 Entertainment – just for fun
 Party-like atmosphere
 Fights
 Throwing things at actors
 Talking during the play
 Started around A.D. 1600

 The Globe Theater

 Actors – men or boys
 More than 2 or 3 actors
 Chorus is now only 1 person
 They wore costumes

 Tragedies – Hero suffers misfortunes and a downfall because of his flaws.
Many times he dies.
 Comedies – Hero triumphs over misfortune. Has a happy ending and many times there is a marriage.

 William Shakespeare
 Educated English peasant

 Shakespearean drama dealt with basic human themes.
 Irony
 Love
 War
 Family
 Obedience vs. Autonomy
 Selfish gain vs. Loss
 Government vs. self

 Was written over 400 years ago, so the
English is a little different.
 It may be hard to understand every single word.



Keep reading.
Don’t try to understand every single word.
Instead, keep reading to understand the general idea of what the speaker is saying.
 Reread.
 Read for a few pages to see if you can understand what the speaker is saying. If you don’t understand, reread it.

 Use the notes.
 In the margins, there are notes to help you understand certain words and phrases.
 The numbered notes comment on the play.

Learn Shakespeare’s vocabulary.
 Some pronouns are different.
 Some verb forms are different.

 You = Thou, Thee
 Your(s) = Thy, Thine
 Has = Hast, Hath
 Can = Canst
 Are = Art
 Will = Wilt
 Do, does = Dost
 Were = Wert

 Accent marks – used to make two sounds.
 Loathéd = loath-ed
 Apostrophes – contract words.
 O’er = over



E’en = even
Is’t = is it
E’er = ever

 Find the subject and verb.
 “Three civil brawls, bred of an airy word by thee, old Capulet, and Montague, have thrice disturbed the quiet of our street.”
 Rearrange sentences.
 Sometimes Shakespeare reverses the normal order of a sentence:
 “Hence will I (go) to my ghostly father’s cell.”

 Recognize dramatic conventions.
 Aside: If the stage directions say aside, it means that only that person and the audience are supposed to hear what the person is saying.
 Soliloquy: A solo speech – like a monologue.
Only the audience hears it. It shows what the character is thinking. He always tells the truth in a soliloquy.

 Determine the purpose of the scene.
 Why do we need this scene? Does it show me:
○ Plot details?
○ Theme?
○ Relationships?
○ Character revelation? (what is he/she like?)
○ Foreshadowing?
○ Comic relief?

 I ate the sandwich.
I the sandwich ate.
Ate the sandwich I.
Ate I the sandwich.
The sandwich I ate.
The sandwich ate I.
 Locate the subject, verb, and the object of the sentence.
 Notice that the object of the sentence is often placed at the beginning (the sandwich) in front of the verb (ate) and subject (I).
 Rearrange the words in the order that makes the most sense to you (I ate the sandwich).


IT’S ALL ABOUT THE MAIN IDEAS!!!
 Identify thesis sentences and topic sentences.
 Take out sentences that restate a point.
 Condense details, explanations and statistics.

 Sports championships on television attract huge viewing audiences. The NCAA Final
Four Basketball tournament in March is dubbed "March Madness." College hockey lovers have the Frozen Four in April. Tennis fans can cheer for their favorite players in the popular Wimbledon tournament in July.
The glitzy Super Bowl with all of its pregame shows attracts lots of armchair quarterbacks. However, the traditional favorite of many couch potato fans is still
October's World Series.

 There are many sports championships that people watch, but the traditional favorite championship is the World
Series.

 Skin is the largest organ of the body and forms a protective covering over the whole external body surface. It is composed of epithelial and connective tissue. It accounts for 7% of our body weight and receives about 30% of our blood flow. Skin is resistant to bacteria and protects us from large changes in the environment from heat and cold. It contributes to control of our body temperature, prevention of water loss, and prevention of loss of important organic and inorganic materials that our body needs. Finally, the skin acts as storage and receives a variety of stimuli for our brain to make decisions.

 Skin is the largest organ of our body and it protects us from dangerous elements on the outside and keeps the good elements inside.

Years ago when Neil was a boy, he was on the debating team at the local high school. He had a slick quality, which helped with the arguments and was often applauded. He had a good speaking voice. Words are nothing to him now. He doesn't talk to anyone and complains about the bedbugs under his mattress. He doesn't bother to shoo the flies away from his morning oatmeal. He remembers sometimes that he ruined his life and although he can't blame it all on drink, drinking is his whole universe. Often he doesn't bother to get out of bed or even open his eyes.

 Neil had a great future until he started drinking alcohol, which ruined his life.