1 / 50

The Life and Times of William Shakespeare

The Life and Times of William Shakespeare. Advanced Communications Introduction to Hamlet. The Elizabethan Era. Ruled by King James I and Queen Elizabeth I Patrons of the arts Drama Music Theater disliked by church (Puritans) and city officials most earlier plays were religious

kieu
Télécharger la présentation

The Life and Times of William Shakespeare

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. The Life and Times of William Shakespeare Advanced Communications Introduction to Hamlet

  2. The Elizabethan Era • Ruled by King James I and Queen Elizabeth I • Patrons of the arts • Drama • Music • Theater • disliked by church (Puritans) and city officials • most earlier plays were religious • Queen Elizabeth I – command performances

  3. Social Structure • Highly striated society Aristocracy Middle Class Peasant Class • Money = status • Money = education

  4. Entertainment • Violent society • hunting • cockfighting • bear baiting • bull baiting • fencing • public torture • Non-violent pastimes • archery • tennis • the arts

  5. William Shakespeare • greatest writer ever (in English) • 37 plays and 154 sonnets • contributed hundreds of words to the English language • Hush • Watchdog • Puke • Circumstantial evidence • Leapfrog • Skim milk • Softhearted

  6. Birth • Born in Stratford-upon-Avon • Small town about 100 miles north of London • Birthdate probably April 23, 1564 • Third of eight children

  7. Youth • Parents- middle class landowners • Attended public school • Classic education • the equivalent of a 9th grade education today • Studied Latin and sciences

  8. Adult life • Marriage: • Anne Hathaway • He was 18, she was 26 (and pregnant when they married!) • Three children: two girls and one boy • No surviving descendants today

  9. Career as Actor and Dramatist • Member of acting groups – Lord Chamberlain’s Men (joined in 1594) and later King’s Men • Plays performed at the Globe Theater

  10. Death • April 23, 1616 • Buried at Trinity Church in Stratford • A curse was engraved on his tombstone

  11. The curse • Text in (semi) modern English: Good friend, for Jesus’ sake forbear To dig the dust enclosed here Blessed be the man that spares these stones and Cursed be he that moves my bones • 17 feet deep (myth? reality? who knows?) • Why would there be a curse? • Room • Grave robbery • He has never been disinterred.

  12. Did you know? • wrote for all classes of people—rich/poor, educated/ignorant – something for everyone! • plays published only after he died • many versions of each play exist • themes are still relevant today • he often rewrote plays/stories already in existence

  13. Types of Drama • Romance - Some of the later plays scholars call “problem plays” because they aren’t easily categorized, thus “romance” is a fourth genre • Comedy – usually about common people and ending in marriage • Tragedy – about nobility and ends in many deaths • History - usually about a king in English history

  14. All’s Well That Ends Well Anthony and Cleopatra As You Like It The Comedy of Errors Coriolanus Cymbeline Hamlet Henry IV, Parts I & II Henry V Henry VI,Parts I,II,III Henry VIII The Life and Death of King John Julius Caesar King Lear Love’s Labour’s Lost Macbeth Measure for Measure The Merchant of Venice The Merry Wives of Windsor A Midsummer Night’s Dream Much Ado About Nothing Othello Pericles, Prince of Tyre Richard II Richard III Romeo and Juliet The Taming of the Shrew The Tempest Timon of Athens Titus Andronicus Troilus and Cressida Twelfth Night TheTwo Gentleman of Verona The Two Noble Kinsmen The Winter’s Tale What He Wrote Color key: Comedy Tragedy History Romance

  15. The Old Globe Theatre • open to sky • circular shape • social atmosphere • plays held during the day • burned to the ground - Henry VIII in 1613 (in less than an hour)

  16. Features of the Globe • stage jutting into audience • ceiling over stage painted to resemble heaven • “tiring rooms” at back of stage • trap doors for special effects (also symbolizes hell)

  17. Typical Play • entertainment preceding • admission put in box (about a penny – that’s where we get the term “box office”) • food/drink available • no intermission • 2-3 hours long • little scenery • matinees only • audience involved in performance • flag announcing play (color symbolized genre) • White – comedy • Black – tragedy • Red - history

  18. The Atmosphere • All of English society could attend • women not alone unless they were vendors • those who feared disapproval sometimes used a mask to cover their faces • 1500 people could sit in the audience at the Globe Theater • Wealthy people sat on balconies • Some sat on stools on the stage • Poor sat or stood on the floor (groundlings) • Very vocal audience - Yelled, heckled, applauded, booed, cheered, threw things • Only the stage and more expensive seats had roofs overhead

  19. Actors • Learned lines in just a few days • Only male actors • young boys played female parts • women not until 17th century (and those were considered immoral) • Elaborate costumes and makeup • Groups sponsored by noble (ie Lord Chamberlain’s Men by King James)

  20. The New Globe Theater Re-opened in 1997

  21. New Globe Theatre, con’t • Reconstructed to be authentic replica • Thatched roof • Ornate decorations (ceiling) • Tickets- can be a groundling (for approximately $5) 

