William Shakespeare/Shakespearean Drama

Tragic flaw

An error in judgement or a weakness in character

Aught

Anything

Ere

Before

Beseech

Beg

Allusions

Characters constantly make ___ (sometimes to classic mythology and other times to The Bible)

History

Chronicles the life of an English monarch

Durst

Dared

He went to the local grammar school where he studied Latin and classical literature

Describe Shakespeare's formal education

Starting point/exposition

Describes the mood and condition existing at the beginning of the play; also describes the setting and the main characters

Comedy

Ends happily and contains many humorous elements (usually ends with a wedding)

Falling action (acts 3,4&5)

Events occurring from the time of the climax up to the hero's death

Ta'en

Taken

Th'

The

A part owner, and the official playwright of his company

What did King James I make Shakespeare?

The second best bed in their home

What did Shakespeare leave to his wife?

A glover and leatherworker, a moneylender, and a high bailiff

What did Shakespeare's father do for a living?

April 23rd, 1616; he drank to much wine and got a high fever

What expect date did Shakespeare die and what were the circumstances of his death?

Iambic pentameter

What kind of speech were plays and sonnets written in?

Tragedies

What type of writing is Shakespeare best known for?

Third child, first son

What was Shakespeare's position in the birth order of his family?

The Kings' Men

What was the acting company that King James I started in 1603 called?

"The Lost Years"

What were Shakespeare's 20's often referred to as?

Repetition, parallelism, and rhetorical questions

What were some of the rhetorical devices that Shakespeare used?

Whither

When

Last Lines rhyme

When a character is exiting the stage, usually his or her___

Dramatic irony

When the audience knows more than the character; helps build suspense

April 23rd, 1564

When was Shakespeare born?

London

Where did Shakespeare travel to in 1592 and write his first two plays?

Stratford-on-Avon

Where was Shakespeare born?

King Lear, Macbeth, and O Fellow

Which three plays did Shakespeare write from 1604-1607?

Hamnet, Shakespeare's only son

Who died in August 1596 at the age of 11?

The men for main characters, and young boys for minor characters

Who played the women's parts in the theater?

Queen Elizabeth I

Who was the reigning queen during Shakespeare's life?

John and Mary Shakespeare

Who were Shakespeare's parents?

Anne Hathaway;he was only 18 and she was 26

Whom did Shakespeare marry? And how old was he when he got married?

Wherefore

Why

She was pregnant with his child, and her family forced them to

Why did they get married?

Soliloquy

a speech given by a character alone on stage; used to reveal his or her private thoughts and feelings

Globe

Shakespeare finally retired and returned to Stratford-on-Avon when which theater burned down?

Inversion

Sometimes Shakespeare will invert the verb and the subject

Initial exciting force (act 1)

The complication; gets things going by beginning the main conflict of the play

Catastrophe (act 5)

The necessary consequence of the hero's previous actions which must be the hero's death

Withal

Also

Aside

A character's remark, either to the audience or to another character, that no one else on stage is supposed to hear

Catastrophe

A disastrous final outcome that usually involves the death of the hero and many others; is a result of the tragic hero's tragic flaw

Monologue

A long speech given on stage in the presence of others

Iambic pentameter

A pattern of rhythm that has five unstressed syllables followed by a stressed syllable in one line of poetry

Tragic hero

A person of high rank who accepts his or her downfall with dignity

You, you, and your

Formal you's

'A

He

Hither

Here

In brackets or are italicized

How are stage directions written?

3,000

How many words are in our vocabulary?

150

How many words can you get by with on a daily basis?

300,000

How many words does the English language contain?

15,000

How many words were in William Shakespeare's vocabulary?

20-30 people a week/25%

How much of London's population was killed?

Hie

Hurry

An

If

I'

In

Thou, thee, and thy

Informal you's

'T

It

Susana, Hamnet, and Judith

List his children

Marry

Mild oath/exclamation

Soldier, sailor, traveler, and a school master

Name three professions that Shakespeare might have been involved with in his 20's before he got involved with theater

Mark

Notice

O'

On

But

Only

O'er

Over

Prithee

Please

Rising action (acts 2&3)

Series of events leading up to the climax of the play; provides a progressive interest for the audience

Climax (act 3)

The turning point of the play; from this point on, the Shakespearean hero moves to his inevitable end

'Em

Them

Thither

There

Tragedy

Traces the main character's downfall (tragic hero, as well as other main characters, die)

Blank verse

Unrhymed lines of iambic pentameter; Shakespeare's plays are primarily written this way

He uses words that no longer exist in the English we speak, he uses words in our language that now have a different meaning, and he uses words in our language that we don't know the meaning of

What are 3 problems with Shakespeare's word choice and diction?

Ovid's Metamorpheses

What book and author became a favorite of Shakespeare during his years at school?

An outbreak of the plague

What closed the theaters from 1592-1594?

Save

except

Soft

wait a minute