Shakespeare

ShakespeareEQ: How can I understand Shakespeare & apply it to my life?

Shakespeare, alias the Bard

EQ: How can I apply Shakespeare to todays world or the world of early America?TimesElizabethan Age (era of peace after 100 Years War with France & the War of Roses, a civil war in England) . . . Time & money for the arts

Renaissance . . . Revival of learning and the arts . . . Mythological allusions . . . Greek unities . . . Many languages known to the learned

Theater: FinanceSponsors, or patrons (Lord Chamberlains Men to the Kings Men)Business savvy (Queen Elizabeth & King James I witches/demons/obedience to king) . . . Same King James as KJV of BibleGroundlings paid 1 penny & stood for 3 hrs. (wanted violence, bawdiness, & humor)People in balconies paid far more.

Theater: DetailsTimes: 2 p.m. (flag/light)Suspension (plague)Lay-out (thrust stage surrounded by open floor & tiers of balconies) pit musicians belltower sound effects 8 or 16-sided called the Globe or The Big O outer stage = outside inner stage = inside balcony = bedroom trapdoors in stage = demon/witch drop down from air = angel/fairy

FlagsBlack: tragedyWhite: comedyRed: history

Suspension of DisbeliefDefn = when a reader doesnt believe but chooses not to disbelieve in order to enter into a storyRequired in fantasy and sci-fi, perhaps in adventure/actionExamples: THE TERMINATOR, SPIDERMAN, JAMES BOND

Dramatic Conventions = non-realistic techniques that we accept in order to enter into the storyVerse drama (iambic pentameter) vs. prose (Prose indicated commoner, stupidity or strong emotion usually.) Shakespeares view of commonersCostumes: anachronisticActors: men played all parts; acting = disreputable careerCues: couplet to signal end of sceneProps: minimal!! A viewer had to use his/her imagination. 1 twig = forest; 1 candle = nightStage

Name a modern-day dramatic convention in movies.Telescoping

Birds eye view

Shakespeares LegacyTheaterUniversal characters, conflicts, & themesVocabulary (assassination, bump, and lonely) & aphorisms/quotes (Whats done is done. Sweets for the sweet. Dead as a doornail. For goodness sake.)Shakespearean words/phrasesShakespearean insults