English language and Medieval literature & Romeo and Juliet Havo 4 literature wk 43 & 44

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vmbo lwoo, vwo
• Leerjaar 4

English language & literature

Understanding:

• Development of the English language
• Medieval literature vs Renaissance literature (Shakespeare's plays)
• Romeo & Juliet (Shakespeare)
• Dramatic irony (literary device)

English history & language

• 43 AD -> Romans invaded England (Latin words)

• 450 -1066 -> Anglo-Saxon -  German/Dutch/Danish tribes invade 

       England  and mix with the Celts (Celtic and German/Danish words)

• 633 AD/7th century -> England converts to Christianity (Latin used to copy the Bible)

• 793 AD -> Vikings invade England at Lindisfarne (Danish words)

• 1066 -> Battle of Hastings, Vikings from Normandy conquer England (French words!)

• 1476 -> William Caxton first printer in England -> start of standardizing English

Latin (scholarly language/Bible)  / Celtic (old English) & German / Danish  (Vikings) / French (Normans)

Medieval society - 500-1500 A.D.

• The Church is  the most important part of medieval society & dominates life 

• The only Religion is Christianity. 

• All medieval people believed in God, Heaven, and Hell: The Roman Catholic Church is the path 

to Heaven

• The Catholic Church = dominant -> wealthy & Latin (scholarly language)

-> money through tithes,  a tax of one tenth of a person's yearly earnings or goods given to the Church

A few literary genres 500-1500 AD

• Oral poetry: 

      Christian themes; only clergy literate; centered on great heroic figures

• Germanic Heroic Poetry: 

-> performed orally, later written down by scholars/clergymen 

-> Ancient code of honor that obliges warriors to avenge their slain lords or die beside them

-> Aristocratic heroism and kinship values 

• Elegy (a funeral song; a poem lamenting the dead)
• Allegory (extended methaphor )
• Satire (criticizing society's flaws)

• Medieval Romance: 

->  knights attempting to win the love of women of much higher class, by showing morality, nobility, and bravery (King Arthur)

Literary genres 500-1500 AD

• Drama (1000-1500) - very religious themes in plays, all-male cast

• Morality play (1400 - 1500) 

-> Taught lessons about morality and human nature

-> Used allegorical characters to portray the struggle that a person goes through to achieve salvation 

-> Forces of good and evil

• Religious Prose

English Renaissance - 1500-1670

Middle ages 

-> absolute power of God & Catholic Church / Greek & Roman stories forbidden 

-> Literature focuses on the power of God, good and evil

Renaissance 

-> Rebirth - renewed interest in classical stories/ancient Greece & humanism (human being is essentially good)

-> English playwrights and poets use Italian stories and poetry as inspiration

-> rise of merchant class

-> Shakespeare creates more human characters in his plays & is the first to  bring them to theatres

Middle Ages

Renaissance

Shakespeare's Plays (38 in total)

Portray recognisable people in situations that we can all relate to:

love, marriage, death, mourning, guilt, the need to make difficult choices, separation, 

reunion and reconciliation (= themes) 

The play's characters act in situations with great humanity, tolerance, and wisdom. 

They help us to understand what it is to be human, and to cope with the problems of being so. 

Literary device: Dramatic irony

The audience knows something 

the character in the story/play doesn't know

Plot Romeo & Juliet

Plot (video 5 min./slide)

Read 2nd Act (Balcony Scene) 

Read 5th Act (Romeo buys poison thinking Juliet is dead = dramatic irony)

Video clips:

Romeo spots Juliet at masked ball

Balcony scene 

Death scene

https:

Star Cross'd

Short British film of a modern Romeo & Juliet

At the Beach

4 min.

https: