Shakespeare - Why was he so awesome? + Introduction MacBeth

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 6

Discuss

In one minute, discuss with your neighbours what you know about Shakespeare.

After one minute, the teacher will ask you what you came up with.

The plan (1)

Goal: 
You know who Shakespeare was.

You know the most important events in his life.

You can explain why Shakespeare is still so relevant today.

Have an idea on what works he wrote and how MacBeth fits in.

The plan (2)

- About Shakespeare's work

- Rumours about Shakespeare's authorship.

- Shakespeare's life (and death)

- Shakespeare's Language

- David Tennant & Stephen Colbert

- The works

- MacBeth

Shakespeare's work

• Considered to be the greatest writer the English language has ever known.
  
  
• 154 sonnets and 34 plays. Most of these written between 1585 - 1601.

Rumour has it...

Doubts about Shakespeare's authorship.

• written by a different writer or by multiple writers. 
• written by someone well-educated such as the Earl of Oxford.
• Shakespeare never published any of his plays. Only published seven years after his death.
  
• Vocabulary too big for one human being: 29,000 different words.
        (Vocabulary of an average English speaker is 15,000 words)

Birth

The official date of birth is unknown.

We only know the date of his baptism:

26-04-1564

Place of birth:

Stratford-upon-Avon.

Family

1582 - Married Anne Hathaway.

1583- Susanna was born.

1585 - Twins Judith and Hamnet were born.

Hamnet died at the age of 11.

The Lost Years

1584 - 1592

No idea what the guy was doing during those years!

Language

• Major role in the transformation of English. Many words and phrases were first written down in his work.
  
  
• Early modern English was only about 100 years old when Shakespeare was writing; not many words were written down.
  
  
• Contributed over 3000 words, approximately 1700 were used for the first time.  

His plays

- Most written beginning 17th century

- Lots of historical figures in his plays
- English Renaissance: looking back to ancient Rome/Greece

- First to feature many characters & storylines

- Wide range of vocabulary 

Shakespearean Tragedies

1. Tragic flaw

2. Supernatural elements

3. Revenge

4. An internal struggle

5. External pressure

Shakespearean Comedies

1. A struggle of young lovers overcoming difficulty

2. A separation and reunification

3. Mistaken identities

4. Frequent use of puns and wordplay

5. A clever servant or friend

Sonnets

- Shakespeare's main form of poetry

- 14-line poem 

- 1609: Shakespeare's Sonnets = 154 poems

- Focused on love, devotion, delight, pride

- Or darker themes: shame, disgust, fear

Macbeth

Macbeth

- Shakespeare's shortest & bloodiest play

- Macbeth (Scottish general) hears a prophecy by 3 witches

- He & his wife murder King Duncan 

- Becomes tyranical ruler

- New prophecy: Macbeth thinks he's invulnerable 

- Plot twist: prohecy interpreted differently becomes reality

- Macbeth gets defeated & dies

Supernatural Elements

- The witches

- Apparitions 

- Floating dagger (leads Macbeth
   to his victim King Duncan)

- Prophecies 

Macbeth

• History of the scottish kings
• Play "fit for a king"
• Blank verse (in iambic pentameter) - poetic language, no rhyme
• Theme 1: Psychology of ambition
• Theme 2: Crime doesn't pay
• Theme 3: Role of Fate
• Theme 4: Role reversal

Things to keep track of during reading

• Themes (previous slide)
• The role of Lady Macbeth

When was Macbeth written?

1. 1602
2. 1606
3. 1615
4. 1628

Which of the following is not a supernatural element in Macbeth?

1. Apparitions
2. Witches
3. Prophecies
4. Vampires

Who do Macbeth and his wife kill?

1. King Duncan
2. King Bernard
3. King David
4. King Bob

Macbeth kills lots of soldiers and side characters, but how many main characters do you think he kills?

1. 2
2. 3
3. 4
4. 5

Macbeth is Shakespeare's... ?

1. Longest and bloodiest play
2. Shortest and bloodiest play
3. Longest and saddest play
4. Shortest and saddest play

Next week

Start first bits of reading

How to write an essay

Possibly some watching