shocked at finding
his mother married to his
uncle, his father’s brother,
Claudius, who becomes King of
Denmark.
To be, or not to be, - that is the question
My opinion about Hamlet
My favourite hero in this tragedy
is Hamlet.
He is typical man of the
Renaissance – well educated
and noble, open-hearted,
clever and generous. He loves
life; he believes in man and is
full of hopes and noble desires.
He is courageous. He does not
fear to look the truth in the
face.
Everyone can imitate to him.
The Third Period
(1608-1612)
During the third period of his
literary career Shakespeare
wrote the following plays:
Cymberline – 1610,
The winter’s Tale – 1610,
The Tempest – 1611,
Henry VIII – 1613.
These plays are called romantic
dramas. There are no great
problems and strong conflicts in
them. Shakespeare has entered
into the beautiful world of
fantasy and allergy.
Shakespeare’s death
Shakespeare died on 23
April 1616.
He was buried in the
chancel of the Holy Trinity
Church.
Sometime before 1623, a
monument was erected in
his memory on the north
wall, with a half-effigy of
him in the act of writing.
Shakespeare’s Contribution to the World
Literature
To sum up we can say that during his
lifetime Shakespeare created a
variety of plays and characters.
The ideas set out by the Renaissance,
the struggle for happiness and
freedom are expressed by him in
the most realistic forms.
Shakespeare’s plays have become so
popular in the world because of
his great humanistic ideas and his
realistic characters.
Shakespeare did not idealize the
people he portrayed. He painted
them as they were in his time.
The central themes
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
The idea of freedom for
peoples.
Humanism.
Freedom for the individual.
The idea of patriotism.
National unity under one
strong king.
Social relations between
people.
The masses as a political
force.
The themes of love and
friendship.
The struggle against cruel
medieval blood-feuds.
“He was not of an age, but for all
time”
Shakespeare’s ideas of
love, freedom, humanism
and national unity are still
very
popular.
Shakespeare is far from
us only in time. When he
speaks in his plays, we
feel that he speaks for us
and to us.
His plays are staged by
all the world’s theatres
and in Russia as well.