William Shakespeare – An Overview of his Life, Times, and Work
http://www.artsalive.ca/pdf/eth/activities/shakespeare_overview.pdf
1. What did Shakespeare’s Theatre Company become after producing popular plays? What royal figures did he perform for? [P.2]
2. What was the name of the theatre that he and his friends built and opened? [P.2]
3. Explain the religious turmoil that England went through in 1558 - Protestantism (Mary) vs. Roman Catholicism (Elizabeth I) [P.6]
4. Shakespeare’s Religion: What faith did Shakespeare believe? What did he believe about the supernatural and purgatory? [P.15]
5. What is the Gunpowder Plot? How may it have been tied to Shakespeare? [P.16]
6. Globe Theatre: How many spectators could it hold? What is the pit? What did the trap door allow? Describe “the heavens”. [P.20]
7. Take point form notes under the three headings: How did a performance in the 1600’s differ from today? Who was Shakespeare’s
audience? What was Shakespeare’s company? [P. 21]
8. Read and Define: Bawdy; Puns; Malpropisms [P.26-27]
9. Define: Blank Verse; Iambs [P.28]
10. With what purpose did Shakespeare often use Prose in his plays (three main reasons)? [P.29]
11. What would Shakespeare often use Rhyming Couplets for? [P.30]
12. What two sources does Shakespeare most often make allusions to? What is a pattern of images? [P.31]
13. What is the main idea of the Great Chain of Being? [P.33]
14. What determines order in the Chain? What order is present that is reflected in each link? What are the “humours”? Explain how
disorder can be bought about and the implications it has specifically for humans. [P.35]
15. How are Politics, in particular, connected to the Great Chain of Being? [P.36]
16. What is the Divine Right of Kings? [P.39]
17. What is Aristotle’s definition of tragedy (copy it into your notes)?
18. List and take point-form notes about each of Northrop Frye’s five stages of action in tragedy (Encroachment, Complication,
Reversal, Catastrophe, Recognition) [P.41]
19. Define: Catharsis, Hamartia (tragic flaw), Hubris, Nemesis, Tragic Hero (copy full definitions into notes) [P. 42]
20. Research and define the following terms related to Macbeth: apparition, augur, bodements, dudgeon, equivocation, foison,
incarnadine, minion, multitudinous, parricide, rancour, regicide, yoke.
William Shakespeare – An Overview of his Life, Times, and Work
http://www.artsalive.ca/pdf/eth/activities/shakespeare_overview.pdf
1. What did Shakespeare’s Theatre Company become after producing popular plays? What royal figures did he perform for? [P.2]
2. What was the name of the theatre that he and his friends built and opened? [P.2]
3. Explain the religious turmoil that England went through in 1558 - Protestantism (Mary) vs. Roman Catholicism (Elizabeth I) [P.6]
4. Shakespeare’s Religion: What faith did Shakespeare believe? What did he believe about the supernatural and purgatory? [P.15]
5. What is the Gunpowder Plot? How may it have been tied to Shakespeare? [P.16]
6. Globe Theatre: How many spectators could it hold? What is the pit? What did the trap door allow? Describe “the heavens”. [P.20]
7. Take point form notes under the three headings: How did a performance in the 1600’s differ from today? Who was Shakespeare’s
audience? What was Shakespeare’s company? [P. 21]
8. Read and Define: Bawdy; Puns; Malpropisms [P.26-27]
9. Define: Blank Verse; Iambs [P.28]
10. With what purpose did Shakespeare often use Prose in his plays (three main reasons)? [P.29]
11. What would Shakespeare often use Rhyming Couplets for? [P.30]
12. What two sources does Shakespeare most often make allusions to? What is a pattern of images? [P.31]
13. What is the main idea of the Great Chain of Being? [P.33]
14. What determines order in the Chain? What order is present that is reflected in each link? What are the “humours”? Explain how
disorder can be bought about and the implications it has specifically for humans. [P.35]
15. How are Politics, in particular, connected to the Great Chain of Being? [P.36]
16. What is the Divine Right of Kings? [P.39]
17. What is Aristotle’s definition of tragedy (copy it into your notes)?
18. List and take point-form notes about each of Northrop Frye’s five stages of action in tragedy (Encroachment, Complication,
Reversal, Catastrophe, Recognition) [P.41]
19. Define: Catharsis, Hamartia (tragic flaw), Hubris, Nemesis, Tragic Hero (copy full definitions into notes) [P. 42]
20. Research and define the following terms related to Macbeth: apparition, augur, bodements, dudgeon, equivocation, foison,
incarnadine, minion, multitudinous, parricide, rancour, regicide, yoke.