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Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet. What do you already Know?. What do you know about Shakespeare, the play, the characters, etc.?. Understanding Shakespeare’s Audience. What was the last R-rated film you saw? Why was it rated R? It was R-rated for: Sex, violence, and profanity.
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What do you already Know? • What do you know about Shakespeare, the play, the characters, etc.?
Understanding Shakespeare’s Audience • What was the last R-rated film you saw? • Why was it rated R? • It was R-rated for: Sex, violence, and profanity
How do you react? • When you hear an inappropriate joke, how do you react? • When you hear an inappropriate joke, do you: • A) laugh a lot and share it with your friends • B) think about making a profit from the joke • C) pretend to be shocked, but secretly find it interesting • D) react with disgust and horror, thinking that it is entirely inappropriate and nasty
Audiences Today & Shakespeare’s audience • Shakespeare’s audience was comprised of these 4 groups: • A) Groundlings • poor people, usually uneducated and illiterate working class. Enjoyed bawdy (sexual) humor. Stood to watch the show. • B) Merchants • Sold supplies to audience members, sought a profit • C) Nobles • Showed off their wealth, seated very close to the stage. Theater for them was about being seen. They were more proper. • D) Puritans • Boycotted Shakespeare’s show because of the sexual content, they were disgusted by Shakespeare’s humor.
Shakespeare used Bawdy Humor to interest the Audience • Bawdy humor: • Dealing with sex in a way that is meant to be funny • Shakespeare uses bawdy humor to attract the groundlings interest • Synonyms: ribald, racy, rude, suggestive, crude, vulgar, offensive • Antonyms: refined, proper, clean, wholesome, G-rated
Historical Background Nobility, pay to sit in nicer seats. Usually sit close to stage to be seen • His plays were performed in the Globe Theater Groundlings & merchants, stand for the entire play Puritans protest outside of the theater
The Four Humours & temperament) • During the Elizabethan Era, people believed that man is made of the elements—earth, air, fire and water—which translate to the four “humours.” • the excess of a particular humour determined a person’s characteristic traits or actions • The perfect balance of the humors resulted in an ideal temperament (personality) • It is important to understand these humors because we will see Shakespeare describe his characters based on these temperaments
Ground rules for Reading Shakespeare • Everyone is a second language learner when they read Shakespeare • You are not the only one that thinks this is challenging • You don’t have to understand every word to understand the significance of the story • There are always multiple meanings and interpretations • Please share your interpretations, they are important!