Transcript Romeo and Juliet - Leuzinger High School

Background notes for
Romeo & Juliet
English 9, Unit 7
This presentation will…
inform you about the life and work of the
mysterious William Shakespeare.
provide you details about Elizabethan
society and theater.
Introduce you to the characters in Romeo
and Juliet
define basic terminology related to
Shakespearean drama.
April 23, 1564: William Shakespeare was born in
Stratford-on-Avon to John and Mary Shakespeare. There
is a baptismal registration for Shakespeare, but few other
written records exist. He was the 3 rd of 8 children.
Much of Shakespeare’s younger years
remain a mystery, but there are rumors
about what jobs he may have worked.
Schoolmaster
Lawyer
Butcher Apprentice
1582: According to church records, Shakespeare
married Anne Hathaway.
At the time of their marriage, William was
eighteen and Anne was twenty-six.
William and Anne have three
children together (Susanna,
Hamnet, and Judith).
August 1596: young
Hamnet died at the
age of eleven. The
cause of his death is
unknown.
Shakespeare left his family in
1591 to pursue writing in London.
Susanna
Judith
Hamnet
In 1592, Shakespeare began developing a reputation as an
actor and playwright.
As theatres were beginning to
grow in popularity, it is
probable that Shakespeare
began earning a living writing
plays (adapting old ones and
working with others on new
ones).
1594: William became involved with a company of actors
named “The Lord Chamberlain’s Men.” This group later (1603)
changed their name to “The King’s Men”.
In 1598, Shakespeare, in collaboration with
other actors, designed and built The Globe.
This circular theatre was the first of
its kind, breaking away from the
traditional rectangular theatres.
1612: Shakespeare moved back to Stratford
where he retired both rich and famous.
1616: William Shakespeare dies on his birthday.
At the time of his death, Shakespeare is said to have written
around 37 plays and 154 sonnets. He is also known to have
contributed over three thousand words to the English
language.
Sniffledorfen
Shakespeare is
also known to have
written around 884
words throughout
all of his works.
Which do you prefer?
Or…..
Shakespearean Theater
“The Globe”
Romeo,
Romeo…Where
for art thou
Romeo?
Elizabethan Theatre Fun Facts
The First Elizabethan Theater: “The Wooden O”
Built in 1576, first permanent stage in London
Built by James Burbage
Shaped in form of a tavern
1599 theatre torn down, but Shakespeare’s company
used it to build The Globe Theatre
Elizabethan Theatre Fun Facts
The Globe
Round/polygonal building with a roofless courtyard
No artificial light
Three stories high – upper levels were for the wealthy
The “groundlings” paid a penny a piece to stand on the floor in front
of the stage (800 people)
Large platform stage
Back of platform was curtained off inner stage
Two door entrances/exits on either side of curtain
Small balcony/upper stage
Elaborate costumes but no props
Young boys played the parts of women; women weren’t allowed to be
actors
Fire and Rediscovery
Shakespeare’s Globe
burned down, but its
foundation was
discovered in 1990. It
gave us many clues to
the Elizabethan
experience such as
hazelnut shells! A
replica has since been
rebuilt. You can visit it
and see a play today.
Actors and Actresses
In Shakespeare’s
time, it was
considered immoral
for a woman to
appear onstage. So
the female roles in
Shakespeare’s plays
were performed by
young men.
Queen Elizabeth I
Marriage
In Shakespeare’s day, marriages were
generally contracts set up by the
parents.
When Juliet’s parents arrange a
marriage for her, it seems strange to
us; Shakespeare’s audience would
have thought it was completely
normal.
Shakespeare’s 5 Part
Storytelling Pattern:
Act III: Crisis/Turning Point
A series of complications
Act II: Rising Action
A series of
complications
Act I: Exposition
Establishes setting,
characters, conflict, and
background
Act IV: Falling Action
Results of the turning
point; characters locked
into deeper disaster
Act V:
Climax/Resolution/Denouement
Death of the main characters and then
the loose parts of the plot are tied up
So Who’s Who
Here?
Shakespeare’s plays
can have LOTS of
characters. Let’s
try to get them
straight in our
minds…
First of all, all of the
characters in
Romeo and Juliet
are arranged around a
central conflict between
two rival families: the
Montagues and the
Capulets.
MONTAGUE
Romeo
Lord Montague (his dad)
Lady Montague (his mom)
Mercutio (friend)
Benvolio (cousin)
vs. CAPULET
Juliet
Lord Capulet (her father)
Lady Capulet (her mother)
Tybalt (cousin)
Nurse
The Montagues
Romeo
Lady
Montague
Montague
Romeo’s Dad
Romeo’s mother
Mercutio
Romeo’s
best friend
Benvolio
Romeo’s cousin
The Capulets
juliet
Lady
Capulet
Capulet
Juliet’s
father
Juliet’s
Mother
Tybalt
Nurse
Juliet’s
cousin
Juliet’s
nanny
The Peacemakers:
Friar Lawrence:
The Prince of Verona:
•
• This ruler tries to
mediate between the
feuding families.
• He is pretty tired of •
all the bloodshed
caused by their
“ancient grudge.”
This religious leader is
respected as a holy man by
both sides, and would like
to see them reconciled.
As a friar, he’s interested
not only in religion, but
also in medicinal herbs—
which becomes important
later.
And finally…
One other “character”:
The Chorus
The Chorus is not a part of the action,
but a speaker who comes onstage to
make comments on the action. The
Chorus is kind of like a TV announcer
in contemporary life—as far as the
characters know, the chorus doesn’t
exist, but he helps explain things to us.
Timeline
Sunday – Act One
Monday – Act Two
Tuesday – Act Three
Wednesday – Act Four
Thursday – Act Five
Activity:
Create a family tree for the Montagues and the Capulets!
Make sure you write the character’s name and their relation
to Romeo or Juliet.
You can find the characters on pg. 807
Dramatic Terminology
Tragedy: A narrative about serious and important actions that
end unhappily, usually with the death of the main characters.
The play is broken up into acts and the acts are broken up
into scenes.
Monologue: A long uninterrupted speech given by one
character onstage to everyone.
Soliloquy: A long uninterrupted speech given by one
character alone on stage, inaudible to other characters
Aside: A short speech given by one character, traditionally
the other characters cannot hear.
Dramatic Terminology
Pun: A humorous play on words
After that poisonous snake struck at me in the Arizona
Desert I was really rattled. A gossip is someone with a
great sense of rumor.
A carpenter must have been here. I saw dust.
Energizer Bunny arrested - charged with battery.
Corduroy pillows are making headlines.
The executioner decided to drop out of Executioner
School. It was just too cut throat for him.
He who farts in church sits in his own pew.
Dramatic Terminology
Dramatic Foil: A pair
of characters who are
opposite in many ways
and highlight or
exaggerate each
other’s differences.