6V Literature - Introduction to Shakespeare

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 6

The goal of this lesson: 

• Re-cap of sonnets
• Shakespeare: his life and works
• Shakespeare: the master of language
• Famous Shakespeare quotes
• Shakespeare quiz

What is a sonnet again?

• Iambic pentameter

"The book explained another way to write."

"I think I'll take a walk around the block."

duh DUH   duh DUh   duh DUH   duh DUH

What is a sonnet again?

• Rhyme scheme (Shakesperian sonnet)

• abab cdcd efef gg

Shakespeare's life (1564 - 1616)

• April 1564: born in Stratford-upon-Avon
  
• November 1582: marries Anne Hathaway
  
• May 1583: daughter Susanna born
  
• early 1585: twins Judith and Hamnet born
  
• c. 1585: begins acting career in London
  
• c. 1592: well-known dramatist in London
  
• August 1596: son Hamnet dies
  
• c. 1610: retires to Stratford, buys a large house there
  
• 23 April 1616: dies in Stratford
  

Literary legacy

• some narrative poems on classical themes
  
• 154 sonnets in so-called Shakespearean form (publ. 1609)
  
• about 37 plays (maybe 2 or 3 more which have been lost (some written in collaboration with other dramatists)
• only few plays published during his lifetime
  
• most plays not published until 1623: the First Folio
  
• usually divided into comedies, histories and tragedies
  

Three types of play - Comedies

• most important theme: love
  
• common element?
  end in marriage (often more than one) 
• great variety in character and quality
  
• farce-like plays (e.g. The Taming of the Shrew )
  
• romantic comedies (e.g. As You Like It )
  
• sombre plays (e.g. The Merchant of Venice )

Three types of play - histories

• historical themes linked to contemporary concerns
  
• medieval English history: the Hundred Years’ War and the Wars of the Roses
• reflect political and moral questions of Elizabethan England
  
• three examples: Richard II, Henry V and Richard III

Three types of play - tragedies

• most important theme: life
  
• common element?
  end in death (more than one, including that of the title character) 
• great variety in character and quality
  
• the so-called Roman plays (e.g. Julius Caesar )
  
• love tragedies (especially Romeo and Juliet )
  
• the four great tragedies (Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth )
  

Shakespeare: master of literature and language

• Used a variety of sources: classical / historical / contemporary
• Turned existing subject-matter into something new and unique
• Showed deep understanding of human nature
• Was a master of language
• How?

Master of language

• Shakespeare coined around 1700 common words
• Wrote accomplished blank verse with subtle imagery
• Produced some of the most famous quotations in English
• Such as....

Famous quotations

Which words are missing?

• If  music be the food of ..., play on / Give me excess of it

• All the world's a stage / And all the men and women merely ...
• What's in a name? That which we call a ... / By any other name would smell as sweet

Famous quotations

• If  music be the food of love play on / Give me excess of it (The Tempest, Act 1 - Scene 1)

• All the world's a stage / And all the men and women merely  players (As You Like It, Act 2 - Scene 7)
• What's in a name? That which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet (Romeo and Juliet, Act 2 - Scene 2)

SHAKESPEARE

What was Shakespeare's birth year?

1. 1582
2. 1585
3. 1564
4. 1592

How many sonnets did Shakespeare write?

1. 154
2. 112
3. 103
4. 188

What is the common element of comedies?

1. they end in death
2. they end in marriage
3. they end in tragedy
4. they end in festivity

The common element of tragedies is ...

1. DEATH
2. LOVE
3. WAR
4. LIFE

Which are the Four Great Tragedies?

1. Hamlet, King Lear, Macbeth, Richard II
2. Hamlet, King Lear, Macbeth, Othello
3. Hamlet, Henry V, Macbeth, Othello
4. King Lear, Macbeth, Othello, Romeo & Juliet

How many words did Shakespeare invent?

1. around 1900
2. around 500
3. around 1000
4. around 1700

What kind of plays are Romeo & Juliet and Hamlet?

1. tragedy and tragedy
2. tragedy and history play
3. history play and comedy
4. tragedy and comedy

Would you like to see a real Shakespeare play (in the theatre)? Why (not)?

What if we would stage a Shakespeare play - would you want to participate? Why (not) and how?