William Shakespeare Introductory Notes
What are the eight years between 1585 and 1592 known as?
"Lost Years"
What would Shakespeare receive in royaltes per week for Othello?
$25,000
How old were boy actors playing femal roles?
10-18
Where was Stratford?
100 miles NW of London
Juliet is nearly
14
How long is a Shakespearian sonnet?
14 lines
When was Arthur Brooke's work published?
1562
What period of time is little known about Shakespeare?
1585 and 1592
When did Hamnet die and at what age?
1596 at 11
When did King James I come into power?
1603
What by and when was the Globe Theater destroyed?
1613 during a fire
When was the Globe rebuilt?
1640
When were women permitted on stage?
1660
When did Shakespeare's last descendant die?
1670
How old was Shakespeare when he married?
18
According to the Chorus of the prologue, how long does the performance last?
2 hours
How many people from 1599 to 1613 attended Shakespeare's plays?
2,000-3,000
What did the wealthy Shakespeare purchase?
2nd largest home in Stratford, coat of arms, 100 acres of farm land
How many stories was the Globe?
3
What number child was Shakespeare and out of how many?
3 of 8
How many times did the black death shut down the theater?
3 times
How many theaters were there in London after Shakespeare's death in 1616?
30
How many plays did Shakespeare write?
37
How old is Romeo and Juliet?
400 years
How many acts do all of Shakespeare's plays have?
5
At what age did Shakespeare die?
52
How many actors were in each troupe?
7
How much older was Ann Hathaway than Shakespeare?
8 years
How many groundlings were there usually?
800
What is the rhyme scheme of a Shakespearian sonnet?
ABABCDCDEFEFGG
Whom did Shakespeare marry?
Ann Hathaway
Whom did Shakespeare marry? How old was Shakespeare? How old was Ann?
Ann Hathaway; 18; 26
When was Shakespeare born?
April 23, 1564
When did Shakespeare die?
April 23, 1616
When did Shakespeare leave Stratford?
Around 1584
"He was not of an age, but for all time" were words spoken by whom?
Ben Johnson
Who is the original speaker of the prologue of Romeo and Juliet?
Chorus
Who ruled English during Shakespeare's time?
Elizabeth I
Who was Thomas Coryate?
English traveler
What do the last two line of the prologue request of the audience?
Give the stage their full attention so they can explain the story
What is Shakespeare's longest play?
Hamlet
What is Shakespeare's most complex play?
Hamlet
Who was "Hamlet" named after?
Hamnet
What do Shakespeare's birth and death dates reveal?
He died on his birthday at age 52
Why did Charles Ii allow women to perform?
He loved theater and women
What made Shakespeare a popular writer?
He put in his plays what people enjoyed watching
How did Shakespeare's father, John, earn the status of "gentleman"?
He was a magistrate
What does one story suggest happened between 1585 and 1592?
He was caught stealing a deer from Sir Thomas Lucy
What is believed about Shakespeare's marriage?
He was not happily married
Why did Shakespeare treat Catholics with respect?
He was taught to respect religion
What play was being performed when the Globe was burned?
Henry VIII
Shakespeare died without seeing what?
His plays officially published
Shakespeare wrote "Blessed be the man that spares these stones and cursed be the man that moves my bones." Where can these be found today?
His tombstone
Where is Shakespeare buried?
Holy Trinity Church in Stratford
When were all plays performed?
In the afternoon between 2 and 5 pm
How was the play received?
It was popular from the start; finally received acceptance from his father
Who are Shakespear's parents?
John and Mary Shakespeare
How is Lord Capulet like John Shakespeare?
John wanted to marry rich. Lord Capulet wanted his daughter to marry rich
How does Shakespeare's family parallel the families is Romeo and Juliet?
Juliet is the same age as Susanna. Understand grief of their deaths because Hamnet died the year the play was written
What was Shakespeare's first play?
Julius Caesar
What are some of Shakespeare's other masterpieces besides Romeo and Juliet?
Julius Caesar, Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, MacBeth
What did Shakespeare study at grammar school?
Latin grammar and Latin literature
Where did Shakespeare attend school?
Latin grammar school
Where did Shakespeare move after his twins were born?
London
Where did Shakespeare move after leaving Stratford?
London
Where was Shakespeare's theater's second location?
London's gambling district
Who were the "penny knaves"
London's tradesmen, apprentices, fishwives
What did Shakespeare join by 1954?
Lord Chamberlain's Men
What is Shakespeare's shortest play?
MacBeth
What were troubles happening in England after King Henry VIIIs death?
Queen Mary prosecuted anglicans
What moral does Arthur Brook preach?
