Shakespeare Flashcards
What is Shakespeare’s birthdate?
April 23,1564
Where was Shakespeare born?
Stratford-upon-Avon
What is Shakespeare associated with?
The renaissance and reformation
Who did Shakespeare marry and how old was he?
Anne Hathaway when he was 18
What were his 3 children’s names?
Suzanna, Hamnet, and Judith
What year was the Plague?
1593
What happened in the year of the Plague?
All theaters closed and Shakespeare turned to poetry
What did Shakespeare’s play company name one of his plays?
They named “King’s Men” for King James I
What did Shakespeare do involving plays?
He wrote, produced, directed, and acted in them.
Which theater was Shakespeare an investor at?
The Globe Theatre
What significance is the Globe Theatre to England?
It’s England’s most famous theater
How much did it cost to stand in the pit of the theater?
One penny
When was the theater open?
In daylight and favorable weather
Why did the weather conditions matter for the theater?
It was an open air theater
What signified a play at the theater?
A flag flying from the roof
What did a flag flying from the theater’s roof signify?
That there was to be a play that afternoon
What were actors classified as?
Vagabonds and rogues
What did Queen Elizabeth’s reign do for actors?
Recognized them legally
What would happen when a patron or sponsor would seek actors’ companies?
The play would be in his honor
What did the companies consist of?
10-12 adult males and 5-6 boy apprentices
What roles did boys and women have in the theater?
Boys played women’s roles because it was illegal for women to appear on stage
What were actors required to do to act?
Sing, dance, play an instrument, and perform their own stunts
What do the transitions in Shakespeare’s genres correlate with?
The timeline of events in his life
Shakespeare is what as a playwright
The most widely produced and most widely critiqued playwright ever
What is a soliloquy?
A long speech expressing private thoughts, delivered by a character who is alone on stage
What is a monologue?
A long speech delivered by one character to another or to a group of characters
What is an aside?
A private remark to one character or to the audience that breaks convention because it is understood not to be heard by other characters onstage
What is the chorus?
A single character or group of characters whose words may connect scenes or convey the collective thoughts or feelings of the community
Tragic hero
In Ancient Greek and Shakespearian tragedies, the tragic hero is the main character
Comic relief
To relieve tension, playwrights often include humorous scenes or characters that provide comic relief
Romantic comedy
Involves problems among lovers
Comedy of manners
Satirizes social customs of society
4 elements of a tragedy
- Features noble or outstanding protagonists
- Emphasizes human greatness
- Arouses pity, fear, awe
- Ends unhappy with destruction of hero
4 elements of a comedy
- Features ordinary protagonists
- Emphasizes human weakness of society
- Arouses sympathy, amusement
- Ends happily with protagonist making peace with society
