Shakespeare Definitions

Question 1

tiring house

Answer 1

the area next to the stage where Shakespeare’s actors would rest, eat, and change into costumes for each performance

Question 2

1564

Answer 2

year in which shakespeare was born

duing the Elzabethan Era

Question 3

Iambic pentameter

Answer 3

a common feature of Shakespeare’s blank verse, in which five pairings of “unstressed —stressed” syllables occur
eg. “In sooth I know not where the day has gone”

Question 4

Elizabeth 1

Answer 4

adored drama and frequently attended Shakespeare’s plays
Her influence made the viewing of plays a socialy acceptable and sophisticated activity
current monarch of England

Question 5

Soliquoy

Answer 5

a speech that is delivered by a character while alone on stage
is intended to give the audience info about the character’s private feeling/plans
longer than an aside
eg. Viola’s confusion towards Oliva’s actions

Question 6

1616

Answer 6

when Shakespeare died

Question 7

London

Answer 7

the capital city of London, highest population, europe’s centre or business and finance
Shakespear’s acting troupe perfomed most of their plays in this area
Shakespeare lived most of his life here

Question 8

Jacobean Era

Answer 8

period when King James was monarch of England
followed the Elizabethan Era
began in 1603

Question 9

aside

Answer 9

character’s brief remark heard by audience, not heard by character’s

Question 10

Aside vs soliloquy

Answer 10

Aside is shorter than a soliloquy and is delivered with other characters present

Question 11

Hamnet

Answer 11

Shakespeares only son who died in his infancy

Critics believe that this tragedy influenced Shakespeare’s life to eventually writing more tragedies than comedies

Question 12

dramatis personae

Answer 12

list of the characters and/or actors in a play (usually stated in order of importance)

Question 13

Stratford—on—the—Avon

Answer 13

city in England
Shakespeare was born there
Shakespeare’s family experienced wealth here allowing him to god to school and read plays instead of doing child labor

Question 14

blank verse

Answer 14

different from free verse as it does not rhyme

can still be rythmically structured, as in the case of iambic pentameter

Question 15

anon

Answer 15

means once
a word that Shakespeare created
Shakespeare has invented 10% of the words in his plays
other words of his invention is bedroom, bump and assassination

Question 16

Earl of Southampton

Answer 16

friend of Shakespeare who was of high social status

Shakespeare dedicated many of his plays to him and frequently made him attend performances sitting in the gallery

Question 17

prose

Answer 17

spoken or written language that is like everyday speech in that there is no rigid rhythmic structure

Question 18

The Plague

Answer 18

epidemic virus killed thousands in Europe in the 1600’s

Question 19

tragedy

Answer 19

a serious play in which hero typically becomes engaged in a conflict, experiences much suffering, is finally defeated and dies `

Question 20

poetry (contrasts to prose)

Answer 20

composition that evokes emotion and imagination by the use of vivid intense language

Question 21

stanzas

Answer 21

group of lines in poetry

Question 22

1623

Answer 22

year in which the First Folio (complication of Shakespeare’s plays) was published

Question 23

quartos

Answer 23

piece of paper that is folded twice to create eight separate pages

Question 24

groundlings

Answer 24

those who could not afford the gallery were forced to sit on the floor next to the stage

Question 25

comedy (contrasting a tragedy)

Answer 25

type of play with a happy and humorous emotional atmosphere (unlike a tragedy)

Question 26

Renaissance Period

Answer 26

during the fifteenth century Europe experienced a “rebirth” of arts and literature
Elizabethan Era occurred in this period

Question 27

history

Answer 27

type if play (typically tragedy) depicting characters and times that are non-fictional

Question 28

sonnets

Answer 28

lyric poem of fourteen lines that is typically composed by three quatrains and a rhyming couplet

rhyming scheme: “a-b-a-b-c-d-e-f-e-f-g-g”

Shakespeare wrote many famous sonnets

Question 29

Lords Chamberlain’s Men

Answer 29

name of Shakespeare’s acting troupe during regin of Queen Elizbeth

Question 30

The King’s Men

Answer 30

Shakespeare’s acting troupe during King James’s era

Question 31

galleries

Answer 31

were people were able to sit on chairs and watch the performance,

people who could afford gallery were
considered higher class that the "groundlings"

Question 32

James 1

Answer 32

monarch of England in 1603 after death of Queen Elizabeth

Question 33

Elizabethan Era

Answer 33

period in which Queen Elizabeth was the Monarch of England

most of Shakespeare’s plays were written and performed during this period

Question 34

proscenium arch

Answer 34

lip shape part of the stage that extends into the audience

audience feel more emotionally engaged with actors because they are closer to them

Question 35

The King’s Men

Answer 35

the revised name of Shakespeare’s acting trope to show respect for the new monarch King James

Question 36

playwright

Answer 36

someone who writes a play through occupation

Shakespeare was a playright, actor and poet

Question 37

boys

Answer 37

commonly portrayed women in dramatic roles

Question 38

First Folio

Answer 38

first complication of Shakespeare’s plays (36 in total)

Question 39

When was the First Folio published?

Answer 39

1623, seven years after Shakespeare’s death

Question 40

The Globe

Answer 40

famous outdoor theatre in London

Question 41

Where were most of Shakespeare’s plays performed?

Answer 41

The Globe

Question 42

What are some other famous theaters?

Answer 42

The Rose and The Swan

Question 43

Anne Hathaway

Answer 43

wife of Shakespeare

Question 44

What makes Shakespeare’s marriage to Anne Hathaway unconvential?

Answer 44

She was eight years older than Shakespeare.