Shakespeare

He was not of an age but for all time.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

His plays have never been equaled in their dramatic power, philosophical depth, and characterization

His poetry has enriched and amplified the English language

A writer for all time

Influences and Types Humanism: confidence in human

powers as reflected in classical texts Reformation: doubt that human

endeavors amount to very much at all

Shakespeare’s plays fit four categories: tragedies, comedies, histories, and romances

The Sonnets Wrote 142 Sonnets Changed and adapted the original

format created by Petrarch Ridiculed the traditional version of

beauty, in favor of a more earthier version

Also used the sonnet for meditations about the passage of time

England

Under the rule of Elizabeth I, England became a world power

Defeated the Spanish Armada Became unsurpassed in theater Public theaters were disapproved of

by the Puritans and so had to be placed outside the London city limits

Revival of Drama

Plays representing stories of the Bible become more elaborate: “mystery plays”

“Morality plays” replace them with stories of allegorical characters

Humanists bring back interest in the ancient Greek plays

Plays written in English combined the classical elements and medieval, Roman and English elements

Renaissance Drama Companies of professional actors begin

staging plays Licensed theater companies were formed:

protected by a noble patron Grow in popularity, despite Protestant

disapproval Theaters placed outside city limits to

avoid limits placed by the city leaders All classes of people go see the plays

Renaissance Theater The Globe built in 1599, many of

Shakespeare’s plays performed there No artificial lighting—plays had to be

performed during the afternoon Semicircular in shape with a platform

stage that juts out into the courtyard Lower-class people stand in the “pit” Upper classes sit in the galleries above

More About the Theater

Orchestra was generally on stage Designed not just for the elite but for all

classes of society Few props, no backgrounds Wore clothing of the time, usually donated

clothes from the royal patron No females, all female roles acted by

males Less formal, more like a nightclub than

now

Othello

First produced in 1604 Created a hero who falls without

any hope of redemption: a tragic hero

Sets the play in Venice: a place of luxury and corruption, but full of people from faraway lands

Iago: the villain, is a Venetian Othello: the hero, is black

Why Venice? As a center of trade, Venice was full of

people from faraway places Othello was a black Moor—someone

from sub-Saharan Africa

Not uncommon in Renaissance England

Common biases were that they were uncivilized, highly sexed, without religion

Term “black”: unclean, ugly, evil — “white”: beautiful, ideal, pure

Africans in England

Rialto Bridge, Venice, Italy

Black and White Symbolism

Symbolism plays on the audience’s misconceptions

Presents a black man who is inwardly pure, and a white man who is evil

Difficulty of distinguishing being from seeming is a major theme for the play

The alleged super-sexuality of Africans is also a misconception as Othello is faithful to Desdemona, but Iago is unfaithful to his wife

Tragic Hero

Othello is a typical tragic hero because he moves from a state of power and good to one of degradation where he can no longer endure his life

Like Oedipus he experiences a revelation of self-knowledge, and turns his hand on himself

Combination of fate and character is seen in the combination of Othello’s character and the plotted malice of Iago

Poetic Verse

Play is written in “blank verse” or iambic pentameter

Consists of unrhymed lines of ten syllables: a weak stress is followed by a strong stress

Shakespeare also uses prose and rhyming lines in the play

Blank verse is usually reserved for the main characters, while prose is often used for the servants and lesser characters

Music in Othello

Shakespeare used music to establish the scene and help set the mood

Instrumental music: associated with the world of action

Vocal music: used for the inner world of the character

Music could show more effectively how the character was feeling than just the lines alone could

Madrigals

Originally Italian Compositions of part music, with words

that spoke of love, war, birth, and death Combined poetry with street songs Accompanied by the lute Used to entertain at court, streets, during

carnivals and festivals, and at homes of middle class

Madrigalisms: musical sounds that correspond to the words sung—word “higher” would be sung higher

Music

Printing press made music available to the middle class at home and abroad

No longer need a court composer to create music just for you

Famous English madrigal composers were: John Dowland, William Byrd, and Orlando Gibbons

Favorite works of all time was Thomas Morley’s “Now is the Month of Maying”