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Explore the historical backdrop of William Shakespeare's Globe Theater and the immersive experience it offered to audiences. Discover the staging, audience dynamics, and unique characteristics of Elizabethan theater. Learn about Shakespeare's works and the literary terms prevalent in his plays.
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William Shakespeare April 11, 2013
Background • 1563-1616 • Stratford-on-Avon, England • wrote 37 plays • about 154 sonnets • started out as an actor
Background Cont • Actor for Lord Chamberlain’s Men (London theater co.) • Also > principal playwright for them • 1599> Lord Ch. Co. built Globe Theater where most of Sh. Play’s were performed
The Globe • Plays produced for the general public • Roofless>open air • No artificial lighting • Courtyard surrounded by 3 levels of galleries
The Audience • Wealthy got benches • “Groundlings”>poorer people stood and watched from the courtyard (“pit”) • All but wealthy were uneducated/illiterate • Much more interaction than today
Globe Staging • Stage>platform that extended into the pit • Dressing & storage rooms in galleries behind & above stage • second-level gallery> upper stage> famous balcony scene in R & J • Trap door>ghosts • “Heavens”> angelic beings
Difference from Today • No scenery • Settings > references in dialogue • Elaborate costumes • Plenty of props • Fast-paced, colorful>2 hours!
Elizabethan Actors • Only men and boys • Young boys whose voices had not changed play women’s roles • Would have been considered indecent for a woman to appear on stage
Shakespeare Wrote • Comedies • Taming of the Shrew, The Tempest • Histories • Richard III, Julius Caesar • Tragedies • Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth, King Lear
Romeo and Juliet • Most of the play written in blank verse • Iambic Pentameter: • iambic (unstressed, stressed) • pentameter( 5 “feet” to a line) • ends up to be 10 syllable lines
Verse vs. Prose • Lower Socio-economic characters spoke in prose • ROMEO AND JULIET speak in sonnets! • 14 Line poems ending in a rhyming couplet!
Literary Terms • Allusion • Antagonist • Aside • Characterization : Indirect and Direct • Conflict • Dialogue • Drama • Foil
Lit Terms Cont • Foreshadowing • Free (Blank) Verse • Iambic Pentameter • Imagery • Irony: Dramatic, Verbal, and Situational • Metaphor • Extended Metaphor
Lit Terms Cont • Mood • Monologue • Personification • PLOT • Prologue • Protagonist • Pun • Simile and Extended Simile
Lit Terms Cont • Soliloquy • Shakespearian Sonnet • Symbol (Symbolism) • Theme • Tone • Tragedy • Hero • Flaw