An Introduction Into the World of William Shakespeare 7th grade humanities 2015 In this unit, we will... THINK LIKE SHAKESPEAREAN SCHOLARS! In your packet, find the KWF chart: What I KNOW about Shakespeare K What I WANT to learn about Shakespeare W How I FEEL about learning about Shakespeare F - Fill the chart in with YOUR thoughts about learning Shakespeare over the next few weeks. What do you already know? What do you want to know? How do you feel? Excited? Nervous? Uninterested? - You have 5 minutes do do this. -Who wants to share their responses with the class? BrainPop Shakespeare
Throughout the unit, you will need to fill out your "Glossary" of important terms that we will go over and their definitions. This will be important for your final test. What entertainment was like during Shakespeare's time... NO TV, movies, video games, recorded music to listen to... Most people couldn't read, so few books, no magazines, no comics... So the THEATER was an especially exciting form of entertainment. no elaborate sets or costumes no electricity = no special effects or lights on the stage or microphones no female performers allowed. All the actors were men... even the romantic female leads! :-) So the main way to create excitement... words! The words the actors spoke. And if people were going to the theater, they did not want to hear just plain ol' regular talking. They expected something special, beautiful, dramatic since they were paying good money for this!
And who was the greatest playwright of them all? Shakespeare! He could do it all... He wrote about blood, guts and gore. His characters died of poison, sword wounds, dagger stabs, strangulation... someone even got cooked & eaten in one of his plays! Gross! He also wrote about love. Love for all time. Tragic love. Happily-ever-after love. Silly, hilarious, bickering love... He wrote about silly things, like farts and getting drunk and heavily endowed women and men. He wrote about ghosts and witches and things that go bump in the night. He wrote about nobility and bravery. He wrote about evil and treachery. He wrote about self-sacrifice. He wrote about... life! Who is William Shakespeare? Born in Stratford-upon-Avon, in England in 1564. While his exact birth date is unknown, it is most often celebrated on April 23. When he was 18, Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway, a lady seven or eight years older than he. She was pregnant at the time (a scandal!) By 1592, Shakespeare was an established playwright in London. The plague kept the theaters closed most of the time, and it was during this time that Shakespeare wrote his earliest sonnets and poems. In 1603, Shakespeare's theatrical company was taken under the patronage of King James I, and became known as the King's Company. Shakespeare retired from theatre in 1610 and returned to Stratford. In 1613 the Globe Theatre burned down, but Shakespeare remained quite wealthy and contributed to the building of the new Globe Theatre. Shakespeare died on April 23, 1616 and was buried in the chancel of the Church of the Holy Trinity in Stratford.
Elizabethan England This era was a time of many developments and was considered as the Golden Age in English history. This era was led by Queen Elizabeth I, the sixth and the last ruler of Tudor. The great developments and advancements that happened during this time can be partly attributed to the leadership of the Queen. For many, Queen Elizabeth I was England's best monarch. Many considered the Queen as a wise and just Queen and chose the right advisers and never let herself get dominated by these advisers. She ruled the era for 45 fruitful years. The Elizabethan era which Queen Elizabeth I ruled and led for 45 years was the height of the English Renaissance and the time of the development of English poetry and literature. This is when Shakespeare wrote his masterpieces! If you lived in Elizabethan England... You would be VERY friendly with your neighbors. Everything was extremely crowded in London. You would not have a toilet. Waste was usually thrown out the window and into the street. You would probably only bathe once or twice a year, depending on how rich you were. You'd probably carry around flowers or herbs to deal with the smells. You would have to go to church each week. It's the law. Women's jobs are to be child-bearers and homemakers. For entertainment, you'd go to church events or to the theatre. Punishment for every crime was harsh. For women-gossips, they were placed in a harsh cage called brank, wherein your head and arms were held by a sharpened metal band that exactly fitted into the mouth. Any tongue movement damaged the tongue. Only boys would attend school. Death from dental visits was due to loss of blood and intolerable pain from traditional instruments used like stone, coral, and brick. Your parents would most likely chose who you would marry.
