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William Shakespeare (1564–1616), `The Bard of Avon'
True or False
• The longest word in all Shakespeare is: "honorificabilitudinitatibus" which means: "honorableness."
• Shakespeare invented the word "puke" among thousands of others
• It's estimated that he used between 25,000 and 29,000 different words in his plays and poems
• Throughout Shakespeare's lifetime, his name was spelled as Shagsbere,Shaxpere, Shakesspeare, Shakspeare and Shakespeare. According to English orthography there are 4000 ways to spell it.
Impressive.
• During Elizabethan times at The Globe, rehearsal time was minimal. Actors learned their parts in about a week; a leading man might have to memorize 800 lines a day and sometimes learn and retain over 25 different roles a year.
• There was no producer or director then; the actors were in complete control of the production. And the plays belonged to the acting company and not the playwright. Shakespeare didn't own or have the right to publish any of his own plays.
Popular lines and expressions….
• DEAD AS A DOORNAIL• AN EYE-SORE• O, BRAVE NEW WORLD• A TOWER OF STRENGH• KNOCK, KNOCK ! WHO'S THERE?• GOOD RIDDANCE
• THE GREEN-EYED MONSTER• PARTING IS SUCH SWEET SORROW• INTO THIN AIR• THE NAKED TRUTH• TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING
Insults…
• HE HAS NOT SO MUCH BRAIN AS EAR-WAX...
• YOU SPEAK AN INFINITE DEAL OF NOTHING...
• WERE I LIKE THEE I'D THROW AWAY MYSELF...
• YOU CRUST BOTCH OF NATURE...• YOU PEEVISH BAGGAGE...• YOU COWARDLY, GIANT-LIKE OX-
BEEF...• LET VULTURES GRIPE THY GUTS...
HIS GUTS ARE MADE OF PUDDING
• YOU ARE A FOOL, A COWARD, ONE ALL OF LUXURY, AN ASS, A MADMAN...
• YOU ARE AS A CANDLE, THE BETTER PART BURNT OUT...
Macbeth
What do you know about this play?
Leading Characters
DUNCANThe King of Scotland c. 1034- Presented as a true and gracious
monarch- Embodiment of Elizabethan belief
that a king was appointed as God’s deputy on earth
Malcolm
• Duncan’s elder son• Heir to the throne• Prime suspect in Duncan’s murder
Macbeth
• Mighty and ambitious warrior• One of Duncan’s army leaders• Witches prophecy tells him he will
be king• Leads to his conscience allowing
him never to rest
Lady Macbeth
• Macbeth’s wife• Even more ambitious than him• Few moral scruples• Incessantly urges Macbeth to
greater ambition• cold
Banquo
• Macbeth’s co-commander• Also hears witches prophecy, but
resists temptations
Macduff
• Scottish thane • Comes to prominence after the
murder of Duncan and opposes Macbeth
Ross
• Scottish thane• Valuable commentator on play• And on the effects on the wider
world outside the castle
Witches
• The “weird sisters”, related to three Fates in classical mythology
• Have been depicted very differently • Grotesque and frightening• Comic and ridiculous• Young and beautiful
Exeunt.