Literature: Marlowe wrap up and start Shakespeare

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 4

Christopher Marlowe

William Shakespeare

Goals and planning

You can answer questions about dr. Faustus and you have had an introduction to Shakespeare and perhaps Sonnet 18. 

Homework check and discussion 15 min

Introduction to Shakespeare

Shakespearean Sonnets

Sonnet 18? 

William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

shakespeare

- Born/died; April 23, 1564 - April 23, 1616 in England

- Romeo and Juliet

- Retellings

- Popular cause apeal; romantic love

- play/tragedy

- Facts: 

37 plays, 150 poems

maried at 18

double life

Shakespeare lived in England, Stratford-upon-Avon. In that time it was usual that 3 days after their birth to baptised your child, so he was probably born on April 23 1564. And he died on April 23 1616. His most famous work was Romeo and Juliet. The story was created by several retellings of a 1476 story by Masuccio Salernitano, Mariotto and Gianozza. From its first performance around 1596 and the earliest editions (1597, 1599), Romeo and Juliet has remained popular with audiences because it deals with a subject with enduring appeal: romantic love.

Romeo and Juliet is a play and a tragedy. Some interesting facts about Shakespeare is that, during his lifetime, William Shakespeare wrote about 37 plays for the theater and more than 150 poems. Shakespeare married Anna Hathaway when he was 18 years old. And he actually led a double life. In the 17th century, he became a famous playwright in London, and in his hometown of Stratford, he was a businessman and property owner.

Niet nodig wel leuk

Shakespeare's 

Globe

Italian Sonnet

• Petrarca - (1304 - 1374)
• 14 lines - 2 quatrains (octave) and 2 tercets (sextet)
• abba abba cdc cdc/cde cde
• volta or turn in sextet/line 9
• iambic pentameter - ten syllables (da-Dum da-Dum etc. etc)

English/Shakespearean Sonnet

• Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)
• 14 lines - octave sextet
• abab cdcd efef GG
• Volta not necessarily
• iambic pentameter

Sonnet  1-126

• Addressed to fair youth
• Henry Wriothesley (Earl)  William Hughes (Actor who played female roles)
• Admiration and love 
• Young man who is handsome en self-centered
• 'Pure love'

Sonnet 127-152

• 'Betrayal' of the young man in favour of Dark Lady
• Emilia Lanier or Olivia Wriothesley
• Dark hair and 'dun' skin - Olive/muddy
• Bit more cynical
• Sexual relationship between 'poet' and Dark Lady.
• More about desire (perhaps)

Dark Lady: The Dark Lady sequence (sonnets 127–152) is the most defiant of the sonnet tradition. The sequence distinguishes itself from the Fair Youth sequence with its overt sexuality (Sonnet 151).[38] The Dark Lady is so called because she has black hair and "dun" skin. The Dark Lady suddenly appears (Sonnet 127), and she and the speaker of the sonnets, the poet, are in a sexual relationship. She is not aristocratic, young, beautiful, intelligent or chaste. Her complexion is muddy, her breath "reeks", and she is ungainly when she walks. The relationship strongly parallels Touchstone's pursuit of Audrey in As You Like It.[39] The Dark Lady presents an adequate receptor for male desire. She is celebrated in cocky terms that would be offensive to her, not that she would be able to read or understand what is said. Soon the speaker rebukes her for enslaving his fair friend (sonnet 133). He can't abide the triangular relationship, and it ends with him rejecting her.[2][31] As with the Fair Youth, there have been many attempts to identify her with a real historical individual. Lucy Negro,[40] Mary Fitton, Emilia Lanier, Elizabeth Wriothesley, and others have been suggested.

Sonnet 18

Sonnet 130

- Joke on the way the contemporary
 poets praised their lovers.

- Doesn't praise his lover: 
      - not white as snow
      - no beautiful red lips
      - no golden hair

- Love doesn't need to be extreme
   to be real, against unrealistic ideals

Romeo and Juliet

both- Rom Com?

www.rsc.org.uk

Context

• Popular with the common people
• Tongue in cheek, jokes about morals and sex
• South side river Thames to please the puritans
•  Many characters written like real people (then) so the audience could place themselves in their shoes. 

Inspiration popular culture

West Side Story, Twilight, and many more

There is no basic story that Shakespeare didn't cover

Plot -BOTH ARE VERY YOUNG

• Contrast to typical tragedies grief comes from circumstances and not fatal flaw (like Faustus)
• Houses Montague (Romeo) and Capulet are in a Feud
• Prince is done with it
• Romeo is heartbroken by Rosaline. Falls in love with Juliet at Capulet ball 
• Kiss but is love meant to be......

Balcony scene (Act 2 , scene 2)

What happens: At the start of this scene, Romeo hides beneath Juliet’s balcony and overhears her talking about him. He eventually comes out and they talk to each other. They declare their love for each other and arrange to meet the next day when Romeo has promised to marry Juliet. The Nurse calls to Juliet from inside so the scene ends with an urgency as the lovers try to say goodbye.

Analysis: Despite their families' differences, Romeo and Juliet declare their love for each other on the balcony and vow to be together for the rest of their lives. As the play later reveals, their lives will be short as a result of a series of conflicts and miscommunications.

Love or Hate?

Homework

Read page 40 to 44 ALquin

Do Questions page 46 

Romeo and Juliet