English I, Fourth Quarter

Please take detailed notes and enjoy the ride!

Romeo and Juliet

“My only love sprung from my only hate! Too early seen unknown ,

and known too late!” ~ “Juliet”

William ShakespeareAct I, Scene V

Who was William Shakespeare?

• Playwright, Actor and Poet (1564-1616)• Husband and father of three• Born in Stratford-Upon-Avon, moved to

London in 1591 to act• Player in “The King’s Men” acting

company• Became a principal playwright and helped

to build the Globe Theater in 1599.

He was also a pretty handsome fella.

Shakespearean Theater “The Globe”

Romeo, Romeo…

Where for art thou Romeo?

Elizabethan Theatre Fun Facts

• Public theaters were built around roofless courtyards, with no artificial light used

• They were usually round or octagonal • Three levels of galleries for the wealthy• The “pit” was for the less wealthy who

were called “groundlings” • Little to no scenery and all parts were

played by men or young boys

Fire and Rediscovery

The original Globe burned down, but its foundation was discovered in 1990. It gave us many clues to the Elizabethan experience such as hazelnut shells! A replica has since been rebuilt.

What does this have to do with me???

• Why should we read Shakespeare?

• What difficulties might we encounter?

Archaic Language

• Aye! E’en if haply you are lost, anon you wilt be found!

Translation: • Yes! Even if perhaps

you are lost, soon you will be found!

Do you speak my funky

jive? Can you dig it?

Dramatic Terms to Know

• The play is broken up into acts and the acts are broken up into scenes. (Ex: Act III, Scene II)

• Monologue: a long uninterrupted speech given by one character onstage to everyone

• Soliloquy: a long uninterrupted speech given by one character alone on stage, inaudible to other characters

• Aside: a short speech given by one character, traditionally the other characters cannot hear.

More Dramatic Terms

• Dramatic Foil: A pair of characters, who opposite in many ways, highlight or exaggerate each other’s differences.

• Pun: A humorous play on words

Old teachers never die.

They just lose their class.

Shakespeare’s Influence

Shakespeare’s plays can usually be categorized as either

*Comedy

*Tragedy

*Historic

• This play is based on a 3,000 line poem by Arthur Brooke called “The Tragicall Historye of Romeus and Juliet”. -1562

• It had a highly moral tone: disobedience, as well as fate, leads to the deaths of two lovers.

Themes of Romeo and Juliet

• Power of Love

• Violence from Passion

• The Individual vs. Society

• The Inevitability of Fate

Characters and Families – Pick a side!

The Capulets • Juliet• Capulet (her father)• Lady Capulet • Tybalt (cousin)• Nurse

The Montagues• Romeo• Montague (his dad)• Lady Montague• Mercutio (friend to R)• Benvolio (cousin)

Enjoy the play!

“Did my heart know love till now? Forswear it sight! For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night.”

~Romeo W. Shakespeare

Act I Scene V