February 13, 2015 The Globe Theater The Globe was the most magnificent theater that London had ever seen and built in 1597-1598. This theatre could hold several thousand people! It was situated on the South bank of the river Thames in Southwark. The old Globe Theatre was a magnificent amphitheater. Maps of London clearly show the architecture of the Globe Theatre, and these have enabled an approximate picture of the old Globe Theatre to be drawn. The Elizabethan general public (the Commoners) referred to as groundlings would pay 1 penny to stand in the 'Pit' of the Globe Theater. The gentry would pay to sit in the galleries often using cushions for comfort! Rich nobles could watch the play from a chair set on the side of the Globe stage itself. Theatre performances were held in the afternoon, because, of course, there was no artificial lighting. The Globe was only in use until 1613, when on June 29 a fire broke out at the Globe Theatre. The canon used for special effects, such as heralding great entrances, was loaded with gunpowder and wadding. The thatched roof caught on fire and the Globe Theatre burned to the ground. It is not known whether there were any casualties but there must have been some panic. In 1614 the Globe Theatre was rebuilt (referred to as Globe 2). Shakespeare s Theatre The Globe Winch tower contained machinery for lowering actors onto the stage. A flag would signal to people that there was a performance that day. A gallery was above the stage and a place for musicians, balcony scenes, etc. A raised, rectangular stage, sticking out into the yard. It only had space for 12 actors, at most, to appear at the time. Galleries were three stories of seats, supported by the pillars. Thatched roof over galleries. Private boxes where rich people sat and watched were called Gentlemen's Rooms. Curtains separated the stage from the backstage area. The open air standing room in front of the stage was called the yard. The floor was covered in the hard-wearing earth, ash and hazelnut shells.
How many of Shakespeare's plays can you name? Comedies: All's Well That Ends Well,* As You Like It, The Comedy of Errors, Cymbeline,* Love's Labours Lost, Measure for Measure,* The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Merchant of Venice, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Much Ado About Nothing, Pericles, Prince of Tyre,* Taming of the Shrew, The Tempest Troilus and Cressida,* Twelfth Night, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Two Noble Kinsmen, Winter's Tale* Histories: Henry IV Part I, Henry IV Part II, Henry V, Henry VI Part I, Henry VI Part II, Henry VI Part III, Henry VIII, King John, Richard II, Richard III Tragedies: Antony and Cleopatra, Coriolanus, Hamlet, Julius Caesar, King Lear, Macbeth, Othello, Romeo and Juliet, Timon of Athens, Titus Andronicus * = "Problem Plays" because they are tragic comedies
Testing a Hypothesis * Interview at LEAST 8 adults (over 18). These can be parents, relatives, teachers, neighbors, friends' parents, people at the mall, the friendly Trader Joe's checkout person...anyone! * Ask them the following question, "In your opinion, who were the 3 most influential writers of ALL TIME even though they are not your personal favorites?" *Make sure you do NOT tell them what we are studying it may skew the results unfairly! Just tell them you are conducting a survey for your language arts class. * Record each interviewee's answers on your survey form. * Once you have all your interviews, calculate how many people voted for each writer. Record who the TOP 3 writers were, based on the answers you received. Words, Words, Words: Shakespearean Quotes & Allusions DEFINITION: an allusion is an expression or reference to a famous person, place, thing, or part of another work of literature. It is assumed that the reader understands the allusion. Shakespeare's influence is all around us...in movies, TV, literature, and even in our everyday conversations! Do you even know that some of the allusions you hear everyday are from Shakespeare?! Can you think of any right now? Let's take a look at some examples...