Romeo and Juliet had to die because they broke laws and married unwisely against their parents' wishes
What is the only way for the Capulets and Montagues to end their feud?
Romeo and Juliet's deaths
The most famous writer in the world
Shakespeare
What is the prologue in Romeo Juliet?
Shakespearian sonnet
Where was Shakespeare born?
Stratford
Why did Shakespeare choose to live in London?
Stratford felt too small for him
Who are Shakespeare's children?
Susanna and twins Hamnet and Judith
Which literary work has been translated more than Shakespeare's?
The Bible
What was Shakespeare' theater?
The Globe
What event happened in 1613 that changed Shakespeare?
The Globe Theater burned
in 1603, what was King Chamberlain's Men changed to?
The King's Men
What was Shakespeare's last play?
The Tempest
What did Hamnet's death mean?
The family name would be carried on no more
Why did audiences during Shakespeare's time already know his plays before seeing them?
They were based on other author's works
Where and when did Thomas Coryate travel?
Venice in 1608
What is the setting of Romeo and Juliet?
Verona, Italy in the 1300s
Before James Burbage's theater, where were plays performed?
Wherever a space was available for rent
What did Shakespeare do to Sir Thomas Lucy? What were probably the repercussions?
Wrote a "scandalous ballad" about him which may have caused him to leave Stratford
In Ireland, Romeo and Juliet represent what?
a Catholic and a Protestant
How was London like Verona?
a busy thriving city where violence quickly spread
Who was old Henry Hunks
a favorite bear for bear-baiting
What is the basic shape of The Globe?
a large, round (polygonal) building
What type of writing was Arthur Brooke's work?
a long narrative poem
Who supported the actor's company?
a nobleman
How much did the people who stood in the pit of the Globe pay?
a penny
What was Shakespeare in 1592?
a recognized and well-known actor in London
What did Shakespeare's theater represent?
a wooden o
Why did Shakespeare disappoint his father?
acting was not a respectful profession; his marriage was not pleasing
What did Shakespeare become by 1952?
actor and playwright
What did Shakespeare begin a career as when he first came to London?
an actor and playwright
Why was Lord Chamberlain so important?
arranged entertainment for Queen Elizabeth
What church and legal documents are included that describe Shakespeare's personal life?
baptismal registration, marriage license, real estate transaction records
Use of blood
battle scenes (pigs blood and guts)
What was written very scarcely during Shakespeare's time?
biographies
Shakespeare's plays are writin in
blank verse in iambic pentameter
What was bear-baiting popular?
cheap, exciting, easy to participate in
All of Shakespeare's grandchildren died
childless
What did Shakespeare's early life come mostly from?
church and legal documents
Where does most of Shakespeare's personal life come from?
church and legal documents
Who performed in the earlier plays about Bible stories?
clergy and choir boys
What did a white flag at the Globe represent?
comedy
Why was Shakespeare unpopular?
critics said that drama was not an artform
What is the proscenium stage?
curtains on the inner stage
What was Shakespeare fascinated with?
death
To act or to do
drama
From what did Shakespeare die?
drank too much, ate too much, caught a fever
What "batch" of plays was Romeo and Juliet written in?
early plays between 1594 and 1596
One word that describes the costumes of Shakespeare's plays
elaborate
What were trapped doors in the floors used for?
entrances and exits of ghosts and descents into hell
When did a new play begin?
every three weeks
What two issues came up when someone began to write about Shakespeare's life?
facts were no longer known, false, or inaccurate; there were no relatives of his family line still alive
How would someone know what genre of play was being performed at the Globe?
flag color
Everyone would _____ to see Shakespeare's plays.
flock
In line 5 of the prologue, why are the families called "foes"?
foes means enemy
What were the people who stood in the pit of the Globe called?
groundlings
Why was Shakespeare popular?
his plays has something for all of his viewers
What happened to James Burbage's theater in 1599?
his theater was torn down
What did Shakespeare usually write about?
historical subjects
What did a red flag at the Globe represent?
history
What did Shakespeare's theater influence?
how plays were written
Romeo and Juliet are caught up in an
idealized, almost unreal, passionate love
What is a prologue?
introduction to a story
Why is Romeo and Juliet still popular today?
it tells us a lot about human nature and Shakespeare
Why was there no need for stage lighting?
it was still bright out
What did Shakespeare do from 1954 to the end of his career?
joined the acting group Lord Chamberlain's Men
What did Shakespeare not leave us?
journals or letter
Who was Sir Thomas Lucy?
justice of the peace and member of Parliment
What were Shakespeare's stages set by?
language
In Shakespeare's time, what did biographies mostly record?
