Transcript Shakespeare Intro

Elizabethan Theatres
Two types of theatres:
 Open Air public theatres
 Indoor Private Theatres
 All theatre controlled by
the Master of Revels
 Indoor Theatres difficult
to light
 Theatres often closed
down due to the plague
 Theatres on the South
Side of the Thames
(“seedy” side of London)
Open Air Public Theatres
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Seat 2-3000
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Enclosed 3 tiered
Galleries with
thatched Roof
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Large central Yard or
Pit
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Trapdoors in stage
floor
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Tiring House at rear
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Deus Ex Machina
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Upper Stage
Elizabethan Theatre
THEATRICAL STYLES
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Aside/Soliloquy
Commedia dell’arte (a
slapstick style of comedy)
Prologues/Epilogues
Blank verse vs. prose
Singing/dancing/playing
instruments/Indigent
Sound effects
Sword Fighting
Minimal set
Contemporary costume
Heightened
language/Heightened
Body & Voice
PLAYWRIGHT
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William Shakespeare
(1594)
Actor, playwright,
head of company
Tragedies
Comedies
Histories
INFLUENCES ON THE
PLAYWRIGHT
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Elizabeth I (woman in a
man’s role)
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Protestant vs. Catholic
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Renaissance
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Renewed interest in ancient
Greece
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Merchants opened the world
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Merchants sponsored the
arts
SOCIAL Context
(the portrayal of the ways
that people relate)
Women = property of
fathers
 Theatre is carefully
regulated – women are
NOT allowed on the stage
(all “girls” played by
boys)
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Language
“Plays are to be seen and heard, not read”
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Elizabethan Language
Less words exist
Moving between old and modern English
Fitting into a poetic structure
Prose and Poetry
Poetic Form Hierarchy
Blank Verse – similar to plain speaking
Rhyming Couplets – where pairs of lines have rhyming ends
Sonnets – groups of rhyming lines in a particular pattern
Lyrics – like song, the highest form of poetry
Iambic Pentameter
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Poetry has both a pace and a rhythm that it follows.
Iambic = weak sounds followed by strong ones
Pentameter = ten beats or syllables
Iambic Pentameter = ten beats which have a weak
followed by a strong pattern of syllables
I
tend
1
But
1
to
like
bought
2
bis
cuit
3
2
I
a
a
hot
with
my
5
4
choc’ late,
3
tea
sil
4
ly
me.
5
Iambic Pentameter
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This doesn’t mean you bounce when reading
It helps when memorizing
It means each sentence ends with an upward tone
Breaks in the rhythm
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Less beats = place a pause for the number of beats
An additional beat = a question or doubt
Flipping the stress = confusion or strong emotion
Common words
anon—right now, OR “I come right away”……. “Anon, good nurse! Speak!”
art—are, OR skill……“Thou art dead; no physician’s art can save you.”
dost or doth—does or do……“Dost thou know the time?”
ere—before……“We must leave ere daybreak.”
fain—gladly……“I fain would bake Mr. Love cookies if I could get an A.”
fie—an exclamation of dismay or disgust……“You cheated? Fie upon it!” OR “Fie! Are you mad?”
hark—listen……. “Hark to the owl,” OR “Hark! The herald angels sing!”
hence—away…..“Get thee hence, beggar!” OR “We must hence before the army arrives.”
hie—hurry……“Hie thee hence, or lose your life!”
hither—here…..“Come hither, young lad.”
thither—there……“Look to the east—thither doth the sun arise.”
hath—has……… “He hath killed many a man.” OR “He hath a horse.”
ho—hey (roughly equivalent). “Lucius, ho!” [Brutus calling his servant]
mark—pay attention to…….. “Mark my words.”
marry—indeed……“He says I should respond quickly; marry, I want to.”
pray/prithee—a polite way of asking something……“I prithee answer the question.”
saucy—cheeky; sassy……“Hence, thou saucy boy!”
sirrah—a term of address used for inferiors……“Sirrah, bring the letter over here.”
thee—you……“When will I see thee next?”
thou—you……“Thou art a villain.”
thy—your……“Thy name is more hateful than thy face.”
whence—from where…….. “Whence came that news?” OR “Return to whence you came.”
wherefore—why……“Wherefore dost thou leave?”