Shakespear Background

England in Shakespeare’s Day
William Shakespeare is the greatest writer of all time.
He lived in the country of England during the Renaissance.
He was born in the year 1564 , when Elizebeth I was queen of England.
England was established as a world power in 1588, when English defeated an attempted invasion by Spansish Armada.
Plays in which dialogue is mostly poetry is called Verse Drama.
Theatre in Shakespeare’s Day
In the 1590’s, Shakespeare’s theater group was called the Lord Chamberlan's Men.
The new London home of the group was a place called the Globe Theater.
When Queen Elizabeth I died, the group’s new sponsor was King James I, and the group changed its name to The King's Men.
The Globe Theater was located on the banks of the Thames River.
The theatre was 3 stories high, made of wood, and could hold as many as 3,000 spectators. Customers, called groundlings stood in the pit by the stage and paid t he lowest price for admission. Richer patrons sat in balconies, also called galaries.
Most theatres in that day had no artificial Lighting or Heating, so performances were given in daylight in warmer weather.

Many commonly quoted phrases came from Shakespeare’s plays. Some examples are:
"Friends,Romans, Countrymen lend me your ears" From Julius Caesar.
"O Romeo, Romeo, Where for arnt tho Romeo" From Romeo and Juliet.
"To be or not to be" From Hamlet.

Shakespeare
Terms to Know

*Verse Dramas-plays in which the dialogue consists alomst entirely of poetry.
*Blank verse-unrhymed lines.
*iambic pentameter-fixed patterns of rythms.
*soliloquy-a long speech given by a character while alone on stage.
*aside-a character's quiet remark to the audience or another character.
*rhetorical devices-uses languagesand sounds to appeal the audience's emotions.1)the repetition of words and sounds.
2)parallelism,or repeated gramtical structures.
3)rhetorical questions requiring no anwer.
*irony – exits when there is a contrast between appearance and reality
*dramatic irony –the audience or reader knows something that one or more characters do not know.
*pun –the humorous use of a word in such a way to suggest a different meaning.
*allusion –a implied or indirect reference.
*ambition –a strong desire for status fame, or power.
*vanity – something that is vain.
*envy – painful or resentful awareness for advantage.
*revenge –to inflict injury in return for.

In your opinion, is it right to ask a close friend to do something dangerous? Explain.
-No, because then you would be endangering their life as well and that doesn't make you a good friend.