Shakespeare’s England and the Art of Drama

1. Shakespeare’s England and the Art of Drama

2. Growing Up Shakespeare • Born in 1564 in Stratford-Upon-Avon • Studied at the King’s New School, a grammar school • Married Anne Hathaway in 1582 • Left for London between 1586 and 1590

3. Becoming the Bard • Well-known by 1592 in London • Theaters closed for several years due to plague • Leading actor in Lord Chamberlain’s Men, later the King’s Men, by 1594

4. Becoming a Legend • Few works published after 1612 • Shakespeare returned to Stratford, 1610-1616 • Died on April 23, 1616 • The First Folio published in 1623

5. The Rise of the Drama

6. Life at an Elizabethan Theatre

7. THE GLOBE

8. Shakespeare’s Mystery • Questions about authorship arose in the mid-1800s • 38 plays • 154 Sonnets • 2 Narrative Poems • Dozens of smaller poems • 70 candidates for authorship named including Elizabeth I, Sir Francis Bacon, and Christopher Marlowe

9. What is a drama? • A drama is a work of literature meant to be performed for an audience by actors. • The word drama comes from the Greek verb dran, which means “to do.” • The earliest known plays . . . • were written around the fifth century B.C. • produced for festivals to honor Dionysus, the god of wine and fertility

10. Comedy Comedy is traditionally considered to be a story that ends happily. • Not always humorous • Protagonist or hero usually overcomes obstacles and obtains what he/she wants • Oftentimes involves a romantic plot and ends with a marriage

11. Tragedy A tragedy is traditionally considered to be a story in which events lead to an unhappy end. • Protagonist is often a tragic hero who exhibits some tragic flaw • Tragic heroes are typically of high social standing and courageous • Tragic flaws are often severe character weaknesses which lead to downfall • Multiple characters are deceased at the play’s end.

12. The Players • Characters • Main character-represented in the story the most, plot usually revolves around their conflicts or development • Protagonist • Antagonist • Minor character-represented in the story, but not as affected by conflicts and with less development

13. The Players’ Speech • Dialogue- conversations of characters on stage • Monologue- a lengthyspeech given by one character to others • Soliloquy- speech by a character aloneon stage to himself/herself or to the audience • Asides- remarks made to the audience or to one character; the other characters onstage do not hear an aside

14. Conflicts and Complications • Internal- struggle within a character • External- struggle against another character, idea, organization, etc. • Complications- things a character MUST consider before dealing with or solving a conflict

15. Reading a Drama • Dramas differ from novels based in part on organization. • Acts-Similar to chapters in a book • Scenes-Snippets of chapters

16. Reading a Drama • Stage Directions-A description or direction provided in the text of a play • Stage directions tell the director and actor how to portray a character or scene.

17. Reading a Drama • Set(s)-The physical location and description of the playor scene • Costume(s)-Props or clothing used to create a characters wardrobe. • Costuming usually fits the personality of the character(s)