lives of kings
Romeo and Juliet are in love with
love
Why is Stratford-on-Avon in the 1500s a "tightly knit medieval town"?
magistrates kept close watch on everyone, fixed prices of goods, monitored church habits, and controlled gambling and would not let dogs go unmuzzled
Use of the stage
main acting
Since they are victims of fate, according to Shakespeare, what do Romeo and Juliet do?
make decisions that lead to their disaster
What gender were all actors?
male
Six characteristics of an actor of Shakespeare's day
male, member of a company, fencer, singer, dancer, acrobat
Where did the male only custom originate?
medieval drama
When the Chorus of the prologue speaks on . stage directly to the audience, what is it known as?
monologue
What does Shakespeare do away with when writing Romeo and Juliet?
moralizing
Who also had a hand in Romeo and Juliet's tragic ending?
more important other characters
What must you realize to understand "star-crossed"?
most people in Shakespeare's time believed in astrology
How long after Shakespeare's life was it until someone began to write about his life?
nearly 100 years
What has recently occured between the Montagues and Capulets?
new violence
Did Shakespeare have formal college education?
no
Why was the constant change of plays bad?
no rehearsal time
Why were plays an important source of amusement?
no tv, no movies, no radio, etc.
Why is Shakespeare a "rather shadowy figure"?
not much is known about him
What is the cost of bear-baiting?
one penny
How do we learn about Shakespeare from Romeo and Juliet?
parallels to his own life
What are Romeo and Juliet called star-crossed lovers?
people believed highly in astrology and star-crossed means ill-fated
Why were the plays in the afternoon?
people had a lot of free time
What were the two stages of the Globe?
platform stage (lower) and upper stage (balcony)
What did Shakespeare leave us?
poems and plays
An introduction to a literary work
prologue
What was the inner stage of The Globe called?
proscenium
What did Sir Thomas Lucy do to Shakespeare as a result of stealing a deer?
prosecuted him
Three enemies to the theater
puritans, city fathers, black death
How does the feud in Romeo and Juliet parallel that of the English royal family at the time?
religious differences in the family = feud in the play
What did Shakespeare do by 1612?
retired to Stratford
What are the last two lines of a Shakespearian sonnet called?
rhyming couplet
Why did the theaters close between 1952 and 1954?
riots and the plague
In the Globe Theater, there was no
roof
Very little of what was used in Shakespeare's play?
scenary
What is bear-baiting?
shackled bear would be attacked by dogs and people would be on which dog would die last
What did Shakespeare's father do?
shopkeeper, justice of the peace, high bailiff, mayor
What three insights does Romeo and Juliet tell us?
society, time it was written, Shakespeare
The words "Enter Chorus" are the what?
stage directions
In line 6 of the prologue, What are Romeo and Juliet referred to as?
star-crossed lovers
What are Shakespeare's plays based on?
stories already known to his audiences
Where did Shakespeare get the idea for Romeo and Juliet?
story by Arthur Brook in 1562 called the Tragical History of Romeus
What did people in Shakespeare's time believe about astrology?
the course of their lives were determined by the placement of the stars when they were born
Why was makeup important to actors?
they are all men; determined status
How did royals feel about Shakespeare's plays?
thoroughly enjoyed them
How many children did Shakespeare and Ann have?
three
How tall was The Globe?
three stories
How did the groundlings cause trouble?
throw things, talk loudly, play cards, pick fights, through rotten eggs, throw veggies
What did Shakespeare use to build the Globe?
timbers from Burbage's theater
Why did Shakespeare leave school?
to apprentice a Stratford tradesman because his father was having financial problems
What did a black flag at the Globe represent?
tragedy
When would Shakespeare return to Stratford?
two or three days during Lent when the theaters were closed
What does Shakespeare present Romeo and Juliet as?
two star-crossed lovers doomed to disaster by fate
Why did Shakespeare write Romeo and Juliet?
unhappy marriage
What is the relationship between the Montagues and Capulet's?
very long feud; both are noble and high class, wealthy
Even though they are star-crossed, what doesn't Shakespeare make Romeo and Juliet?
victims of fate
Who were the "university wits"?
want-to-be poets in London
Why was Coryate astonished while in Venice?
women were performing on the stage
What did Shakespeare do while the theaters were closed between 1952 and 1954?
write and publish poems
As co-owner of the Globe Theater, what did Shakespeare do?
write plays, hire actors, pay bills
What did Shakespeare become very wealthy doing after King James I came to power?
writing poems and plays
Do the Capulets and Montagues ever end their feud? Which line of the prologue states this?
yes, line 8
Romeo is a
young man (16-17)