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Background Notes for Shakespeare

Background Notes for Shakespeare. All Shakespeare plays have the same structure 5 Acts Act I: Exposition Act II: Rising Action Act III: Climax Act IV: Falling Action Act V: Denouement. Act I. Exposition Introduction Sets the tone Setting Introduces Characters

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Background Notes for Shakespeare

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  1. Background Notes for Shakespeare

  2. All Shakespeare plays have the same structure • 5 Acts • Act I: Exposition • Act II: Rising Action • Act III: Climax • Act IV: Falling Action • Act V: Denouement

  3. Act I • Exposition • Introduction • Sets the tone • Setting • Introduces Characters • Important Information Is Revealed to the Audience

  4. Act II • Rising Action • Exciting force or incentive • The start of the action • Complication of the conflict • (turning point)

  5. Act III • Climax • Moment when the fortunes of the main characters are at their peak • Last ½ of the play is revealed • In a tragedy, someone of importance dies

  6. Act IV • Falling Action • Shows the forces acting against the main characters • Begin to “untie the knot” • Leads to the final catastrophe

  7. Act V • Denouement • Final catastrophe • In a tragedy, usually the death of the main characters

  8. William Shakespeare • Born: April 23, 1564 • Died: April 23, 1616 • Born in Stratford-on-Avon, England • His family was well-to-do middle class • 1582: Married Ann Hathaway who was 8 years older than Shakespeare • 3 children: Susanna and twins Hamnet and Judith • 1623: Shakespeare’s works are published posthumously

  9. Shakespeare’s Professional Life • Moved to London • Owned shares in “Lord Chamberlain’s Men” later renamed “The King’s Men” • Wrote 37 plays and 154 sonnets • Was part owner of the Globe Theater

  10. Elizabethan (16th Century) Theater • No female actors – female roles were performed by boys • Theatrical groups traveled from town to town – scenery was very minimal • No electricity – plays were performed during the day in good weather • Closed down by plague • Each play starts with a noisy scene to get the audience’s attention • Globe Theater held 3,000 people • Groundlings stood in front of stage; paid 1 penny for admission

  11. Shakespeare’s Plays • Plays are grouped into 3 categories • Comedy • Twelfth Night, The Taming of the Shrew, Much Ado About Nothing, All’s Well that Ends Well • Tragedy • Romeo & Juliet, Hamlet, MacBeth, King Lear • Historical • Richard III, Henry VIII, Henry IV, part 1, Julius Caesar

  12. Shakespeare’s Sonnets • Three Main Themes • Poetry is indestructible to the ravages of time (love is immortal through the lines of his poetry) • Death (the worth of his life is contained in his poetry) • Love, beauty, loneliness, and philosophical meditations concerning time and life

  13. Important Terminology • Figurative Language: language that is not to be taken literally. ex: metaphor, simile, personification, etc. • Mood: the attitude of the author toward the subject • Stock Character: characters playing stereotypical roles so the audience can easily distinguish between their roles: the fairy godmother, the handsome prince, the evil stepmother

  14. Soliloquy: a speech delivered while the speaker is alone, intended to inform the audience of what is passing through the character’s mind. Assumed to be the truth. • Aside: A dramatic convention by which an actor directly addresses the audience but is not supposed to be heard by the other actors on stage. It is used to allow inner feelings to be known to the audience. Also assumed to be truthful.

  15. Monologue: One person speaking aloud with listeners. • Irony: Recognition of a reality different from appearance of expectation. • Verbal Irony: The words carry an opposite meaning of what is intended. • Situational (dramatic) Irony: The words or acts of characters may carry a meaning unknown by the character(s) but is understood by the audience.

  16. Tragedy: As a dramatic term, a tragedy tells the series of events in the life of a person of significance, resulting in an unhappy catastrophe, with the entire situation being treated with dignity and seriousness. • Tragic Hero: The protagonist in a work of literature who falls to his demise through a flaw in his or her character. ex: pride, jealousy, bigotry, etc. • Pathetic Fallacy: When the weather, or other natural phenomena reflect and imitate the emotions of humans.

  17. Taming of the ShrewCharacters • Katherine • The “shrew” of the play’s title • Daughter of Baptista • Sister of Bianca • Petruchio • Gentleman of Verona • Has come to Padua to “wive and thrive” • Looking for a wife with a substantial dowry

  18. Bianca • Younger daughter of Baptista • Sweet and willing to marry, but her father will not let her wed until her older sister has found a husband • Baptista • One of the wealthiest men in Padua • His daughters become the targets of many suitors because of the large dowries he can offer

  19. Lucentio • Falls in love with Bianca at first sight • Pretends to be an instructor so he can be a tutor for Bianca • Tranio • Lucentio’s servant • Pretends to be Lucentio • Gremio & Hortensio • Two gentlemen from Padua • Suitors to Bianca

  20. Grumio • Petruchio’s servant • Comic relief (fool of the play) • Biondello • Lucentio’s second servant • Tries to carry out the plot • Christopher Sly • Principal character of the induction • Tricked into believing that he is really a lord

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