  22. Construction

  23. Replicating the Globe

  24. Authentic Roof • First thatched roof in London in over 400 years

  25. Stage

  26. Balusters 315 balusters made by hand by one woman

  27. Seating

  28. Heavens

  29. Hamlet • Revenge Tragedy – satisfied the public’s taste for violence • protagonist seeks revenge for a crime committed against a family member • elements: madness/insanity, deceit, multiple delays of revenge, a ghost who inspires or enflames the protagonist’s passion for vengeance • by end of play stage is littered with corpses • Hamlet IS a revenge tragedy in every sense of the definition

  30. Hamlet – Most well-known play http://instruct1.cit.cornell.edu/courses/engl208/CalvinHamlet.jpg

  31. HAMLET Play most studied in high school http://www.uhigh.ilstu.edu/english/bhamlet/main_char.html www.moviejustice.com/images/ upload/hamlet.jpg

  32. Famous Quotes • To be or not to be: that is the question. • One may smile and smile and be a villain… • Something’s rotten in the State of Denmark.. • To thine own self be true. • Neither a borrower nor a lender be. • Brevity is the soul of wit. • There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so. • Good night, sweet Prince.

  33. Hamlet, Prince of Denmark • Home from college • Melancholy/ Depressed over death of father and remarriage of mother to his uncle • More a thinker than a do-er—this often causes problems because he “over thinks” and does not act. • Does not know whom to trust • Very smart and plays with words to make people look stupid. http://www.branaghcompendium.com/ham2.jpg

  34. King Hamlet - deceased • Father of Prince Hamlet– • Previous King of Denmark, highly respected by citizens as a good king and Honorable man of principles • and loved by wife and son, • Dead before play begins and appears only as a ghost in the play

  35. GERTRUDE –Queen of Denmark and Hamlet’s mother Married Claudius as soon as her husband (King Hamlet) died. Seems weak/ cannot make up her mind for herself. Loves her son, and wants him to be happy, but doesn’t understand him well Hamlet questions her loyalty to her first husband. http://www.uhigh.ilstu.edu/english/bhamlet/main_char.html

  36. CLAUDIUS present king of Denmark and uncle to Prince Hamlet Manipulative and deceptive, Very worried about Hamlet as a political rival Self-centered, self-indulgent, immoral, and greedy Suspicious of others, especially Hamlet. http://www.uhigh.ilstu.edu/english/bhamlet/other_char.html

  37. POLONIUS – chief advisor to King and father to Laertes and Ophelia • Nosy – a relentless snoop • Takes himself VERY seriously • Thinks he knows everything. Talks to hear himself talk—but says very little of value • Primarily concerned with proving his worth to Claudius and keeping his job • Treats his children, especially Ophelia, as property he owns http://www.uhigh.ilstu.edu/english/bhamlet/other_char.html

  38. LAERTES – Polonius’s son and Ophelia’s brother Same age as Hamlet Laertes is a do-er. (Act first, think later.) Foil to Hamlet Loves his family and is a very protective of Ophelia Devoted, loyal, hot-headed temperament Good at sword fighting http://www.uhigh.ilstu.edu/english/bhamlet/other_char.html

  39. OPHELIA – Polonius’s daughter and Laertes’ sister In love with Hamlet and confused/hurt by Hamlet’s treatment of her Kind, sweet, religious young lady Dutiful daughter Does what she is told, even if it hurts her Apparently has no friends other than Hamlet http://www.uhigh.ilstu.edu/english/bhamlet/other_char.html

  40. HORATIO – Hamlet’s only trustworthy friend • Honest, fair, and loyal to Hamlet • Gives sensible advice • Provides a lot of background information in the play http://www.uhigh.ilstu.edu/english/bhamlet/other_char.html

  41. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern • False friends sent to spy on Hamlet • True victims in the play without any real individual identity • Called “sponges” by Hamlet

  42. FORTINBRAS – Prince of Norway and the Enemy Son of dead King Fortinbras who lost life and land to King Hamlet Headstrong and man of action who acts on anger and disappointment Currently leading attacks on Denmark to revenge his father’s death and take back the land lost

  43. Bernardo, Marcellus, and Francisco • Sentinels/guards of the Danish palace • First to see the ghost and alert Horatio to his appearance • Not high ranking as they have been assigned night watch but still considered trustworthy

  44. Gravedigger • Provides comic relief in the story. • very funny and intelligent man • Tells jokes and asks riddles while he works www.moviejustice.com/images/ upload/hamlet.jpg

  45. Osric, the Messenger • A pretentious courtier • Hamlet doesn’t like him and makes fun of him. • He is not very smart, and he’s only at court because he owns a lot of land. • He’s a jerk, but because he’s rich, he’s treated well. • He is sent by Claudius to carry a message to Hamlet.

  46. REYNALDO – servant to Polonius • Sent to check up on what Laertes is doing in college • Part of the element of spying/suspicion

  47. Players • Company of actors who arrive at Elsinore Castle • Known by Hamlet from previous performances • They perform a version of a play that Hamlet has modified.

  48. Other Characters King of Norway • Brother of former King Fortinbras • Old, senile, unable to do his job as king • Does not know what is going on in his country Voltemand and Cornelius • Danish ambassadors dispatched by King Claudius to negotiate with old King Norway

  49. ELEMENTS OF HAMLETStill important today • Ghosts • Love • Marriage • Murder • Revenge • Madness • Spying • Distrust • War • Suicide www.moviejustice.com/images/ upload/hamlet.jpg

  50. The End... and The Beginning

More Related