Shakespeare's Life & Times Guide Answer Key PDF

I öC~O ,1 The Fundame for Shakes eare’s Life and Tim Honors English 9 ~ ~ c~iJ~ ~ — ~Ms. Guarnaccio ~$~& 1~i~...

I öC~O ,1 The Fundame for Shakes eare’s Life and Tim Honors English 9 ~ ~ c~iJ~ ~ — ~Ms. Guarnaccio ~$~& 1~i~ 1 b~ S 1i-t’~ -~z~r (jJ Renaissance and Eliza e a e— HE MINDSET (16 century England) I. People ?s~i~~4 4 Renaissance begins in 1 2th century and moves to 16th century “‘kebirt~’ j Revival of the classics of Greece d Rome I S —focus on people and human pursuits II. Society Rigid Class Structure (Very Rich v. Very Poor) Growth of Trade/Commerce; Development of Towns IA C b erarchy in which all beings were believed to exist in a proper place in the universe; if one link is miss ‘~: or misplaced, the whole realm is negatively affected. God-~peopl~-)~animals elements 4~chaos (with subsets) -~ III. Deity Religious unrest and - Questioning of the authority of the Pope England determines the religion of England (Catholic ~- -~ Protestant) IV. Nature Houses—stone, brick, wood, thatch Disease—ignorance about hygeine; bacteria—streets full of sewage/garbage; Great Plague Medicine—primitive Food—scarce due to population growth V. International Status Age of Exploration—trading between continents Defeat of Spanish Armada establishes England as a Naval Power Elizabeth keeps all who desire merger at bay (France, Spain, Sweden, etc.) Patriotism and pride in the native language (move away from latin texts) VI. Political ~\\P ~ _11 wants a son; wants a divorce; rejects Pope—creates Church of England Edward VT—weak and dies + Mary I—wants Roman Catholic Church; “Bloody” Mary; imprisoned Elizabeth I. ‘i switch to Protestantism; settles religious turmoil; Virgin Queen—married to England; protects from Puritans; protector and patron of arts; supports exploration; country at peace ~ (‘\~49 ~ ~ oJ~ ~ R ~ -. Elizabethan England Theatre and Shakespeare I. The Growth of the Theater Plays in the Middle Ages: The Three “M”s—The Miracles(biblical stories), The Mysteries, and The Moralities (vice/virtue) Location moves from to wagons to to theaters (innyards provided the origin of balconies, “groundlings” in pit, wealthy in galleries) First Permanent Theater—1576 London: “The Theater” built by ~ j~. ~ a~ ~i hen they tore it down they used the material to build “The Globe”—nicknamed “The Wooden “ 4 + Theaters flourished until 1642 when they were shut down by Puritans Admission: stand among the “groundlings” in the open yard; 2 pennies to move — into one of the surro ding flo.~ (three) of galleries; 3 pennies to add a cushion to this level; 6 pennies is the most expensive seat in the house “box” seats near the stage, usually for royalty or very wealthy, can be — seen by all. Need good weather and daytime (open; no lights) White flag trademark—flown if there is a play that day Spectators are almost participants—reacted openly Dramatic opening scenes to get everyone’s attention (lights could not be dimmed) II. Acting Requirements All 0 Not widely respected Needed to have various skills (singing, playing a musical instrument, fencing, acrobatics, etc.) Actors’ memories must be exceptional (multiple roles, many plays) Actors’ voices must be clear and resonant due to poor acoustics in theater + Continuous dramatic action (no curtain close for scene change; no intermission) III.Costuming + Most bought by actors; some donated by royalty Lavish; (actors fell only where there was not dirt) No attempt for historical dress—used ~. clothes because they wanted the audience to recognize position (social status) of character Colors/Fabrics used symbolically (aristocratic = satin, taffeta, velvet; commoners = coarse wool, canvas aprons; red = ruler; blue = servant; black = evil; yellow = jealousy, etc.) ~“ IV. Settin2/Props/Special Effects Audience relied upon the playwright’s !.ja~ j ‘ instead of scenery/lighting to set the scene. Light properties (lanterns, candles, etc.) use in cate darkness/night Couldn’t hide anything on stage (all props must be brought onloff by character or afready be there) Tiringroom=dress~’gr..