Shakespeare
I. A Brief Biography
II. The Globe Theater
III. Themes, Motifs, and
Symbols in Romeo and
Juliet
IV. Dramatic Terms
Shakespeare: A Brief Biography
• Born in April 1564 at Stratford-on-Avon
• John Shakespeare (father)
– tanner, glover, dealer in grain
– town official (alderman, and later mayor)
• Mary (mother)
– daughter of Robert Arden, a prosperous
gentleman-farmer.
Shakespeare: A Brief Biography
• Attended the Stratford Grammar School
• Did not go to Oxford or Cambridge
Shakespeare: A Brief Biography
• Married Anne Hathaway in 1582
• Three children born: Susanna, Judith, and
Hamnet
Shakespeare: A Brief Biography
• By 1590, he was an actor and playwright
• Leader of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men
and the King’s Men
• died April 23, 1616
Shakespeare: A Brief Biography
• He was buried in Stratford; the inscription
on his tombstone reads. . .
Shakespeare: A Brief Biography
“Good Friend, for Jesus’ sake, forbear
To dig the dust enclosed here;
Blest be the man that spares these stones
And curst be he that moves my bones.”
Shakespeare: A Brief Biography
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Author of 37 plays and 154 sonnets
Robert Greene, a critic, attacked Shakespeare,
a mere actor, for writing plays.
He acted before Queen Elizabeth in 1594.
The exact year in which William Shakespeare
wrote Romeo and Juliet is unknown, but it is
definitely one of his earlier works, and one of
only two tragedies written in the period from
1590 to 1595
The Globe Theater
• He wrote his plays to be performed in the
Globe Theater.
• The only account we have of the Globe is
from a diary of a Swiss doctor who visited
London and crossed the Thames River to
see a play in a theater with a thatched
roof.
The Globe Theater
• It was built in 1599 and burned down 14
years later in 1613.
• It was an 8 sided building with a central
yard.
The Globe Theater
• Spectators’ price of admissions was
– one penny - to stand in yard around stage
(these were called the groundlings)
– two pennies - to sit in 2nd and 3rd floor
galleries
– three pennies - to sit in the first floor galleries
The Globe Theater
•
Stage
–
–
–
–
–
1/3 of yard was filled with 6ft high platform
no curtain
no artificial lighting
back wall had at least two doors
balcony was used for hilltops, walls of cities, or
second story scenes.
– trapdoors were used to raise or lower actors and
props.
The Globe Theater
• Take a tour of the new Globe Theater. . . .
Shakespeare's Globe Theatre
Shakespearian Drama
Tragedy: A drama that ends in catastrophe—most
often death—for the main character and often for
several other important characters as well
Tragic Hero: The main character, someone who is
nobly born and has great influence in his or her
society. This character has weakness or errors
in judgment (Tragic Flaws) that lead to his or her
downfall. Fate may play a role in the course that
events take.
Shakespearian Drama
Comic Relief: A humorous scene, incident,
or speech that relieves the overall
emotional intensity in the play. Comic
relief helps the audience absorb the tragic
events in the plot of a play.
Shakespearian Drama
Allusion: A brief reference, within a work, to
something outside the work that the reader
or audience is expected to know. Many of
Shakespeare’s allusions are to mythology
or the Bible.
Shakespearian Drama
Foil: A character whose personality or
attitudes are in sharp contrast to those of
another character in the same work. This
highlights the other character’s traits
Shakespearian Drama
Soliloquy and Aside:
A Soliloquy is a speech made by an actor
alone on stage to let the audience know
what is on that character’s mind.
An Aside is a character’s remark to the
audience or to another character that
others on stage aren’t supposed to hear.
The purpose of an aside is to reveal that
character’s thoughts.
Shakespearian Drama
Blank Verse: Unrhymed lines of iambic
pentameter. Shakespeare wrote all of his
plays in blank verse.
Shakespearian Drama
Example of Blank Verse
~ /
~
/
~
/ ~
/ ~
/
But soft.|What light| through yon|der win|dow breaks?
~ / ~ /
~ / ~~ / ~ /
It is| the east|, and Jul|iet is |the sun!