English Renaissance: Shakespeare, Theater, and Celebrations

1. Written by:Jonnettt Hay-Rivenbark

2. English Renaissance • Cultural and artistic movement in England • 16th century through early 17th century • Associated with European Renaissance • Believed to have begun in Italy

3. English Renaissance • Contrast: English and Italian Renaissance

4. English Renaissance • Often called “Age of Shakespeare” or “Elizabethan Era/Age” • Names are incorrect

5. English Renaissance • Important playwrights: • William Shakespeare • Ben Jonson • Christopher Marlowe

6. English Renaissance • Important poets of the period: • Edmund Spenser • John Milton • Important philosophers: • Sir Francis Bacon • Sir Thomas More

7. Elizabethan Era • Period in England associated with rule of Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603) • Relatively peaceful time

8. Elizabethan Era • Considered Golden Age of English history

9. Elizabethan Era • Height of fashion in England • Influenced by French and Spanish styles

10. Elizabethan Era • Annual festivities broke up daily life • People looked forward to celebrations • Many still celebrated today

11. Elizabethan Era • Other celebrations include: • Valentine’s Day • April Fool’s Day • Christmas Season (13 days celebrated from Christmas Eve through Epiphany Eve)

12. The Plague • Bubonic and pneumonic plagues caused 14th century “Black Death” • Spread through Europe, Middle East and Asia • Recurred every generation for centuries

13. The Plague • Known as bubonic and pneumonic plagues • Believed to be caused mainly by fleas • Symptoms included fever, chills, muscle pain, hemorrhaging,and buboes

14. The Plague • Occurred again in England during 1592-1593 • Caused all theaters in London to close • Shakespeare wrote long, narrative poems

15. Shakespeare Biography • Born in April 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon • Actual date of birth uncertain • Went to grammar school and studied Latin

16. Biography • Father was John Shakespeare-not very wealthy but held a municpal

17. Mother-- • Mary Arden Shakespeare

18. Biography • At 18: married Anne Hathaway • At 19: had daughter-Suzanne • 1585: had twins:Hamnet and Judith

19. Biography • Believed to have left for London 1585-1586 • 1594: became member of Lord Chamberlain’s Men • Troupe became King’s Men in 1603

20. Biography • Wrote and performed in plays • Most widely-read playwright • Also wrote poetry-sonnets

21. Shakespeare’s Plays • Shakespeare wrote or collaborated on 39 plays • Plays divided into three categories • Comedies: Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Tempest, Measure for Measure • Tragedies—Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Othello, Julius Caesar • Histories—Richard, Henry

22. Shakespeare’s Plays • His plays remain popular today • Have been made into films and other plays SIngle click for audio clip >>>>

23. The Comedies • All’s Well That Ends Well • As You Like It • The Comedy of Errors • Cymbeline • Love’s Labor’s Lost • Measure for Measure • The Merchant of Venice

24. The Comedies • The Merry Wives of Windsor • A Midsummer Night’s Dream • Much Ado About Nothing • Pericles • The Taming of the Shrew • The Tempest • Troilus and Cressida

25. The Comedies • Twelfth Night • Two Gentlemen of Verona • The Two Noble Kinsmen • The Winter’s Tale

26. The Comedies • Most popular include • All’s Well That Ends Well • The Merchant of Venice • A Midsummer Night’s Dream • The Taming of the Shrew • The Tempest Single click for audio clip >>>>

27. The Comedies: Themes • Characteristics of the comedies include: • False/mistaken identities • Toils of love and marriage • Good versus Evil • Songs written for comedies • Only text exists

28. The Comedies • Famous characters include: • Oberon and Titania (A Midsummer Night’s Dream) • Rosalind and Orlando (As You Like It) • Petruchio and Katherine (Taming of the Shrew)

29. The Tragedies • Antony and Cleopatra • Coriolanus • Hamlet • Julius Caesar • King Lear • Macbeth

30. The Tragedies • Othello • Romeo and Juliet • Timon of Athens • Titus Andronicus

31. The Tragedies • Most popular tragedies: • Hamlet • Julius Caesar • Macbeth • Romeo and Juliet Single click for audio clip >>>> Single click for audio clip >>>>

32. The Tragedies: Themes • All Shakespearean tragedies: protagonist falls from grace and dies • Tragic hero, tragic flaw • An unhappy ending

33. The Tragedies • Usually many secondary characters die • Mercutio and Tybalt (Romeo and Juliet) • Polonius, Ophelia, King Claudius, Queen Gertrude, Laertes (Hamlet) • Calpurnia, Portia, Cassius (Julius Caesar)

34. The Tragedies • Protagonist is admirable but flawed • Protagonist is capable of good and bad • Famous tragic characters: • Hamlet, Prince of Denmark • Macbeth, Thane of Glamis • Marcus Brutus

35. The Histories • King John • Richard II • Henry IV, Part I • Henry IV, Part 2 • Henry V

36. The Histories • Henry VI, Part 1 • Henry VI, Part 2 • Henry VI, Part 3 • Richard III • Henry VIII

37. The Histories • Easier to recognize than define • Arose as patriotism formed in England • Tied closely to real historical events

38. The Histories: Themes • All focus on tensions between public and private values • Have character preoccupied with power • Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra considered Roman histories

39. Shakespeare’s Poetry • Wrote two narrative poems during plague years • Dedicated to Earl of Southampton

40. Poetry • Other narrative poems: The Phoenix and the Turtle and A Lover’s Complaint • Sonnets are most well-known • Form is fourteen lines of iambic pentameter

41. Poetry • Published 154 sonnets • First 17 thought written to young man • Advises young man to marry, have a child

42. Poetry • Sonnets 127-154 present the Dark Lady • Woman presented as treacherous • Speaker seems sexually obsessed with her

43. The Globe Theatre • Theater associated with Shakespeare • Built in London in 1599 • Owned by the Burbage brothers, Shakespeare and three others • Theater had no roof • Plays performed Daylight • about 2hrs. Long • Setting revealed in dialogue

44. The Globe Theatre • The Heavens • False ceiling over the stage • Housed actors and costumes during bad weather • Designed with trap doors—actors could “fly” • Good for creating sound effects

45. The Globe Theatre • Hell • Trapdoors within the stage area (thought to be two) • Used for special effects with actors • Good for creating sound effects

46. The Globe Theatre • Women prohibited from performing so who played the girl’s roles? • Young men/ • Teens

47. The Globe Theatre • Open to audiences during summer months • Daytime performances only • Audiences came from all classes • Men and women attended performances

48. Globe • Stage with limited props because would cut off part of stage • Elaborate costumes were used • If comedy play—must be very funny or if tragedy expected to be very bloody

49. The Globe Theatre • “Groundlings” paid one cent to stand –had to be entertained • Gentry paid more for seats in galleries=class/ social ranking in higher balconies • Nobles sat in chairs on side of stage

50. The Globe Theatre • Style similar to Coliseum • Sometimes used for gambling • Closed due to plague