~ Some props include ~ il k a sed~o ow~r ange s (from Heaven) and raise ghosts (from Hell) + Sound ffects created by stagehands—roll cannon for thunder Bloody Wounds mimick- by using sheep’s blood in a skin under the costume (gory and gruesome) Battles— ~ (started fire in the Globe in 1613; burned to the ground in ~,4 hour) Assorted Pertinent Facts and Information about the Stage and Playwright Source: Sullivan, Penn State University Reputation—”Theaters were thought to be dens of iniquity, populated by cut purses and prostitutes, and actors were famously associated with vagabonds and beggars. In fact, professional actors were only spared from being punished, as beggars routinely and often violently were, by the aristocratic sponsorship of theatrical companies” (Sullivan, 1). Acting Companies/Guilds—Shakespeare belonged to the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, which became the after James I took the throne in 1603 (The Lord Chamberlain was the highest ‘:male under a Queen) Location—Theaters were located in areas unregulated by the city of London, areas also serving as homes to brothels and bear-baiting arenas. I Pla s were not.roduced to be ~ ‘ S ~ —publication would interfere with a given company’s exclusive contro over the performance of the play (Shakespeare wrote to provide a script that he knew and assumed would be altered—sometimes drastically—for performance; he did not write to produce the enduring works of art we study) Plays were widely believed to be lowbrow forms of entertainment and were not even included in libraries (Shakespeare the playwright would not have envisioned himself as an artist; he was closer to a writer of screenplays than to, say, an epic poet) Scripts were not even the most valtable commodities owned by a theatrical company (much more was spent on a good costume) Play ere perfo.~ d for three different kinds of venues in London - a) i 0 w ~ch the Globe was one and which accommodated a range of patrons b). minated by the privileged c) ‘ where plays were performed for monarch and courtiers *the last form occurred infrequently and was not more lucrative for the company than a packed house in the public theater. There are no surviving copies of his plays from the period—no original, “authentic” Shakespearean text to which we can appeal (Shakespeare was indifferent to the circumstances of his plays’ publication and the plays were not even mentioned in his will because he didn’t “own” them) Shakespeare was unique—he seldom wrote collaboratively; he was an actor, playwright, and part owner of both a company and a theater (rather than just a “hired pen”); he gained the status of gentleman not because of his writing but because of wealth accrued through his investment in his company (this was at a time when professional playwriting was seen as beneath gentlemen)  1~ “The Globe” Originally built on Bankside in Southwark in 1599 outside of the London city limits because the Puritans outlawed theaters within. Rebuilt after fire in 1614. Lasts until 1644. Modern replica exists in London today. Both “The Theater” and “The Globe” had: -central yard, unroofed and surrounded by - tiers of roofed galleries -a stage that extended into the yard -a structure above the stage for machinery -“tiring house” quarters behind the stage (for dressing rooms and storage of props/costumes) - I —overhead structure painted on the underside with celestial symbols -machinery included a hoist to lower Gods and such and -trap doors lead to where devils and such may emerge -open area was called the groun ings -a white flag was flown on the roof signaling i ~ t’ i William Shakespeare (1564—1616) Lived for exactly years—died on his birthday—April 23—born/died in Mom— Dad—John Shakes J’ from a good family are—businessman and town councilor, later went into debt Wife— 8 years older than he, he marries at age 18 6 months later (after shotgun wed. ‘e g) Daughter: Susanna born 2 years later, Twins: Hanmet and Judith born t~. ~ A A. dies at age 11 / Soon after this, for reasons unknown, Shakespeare journeys to ~ and attaches himself to a company of actors Successful actor and playwright by his mid 20s Composed non-dramatic works(sonnets) during the closing of the theaters in 1592 (due to Plague); All together he wrote 36 plays; Known as the “Bard” (or poet) Becameoneoftheownersof in 1599 Spent more time in Stratford in 1608 Cause of death in 1616 unknown Buried in Holy Trinity Church on gravestone held up—no one has moved his bones (this was a common practice to make room for more bodies by removing the remains to an adjacent “bone house”) New Place—Tudor Mansion Shakespeare bought when he returned to Stratford, passed down to daughter Susanna and her husband Dr. John Hall, then owned by the bard’s granddaughter Elizabeth. Upon her death in 1670, without children, Shakespeare’s direct line came to an end.  (F~ç~ \G\?) Chara~teristics of the Plays/Poems Romance Often concerned with separation and reunion Usually supernatural and pagan/religious/classical elements Folktale elements Reconciliation across generations Encounters with wild/exotic landscape Much travel Pastoral element of aristocratic figures disguised as humble folk—or in the guise of (not knowing their true identity) Emphasis on resurrection Spiritual/Magical emphasis Emphasis on resignation to fate Emphasis on forgiveness Shakespeare’s late comedies—considered as a group Pericles; Cvmbeline; The Winter’s Tale; The Tempest II. Comedy Perpetuation of the social order in marriage (end in marriage) Move from fluidity to fixidity of desire in marriage Overcoming obstacles imposed by elders (the young triumph) Temporary inversion of heirarchy (rank, gender or both) Follctale elements (bed trick; disguised ruler) ‘~ Space for women to play a bigger role and be more active ~ End with reconciliation (happy ending) Concerns the every day situation Concerns the middle class Female-centered A Midsummer Night’s Dream; The Comedy of Errors; The Taming of the Shrew Ill. Tragedy Concerns heightened matter Concerns the upper class Concludes fatefully The old survive the young Protagonist has some kind of tragic fault/flaw Tragic flaw is often an extension of what makes the hero heroic Human disorder is mirrored at the level of the cosmic/divine Greater emphasis on individual psyche than social order Tragedy is male-centered Romeo & Juliet; Macbeth; Hamlet; Othello IV. Problem Play + Deals with moral problems (raises unsettling issues) Questionable ending Problem goes from “moral” to “formal” or “generic” A comedy which does not pull off the ending of a comedy Measure for Measure; All’s Well that Ends Well; Triolus & Cressida V. History Play Deal with events in English history (10 plays) Central theme is political—they deal with the gain and loss of power Explored the definition of the perfect king and the psychology of political leaders Also focuses on the lives of the common people in England Deals realistically with events of the past Henry V; Richard III; Henry VIII VI. Sonnet Verse form, a 14- inc e oem, usually in Ia it. e and with any of several traditional rhyme schemes. Shakespeare s sonnets are among the best known, and he also employed sonnets in several of his plays, such as Romeo and Juliet. A sonnet usually consists of two parts, an eight-line section ( et) followed by a six-line section (the sestet). Three rhyme schemes are most commonly employed in English sonnets (The Shakespearean, The Petrarchan and the Spenserian) The Shakespearean sonnet has a rhyme scheme of(a tab cd ‘ efef ~ ~) and is named for Shakespeare’s use of it to the exclusion of other schemes. Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets probably between 1592 and 1598. The sonnets are love poems. They describe aspects of two different loves experienced by the poet, one for a oun man (Sonnets 1-126) and the other for a woman (Sonnets 127-154). Among the most praised of his sonnets are Sonnets 18, 29, 55, 116, and 138. VII. Shakespeare’s Style Shakespeare’s plays were based on Roman structure of five acts. He wrote in unrhymed lines with a beat called blank verse. The beat he most often used was iambic beat, that of two syllables where the second syllable is stressed. His lines would measure five of these poetic “feet” (for a total often syllables per line). Thus this measure is called pentameter. Two devices Shakespeare uses in his characters’ lines are: soliloquy, a monologue given to show the actor’s thoughts and feelings, and aside, a short remark or brief monologue, where the actor speaks his mind to the audience, but others do not hear. Likewise, another dramatic device used by Shakespeare is dramatic irony, which is when the audience or another character knows something that one or more characters do not. a