William Shakespeare

What is drama?The word drama comes from the Greek word for “action.” Drama is written to be performed by actors and watched by an audience.

•DRAMA•Consists of two types of writing•The dialogue that the characters speak

•The stage directions that tell the actors how to move and speak, describing the sets and props

•Can be presented in two ways•As literature, the text of the play itself

•As performance, the production of the play in a theater

Two Types of Drama

1. TRAGEDY▪shows the downfall or death of a tragic hero, or main character

▪In ancient Greek plays, the hero was a good person brought down by a tragic flaw, or defect in character

▪In a modern plays, the hero can be an normal person destroyed by an evil in society

▪emphasizes human greatness

2. COMEDY▪often shows a conflict between opposite age groups, genders, or personality types

▪typical comedies involve confusion, jokes, and a happy ending

▪stresses human weaknesses

How is a play written?

The author of a play is called a playwright. Everything a playwright writes must appear onstage.

A play in written form is called a script.

The playwright must write the dialogue, or what the characters say to each other in conversation, as well as the stage directions, which tells how the play is to be performed.

Stage directions● Stage directions are notes in the script usually

written in italics and enclosed in parentheses or brackets. ● describe where and when a scene takes place

(setting) ● describe how the characters should say their lines● describe how the characters should move onstage ● may explain the character’s mood ● may also describe sets, costumes, props, lighting,

and sound effects

How is a play divided?

▪A play is largely divided up into parts, or acts. ▪ The number of acts in a production can range from one to five

▪ The length of time for an act to be performed can range from 30 to 90 minutes.

▪Acts may be further divided into scenes; in classical theatre each regrouping between entrances and exits of actors is a scene, while today it describes a quick change of setting.

Who is William Shakespeare?

Use your Cornel Notes Template to record info about Shakespeare

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geev441vbMI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geev441vbMI

stratford-upon-avon

his house

holy trinity church

Shakespeare is buried in the chancel of Holy Trinity Church in his hometown of Stratford,

Warwickshire. His gravestone bears an epitaphwhich Shakespeare himself supposedly wrote. It

warns:

Space surrounding the

altar in a church

“Good friend for Jesus sake forbeare,

To dig the dust enclosed here.Blessed be the man that spares

these stones,And cursed be he that moves

my bones.”

http://www.shakespeare-online.com/biography/lifeinstratford.html

his grave

❑ built in London, England, in 1599

❑ owned by Shakespeare’s acting company, The Lord

Chamberlain’s Men.

❑ Shakespeare’s plays were originally performed here,

until the Puritans ordered the Globe to close its doors

in 1642.

❑ round, stage surrounded by 3 sides of audience

❑ few props, scenery, costumes

❑ no lights, so no one went at night

the globe theatre

The Pit

The Apron

Stage

the globe theatre

Groundlings —rowdy bunch, eating, talking, yelling, slobbering, throwing tomatoes at bad performances

the globe theatre

Actors

• All men

• Female parts played

by young boys

• No actual kissing or

hugging on stage

Shakespeare’s World

Women◦ Powerless before the law◦ Usually arranged marriages

◦ for the purpose of wealth and prestige

Elizabethan England ◦ Age of Exploration (including the world and the nature of

man)◦ Attitude toward language – adventurous

◦ This is perhaps why Shakespeare used some 21,000 different words in his writing

▪ 38 Plays

▪ 154 Sonnets

▪ 2 Long Narrative Poems▪ Several Other Poems

his works

Shakespeare’s World to OursReasons to consider for continued popularity; he…◦ Wrote about real people w/ real problems

◦ Understood human psychology before the science of psychology

◦ Explored human nature and the human heart

◦ Allows audience to experience what characters experience

◦ Offers no simple answers

◦ “It isn’t always easy to condemn his villains or praise his heroes.”

Audience

loves to be

scared.

❖ Soliloquy-• A monologue used to give the audience insight to the speaker's

thoughts and character. • Delivered while the speaker is alone on stage.

❖Aside-• Spoken by one character to the audience so that the other

characters on stage don’t hear.

• Speaker may cup his/her mouth to prevent characters

from hearing.

❖ Blood and gore

❖ Use of supernatural

https://www.y

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https://www.y

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watch?v=B-

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KFVLWX7eEYhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-41jc6jSgk

Comic Relief• Humorous scene, incident, or speech occurring in the middle of something serious.

•The bumbling, wise-cracking sidekick of the hero or villain. • Meant to break tension

and make the audience laugh

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdPKsWyWj2A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdPKsWyWj2A

Irony ReviewDramatic Irony: when the audience knows more than the character

Verbal Irony: meaning is the opposite of what is said (sarcasm)

Situational irony: what the audience expects to happen vs what actually happens

OmissionsFor the sake of his poetry, Shakespeare often left out letters, syllables, and whole words. These omissions really aren't that much different from the way we speak today. We say:

Shakespeare’s Language

"Have you been to class yet?"

"No, I have not been to class. I

heard that Mrs. Torres is giving a

test today."

"What is up with that?"

vs

"Been to class yet?"

"No. Heard Miss T’s givin' a

test."

"Wha'sup wi'that?“

Take notes on Iambic

Pentameter &

practice https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5lsuyUNu_4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5lsuyUNu_4

Reading Shakespeare

Unusual Word Arrangements

I ate the sandwich.I the sandwich ate.Ate the sandwich I.Ate I the sandwich.The sandwich I ate.The sandwich ate I.

Shakespearean Insults

Insult activity

Use the handout provided, to come up with a Shakespearean Insult. Be sure to include a modern translation of the insult! Be prepared to share yours with the class!

Hip-Hop Shakespearehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSbtkLA3GrY&list=PL2f6JmudeEVmxWnWn-ZjrEk_yTYQef1_y&index=6

***Cut at 10:21

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSbtkLA3GrY&list=PL2f6JmudeEVmxWnWn-ZjrEk_yTYQef1_y&index=6