Allusions from TV, Music, and Film February 13, 2015 - The title of William Faulker's novel, The Sound and the Fury, comes from Macbeth's famous soliloquy: "Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player That struts and frets his hour upon the stage And then is heard no more: it is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing." Macbeth Act V, Scene 5 -The movie, 10 Things I Hate About You, is a modern version of Taming of the Shrew heath ledger singing cant take my eyes off you.mov -Taylor Swift's song "Romeo and Juliet" references both the title and the story of Shakespeare's play -Reference to "Something wicked this way comes" from Macbeth's witches in Harry Potter Harry Potter -The TV show, Star Trek references Shakespeare constantly! Take a look! Star Trek VI Shakespeare Quotes.mov Phrases and Words that Allude to Shakespeare "It s Greek to me" (Julius Caesar) - When you say, "It s Greek to me" you are admitting that you do not know or understand something. "Wear one s heart on one s sleeve" (Othello) - To be a hopeless romantic (or be open and honest about how you feel) is to wear one's heart on one's sleeve. "Break the ice" (The Taming of the Shrew) - Often when you meet someone for the first time, you "break the ice" by asking them polite questions about themselves. "A laughing stock" (The Merry Wives of Windsor) - To be a laughing stock is to be considered a joke by many people. "Too much of a good thing" (As You Like It) - It is said that "too much of a good thing" (i.e. money, love, food) is not necessarily good for you. "In a pickle" (The Tempest) - To be "in a pickle" is to be in trouble or a situation that you cannot easily get out of.
He said WHAT?! Here are some words that are frequently used in Shakespeare's plays, but can cause trouble for the modern reader. With your desk partner, try to define as many terms as you can on the chart in your packet. You have 4 minutes. GO! 1. abed 13. perchance 2. anon 14. well met 3. chide 15. wilt 4. dost (doth) 16. e'en 5. fare thee well 17. ere 6. good morrow 7. ne'er 8. hast (hath) 18. is't 9. prithee 19. o'er 10. thee 20. t'is 11. thou 21. t'was 12. thy 22. t'were And the Answers Are... 1. abed= in bed 13. perchance= maybe 2. anon= soon 14. well met= greeting, "hi!" 3. chide= scold 15. wilt= will 4. dost (doth)= does 16. e'en= even 5. fare thee well= "bye" 17. ere= before 6. good morrow= good day, good morning 7. ne'er= never 8. hast (hath)= have 18. is't= is it 9. prithee= please 19. o'er= over 10. thee= you 20. t'is= it is 11. thou= you 21. t'was= it was 12. thy= your 22. t'were= it was
Shakespeare was a Pretty PUNNY Guy! DEFINITION: a PUN is a play on words which have the same sound but different meanings. Modern examples: Your golf addiction is driving a wedge between us. I like the latest horror movie so much that I've arranged a private screaming. We can only have spring break in March, because the last time it happened in February, it took until August to get it fixed. A noun and a verb were dating but they broke up because the noun was too possessive. Lightning sometimes shocks people because it just doesn't know how to conduct itself. I used to be a watchmaker. It was a great job and I made my own hours.
Allusion Activity Directions: Choose 8 of the phrases that come from Shakespeare. Explain what each phrase means when someone says it today. Also, include an example or explanation of WHEN someone might say the phrase. EXAMPLE: In stitches (Twelfth Night)- When someone says they are "in stitches," it means they are laughing really hard! You might say this if a friend told you a really funny joke or you were watching a funny movie and you laughed so hard you could barely breathe. Choose 8: A fool's paradise. Romeo and Juliet. All the world's a stage. As You Like It. All's well that ends well. All's Well That Ends Well. As... luck would have it. The Merry Wives of Windsor. Come full circle. King Lear. Come what may. Macbeth. Cowards die many times before their deaths. Julius Caesar. As dead as a doornail (Henry VI) Dish fit for the gods. Julius Caesar. Dog will have its day. Hamlet. Eaten me out of house and home. Henry IV. Elbow room. King John. Et tu, Brute! [Latin: And you, Brutus!] Julius Caesar. Every inch a king. King Lear Hearts of gold. Henry VI Part I. Hold a candle to. The Merchant of Venice. I have not slept one wink. Cymbeline. I will wear my heart upon my sleeve (Othello) In my mind's eye. Hamlet. Kill... with kindness. The Taming of the Shrew. Love is blind. The Merchant of Venice My own flesh and blood. The Merchant of Venice. Neither here nor there (Othello) Neither rhyme nor reason. As You Like It. One fell swoop. Macbeth. Out of the question. Love's Labour's Lost. Parting is such sweet sorrow. Romeo and Juliet. Something wicked this way comes. Macbeth. Star-cross'd lovers. Romeo and Juliet. What's in a name? Romeo and Juliet. Too much of a good thing. As You Like It. Woe is me. Hamlet