Shakespeare Flashcards
Poetry
Concentrated language produced through rhythm and sound. Sometimes called verse
Prose
Language of everyday speech.
The language used when speaking or writing
Metrical Writing/Meter
Meter is the use of a regular rhythmic pattern in language
Iambic Pentameter
Blank Verse
A form that normally uses a metrical pattern called unrhymed Iambic Pentameter
Unrhymed- the words at the end of a line do not rhyme
Iamb
a unit of speech that contains one undressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. Pays attention to syllables, not words
structure per line
10 syllables every line, 5 emphasized
rhyme scheme
ABABCDCDEFEFGG
Sonnet 18
About comparing his lover to a summer’s day, but actually praises poetry
Why Shakespeare used Iambic Pentameter
Shakespeare didn’t use it in every line, and some of his works are even written in prose. He wrote in iambic pentameter because it was pretty common to write this in the Elizabethan Era. The rhythms in blank verse most closely resembled those in our everyday speech.
Shakespeare’s birth
April 1564
Shakespeare’s death
April 23, 1616, possibly from too much wine & pickled herrings
Childhood home
- Lived in Stratford-upon-Avon
Shakespeares parents
John & Mary Arden Shakespeare, dad was a glove maker and politician, mom was daughter of a wealthy land owner
School
Probably attended King’s New School as a child, dropped out in middle school when his father lost his fortune. Was studying rhetoric, logic, history, and latin four long hours
Love life
Married Anne Hathaway in 1582
Children
Had twins, Hamnet and Judith, but Hamnet died from the plague at eleven, along with one older child Susanna
Lost years
Sometime between 1583-1592. He was 19-28 and moved to London and starteer working in a theater, while his family stayed home. No one knew where he was and what he was doing.
Shakespeare’s theatres
Member and later owner of the famous group the Lord Chamberleins (later called King’s Men). Invested in the building of the Globe Theater in 1599.
Plays
Total: 38, 14 Comedies, 10 histories, 10 tragedies, 4 romances, and a couple other collaborations
Sonnets
154
Buried
Buried at Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon. His grave had a flat stone tab saying anyone who moved his bones would become cursed
Early Modern English
The language Shakespeare spoke, not very different from modern english except for some old holdovers. Used both rural and urban words
Inspirations for his work
Only 2 of his plays are actual original stories. All others are based on already told stories, which he rearranged, including Greek mythology.
Coined phrases
- critical
- majestic
- dwindle
- one fell swoop
Shakespearean Stanza
Not invented by Shakespeare, follows the ABABCDCDEFEFGG pattern
Sonnets addressed to the “dark lady”
Sonnets 127-152
“Love is not time’s fool”
Love will always last, it is stronger than and transcends time, it doesn’t answer to it
Why are people so fascinated by Shakespeare
He understood human emotion, and how to portray that through writing and plays.
The first time his name appeared in print
In 1583 when someone was insulting him in writing
London during Shakespeare’s life
Dramatic contrasts, rich vs. poor,
everyone went to plays
anyone could catch the plague
The groundlings
The people who had to sit on the ground at the theatre because they only payed a penny for their seats. There was no bathroom, and people were often affected by the weather so the ground would be muddy.
When were plays performed
During the afternoon, because there was no electricity
Clothing in theatre
Everyone wore earth colored clothes, except the rich(they donated clothes to plays) so the actors would be wearing bright colors. Also helped tell the stories in the play by reflecting status
London officials and the theatre
They didn’t like it because they thought it was prey to “moral diseases”, where pickpockets, prostitutes, and poor people could gather. It also spread the plague. They would come and shut down the plays.
Women in theatre
Womens main job was to get married for money and alliances, their only education was in the house/women’s roles, barely any rights
It was forbidden for them to appear onstage because it was immoral
Queen Elizabeth in 1593
Had been on the throne forty years
Queen Elizabeth and Plays
Loved the theatre, and liked going to relieve stress
Why Queen Elizabeth didn’t marry
Was a workaholic.
Gave her more rights than most women, and she could use it in negotiations as bait
Romeo and Juliet in Shakespeare’s career
Very important, it mixed comedy and tragedy in a play which was something no one had seen before
inversion
rearranging word order to create new rythms or emphasize a particular word
archaic language
an outdated form of language, heavy meaning sorrowful
omission
omit a whole word or part of a word to create rhymes
classical allusions
an indirect reference to something from Greek/Roman mythology
Biblical Allustion
an indirect reference to something from the Bible
Pun
A play on words/playing with the sound of words to achieve particular affects. For example amusement, clarification or explanation. An important part of the economy of Shakespeare’s texts
paradox
a self-contradictory or absurd statement, that when explained could be true
