William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet+English 1

William Shakespeare

• 1564-1616 • Stratford-upon-Avon, England• 37 plays• 154 sonnets• Began as an actor

Tragedy V. Comedy• Sad ending – death• The individual• Audience feels pity

and terror• We feel our own

limitations / catharsis• Themes like revenge

and honor

• Happy ending–Marriage• Society• Audience distanced

by mockery and humor• We feel superior to

others• Themes like

appearance v. reality

Romeo and Juliet

• Written about 1595• Based on poem by Arthur Brooks• Considered a tragedy• Much of the play is in

Blank Verse• Unrhymed verse• Iambic• Pentameter

• Lower class speaks in prose

Globe Theatre

• Plays produced for public• Roofless – open air• No artificial lighting• Courtyard with 3 levels of galleries• Stage extended into courtyard• Dressing and storage rooms behind and above

stage

Globe Theatre

•No scenery•Settings were referenced in dialogue•Elaborate costumes•No women allowed to perform!•Young boys whose voices had not changed

Audience

• Wealthy got to sit on benches• “Groundlings”• Poor people who stood and watched from

courtyard “pit”• Only the wealthy were educated and literate• Audience interaction

Bubonic Plague

•Three outbreaks which closed the Globe Theater•1593,1603,1608•No money coming in•Safe for theatres to re-open?•Spread of the disease?