WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
BACKGROUND AND VOCABULARY
PLAY CATEGORIES
• Tragedy: Traces the main character’s downfall
•
•
•
•
Hamlet
Romeo and Juliet
Macbeth
Othello
•
•
•
•
Twelfth Night
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Much Ado about Nothing
Taming of the Shrew
•
•
•
•
Henry V
King John
Richard II
Richard III
• Comedy: Ends happily and contains many humorous
elements
• History: Chronicles the life of an English monarch
TRAGEDIES
• Most recognized of Shakespeare’s plays
• The tragic hero: An articulate, social authority,
someone “important.” But this hero has one tragic
flaw that will lead to his downfall
• These plays end in tremendous catastrophe and/or
death of the principal character
• The catastrophe is not mere accident,
but is instead brought about by some
essential flaw in the character of the
tragic hero
COMEDIES
• Comedic language: Look for clever wordplay,
metaphors, and insults
• Love triangles: Look for confused lovers, gender
swapping, and other obstacles
• Complex plots: The comedies have more twists and turns
than even Shakespeare's tragedies and histories
• Mistaken identities: Characters are often
in disguise and the plot is usually driven
by mistaken identity or identities
• Happy ending: Unlike the tragedies,
Shakespeare’s comedies end in marriage
or pending marriage
HISTORIES
•
•
•
•
•
Set in Medieval England
Not historically accurate
Do provide social commentary
Explore the social structure of the time
Shakespeare wrote 10 histories that
provide tragedy and comedy in equal
measure
VOCABULARY
• Contrast - one idea/character or object is thrown into
opposition with another for sake of emphasis or clarity - use of
contrast heightens distinctions of character and increases
interest by placing opposites side by side (e.g. comic scene
just before a tragic scene) - character foils (those who provide
contrast, usually to the protagonist) are used extensively by
Shakespeare
• Fate - intervention of some force over which humans have not
control - may complicate the plot but does not bring about
the downfall of the hero (he ultimately chooses it for himself by
his actions) - pathos/sympathy may be felt by the audience
for those hurt by fate
• The Supernatural - Shakespeare knew the appeal of ghosts,
witches, premonitions, prophesies and other supernatural
events for his audience - thus he included them
VOCABULARY CONT.
• Pathetic Fallacy - since the hero’s actions affect the entire Chain of
Being, all of Nature appears to react through unnatural happenings
in animal behavior or weather
• Nemesis (compared to Poetic Justice) - Nemesis is the Greek
goddess of vengeance, the personification of righteous indignation;
she pursues those who have displeased the gods - by Shakespeare’s
time, the term became associated with any agent of fate or bringer
of just retribution
• Catharsis - a term to describe the intended impact of tragedy on
the audience; the reason we are drawn, again and again, to watch
tragedy despite its essential sadness - by experiencing the events
which arouse pity and terror, we achieve a purging (catharsis) of
these emotions - detached pity and involved terror that leaves the
spectator with “calm of mind, all passion spent”
• Suspense - uncertainty in an incident, situation, or behavior - keeps
the audience anxious concerning the outcome of the protagonist’s
conflict - two types: that which provokes intellectual curiosity and
that which provokes emotional curiosity - Shakespeare uses conflict,
precarious situations, apparently unsolvable problems,
foreshadowing and delay to develop suspense
VOCABULARY CONT.
• Soliloquy - speech made by character when he/she is
alone on the stage (only audience is privy to the speech)
• Purposes include: revealing mood of speaker and reasons for it; revealing
character; revealing character’s opinion of someone else in the play;
revealing motives of speaker; creating suspense; preparing audience for
subsequent developments; explaining matters that would ordinarily require
another scene; reviewing past events and indicating speaker’s attitudes
• Aside - comments intended only for the audience (or
occasionally for one other character on stage) - made in
the presence of other characters on stage, but the
audience is aware that these other characters cannot
hear the asides
• Purposes include: to indicate character to person speaking; to draw
attention to significance of what has been said or done; to explain plot
development; to create humor by introducing a witty comment; to create
suspense by foreshadowing; to remind audience of the presence of
speaker, while he/she remains in the background
VOCABULARY CONT.
• Dramatic Irony - this situation occurs when the audience
is aware of the conditions that are unknown to the
character on stage or when some of the characters are
ignorant of what really is on the speaker’s mind
• Humor - humor may take many forms - Shakespeare was
fascinated by word play; therefore, puns are common in
his plays - may create humor through presenting the
completely unexpected
• The Spectacular - audiences enjoy scene which presents
unusual sights - furious action, elaborate costumes, or
stage props create the spectacular, thus Shakespeare
frequently employs fight scenes, crowd scenes,
banquets, dancing parties and royal courts
SHAKESPEARE FUN FACTS
• Shakespeare is the most widely read author in
English-speaking countries. His works are second
only to the Bible in popularity.
• Several words we use today stem from
Shakespeare, such as “puke,” “leapfrog,”
“fairyland,” and “zany.”
• Shakespeare’s works contain hundreds of
references to birds of all kinds, including the swan,
bunting, cock, dove, robin, sparrow, nightingale,
swallow, turkey, wren, starling, falcon, and thrush, to
name just a few.
Source: “Tales from Shakespeare” by Charles and Mary Lamb
TWELFTH NIGHT SYNOPSIS
Twelfth Night – an allusion to the night of festivity
preceding the Christian celebration of the Epiphany –
combines love, confusion, mistaken identities, and joyful
discovery. After the twins Sebastian and Viola survive a
shipwreck, neither knows the other is alive. Viola goes into
service with
County Orsino of Illyria,
disguised as a young man,
“Cesario.” Orsino sends
Cesario to woo the Lady Olivia
on his behalf , but Olivia falls in
love with Cesario. Viola, in the
meantime, has fallen in love
with Orsino.
SYNOPSIS CONT.
At the estate of Lady Olivia, Sir Toby Belch, Olivia’s
kinsman, has brought in Sir Andrew Aguecheek to be her
suitor. A confrontation between Olivia’s steward, Malvolio,
and the partying Toby and his cohort leads to a revenge
plot against Malvolio. Malvolio is tricked into making a fool
of himself, and he is locked in a dungeon as a lunatic.
In the meantime, Sebastian has been rescued by a sea
captain, Antonio. When viola, As Cesario, is challenged to
a duel, Antonio mistakes her for Sebastian, comes to her
aid, and is arrested. Olivia, meanwhile, mistakes Sebastian
for Cesario and declares her love.
SYNOPSIS CONT.
When, finally, Sebastian and Viola appear together,
the puzzles around the mistaken identities are solved:
Cesario is revealed as Viola, Orsino asks for Viola’s
hand, Sebastian will wed Olivia, and Viola will marry
Count Orsino. Malvolio, blaming Olivia and others for
his humiliation, vows revenge.
Source: Folger Digital Texts