Transcript Shakespeare
Shakespeare Drama - 2 languages 1. Dialogue 2. Staging Dialogue • As readers of drama we rely on the written word and stage directions Staging • Costumes - can tell time of year, time, place, status, highlight characters • Gesture and movement • Lighting • Sound • Scenery • All aspects of staging can work together Aristotelian Drama • Shakespearian drama is Aristotelian – Order, order lost, order restored - comedy – Order lost, order restored - tragedy Classic Aristotelian Plotline • Act I - Introduction – Get to know characters, conflict, setting • Act II - Rising Action - conflict progresses • Act III - Climax - major character changes, point of no return, point of highest emotional intensity • Act IV - Falling Action - rapid movement towards the resolution • Act V - Resolution - Order restored, loose ends tied up Types of Plays • Shakespeare wrote three types of plays – Comedy - always ends in a confession, a reunion, a celebration, a wedding – Tragedies - people die and a new order is brought in to restore – Histories - chronicle of English kings Shakespeare • “He was not of an age, but for all time” - Ben Jonson • Born - Stratford-upon-Avon, England - April 23, 1564 • Died April 23, 1616 • Wrote plays in London between approximately 1590-1613 - during the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I - they have been in almost constant production since their creation Basewords • Reading Shakespeare is like seeing language created • Contributed over 20,138 basewords to the English language Elizabethan drama • Queen Elizabeth was a huge supporter of the arts - by the end of her reign London had more theatres than any other city in Europe • Raucous audiences Globe Theatre • 1599 - Shakespeare became part owner of The Globe Theatre, home of the King’s men - he was an actor as well as a writer • Theatre - 3 story wooden building on the banks of the River Thames in Central London • Held up to 3,000 people Globe Theatre • • • • • • • • • Open-air - plays only between April to October Groundlings stood in the pit No lighting Very small scenery Ornate costumes Props Sound effects Women were not actors - young boys More male than female roles in Shakespeare Excitement of Shakespeare’s plays • Sword fights • Humor • Eerie supernatural events Exploration of Human Nature • Shakespeare created characters that explored human nature • Tried to see how different people dealt with universal problems • Insight into the human character understanding of human psychology Alive Today • Shakespeare’s plays are so alive because of the themes – Betrayal of a friend – Death and grieving for a father – Prejudice against someone of another race – The pursuit of a love forbidden