Shakespeare Pre-reading Flashcards
1
Q
What is Poetry?
A
“verse,” concentrated language composed of rhythm and sound, the height and sound of language
2
Q
What is Prose?
A
everyday speech, ordinary language
3
Q
What is Metrical Writing or a Meter?
A
use of/a regular rhythmic pattern in language
4
Q
What is Iambic Pentameter/Blank Verse?
A
unrhymed, iamb = an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable, pentameter = five meters
5
Q
Why did Shakespeare write in iambic pentameter?
A
common practice, rhythm resembles natural rhythm of our speech
6
Q
What Greek myth inspired Romeo and Juliet?
A
Pyramus and Thisbe
7
Q
When was Shakespeare born?
A
1564
8
Q
When did Shakespeare die?
A
April 23, 1616
9
Q
Who were Shakespeare’s parents?
A
John and Mary Arden Shakespeare
10
Q
Where was Shakespeare born?
A
two story house on Henley St, Stratford-upon-Avon
11
Q
Who was Shakespeare’s mother?
A
a daughter of a wealthy landowner
12
Q
Who was Shakespeare’s father?
A
glovemaker, local politician
13
Q
What school did Shakespeare probably go to?
A
King’s New School in Stratford
14
Q
What subjects did he probably learn in school?
A
rhetoric, logic, history, Latin
15
Q
What was his school day like?
A
long and rigorous
16
Q
When and why did he drop out of school?
A
age 14, middle school, his father lost his fortune, went to work
17
Q
Who was Shakespeare married to?
A
Anne Hathaway on November 27, 1582
18
Q
Who were his children?
A
Susanna (christened May 26, 1582, 6 months later), twins Hamnet and Judith (christened Feb 2, 1585)
19
Q
Who was Hamnet?
A
Shakespeare’s son who died from the plague at age 11
20
Q
What are the “Lost Years?”
A
1583-1592, he moved to London to work in theater, but there are very few to no records of him
21
Q
What happened when Shakespeare was in his early 20s?
A
The Lost Years
22
Q
When was the Globe Theatre built?
A
1599
23
Q
What theater did Shakespeare invest in?
A
The Globe Theater
24
Q
What theatrical company did Shakespeare write for?
A
Lord Chamberlain’s Men
25
What was Lord Chamberlain's Men later known as?
King's Men
26
What was Shakespeare the part-owner of?
Lord Chamberlain's Men
27
What happened to the Globe Theatre in 1613?
burned down during a play
28
Which seats are the cheapest?
upfront, no cover, grass, stand
29
How many plays did Shakespeare write?
38
30
What were the four categories of his plays?
comedies (14), histories (10), tragedies (10), romances (4)
31
How many sonnets did he write?
154
32
What did Shakespeare allegedly leave his wife?
second-best bed
33
Where is Shakespeare buried?
Holy Trinity Church in Stratford
34
How old was he when he died?
probably 52
35
Was he buried with his wife?
no, right next to her
36
What is his gravestone covered by?
a flat stone with an epitaph
37
What does the epitaph say?
a warning of a curse to anyone who moves his bones
38
What type of English did he write in?
Early Modern English
39
What was significant about his type of English?
had old holdovers and new words, rural and urban, could be understood and liked by the lowest peasant to the Queen herself, invented new words and phrases
40
What words and phrases did Shakespeare invent?
critical, majestic, dwindle, one fell swoop, flesh and blood, vanish into thin air
41
Are Shakespeare's works original plots?
no, he mostly retold older stories
42
Which two plays are original?
Love's Labour's Lost and The Tempest
43
Did Shakespeare invent the Shakespearean stanza?
no, he just did it the best
44
What is the structure of Shakespeare's sonnets?
iambic pentameter, 14 lines, three quatrains and a couplet, ABAB CDCD EFEF GG
45
Is "I baked my friend a birthday cake today" in iambic pentameter?
yes
46
Is "She danced along to the song on the radio" in iambic pentameter?
no
47
What do we know about Shakespeare's sonnets?
he wrote 154 of them, probably from the 1590s - early 1600s
48
What do we not know about the sonnets?
exact dates, speaker, if there are more, intended audience, order
49
Who are the sonnets addressed to?
the fair youth and dark lady (black mistress)
50
Which sonnets were written to the fair youth?
1-126
51
Which sonnets were written to the dark lady?
127-152
52
How does Sonnet 18 praise poetry?
immortalize, humans live and die but poetry lives for ever and keeps a perfect moment, person, memory forever
53
What does he mean by "Love is not time's fool?"
everything else will wither and die with time but love will exist through time
54
What does Shakespeare like to include in his sonnets?
a twist at the end
55
Does Shakespeare admire his black mistress?
no, he acts almost ashamed of liking her but then says that everyone else exaggerates on the beauty of their beloveds
56
When was Shakespeare baptised?
April 26, 1564
57
Was Shakespeare born into a poor household?
no, they were pretty well off
58
How did Shakespeare's father earn a lot of money?
brogging? illegal wool trade
59
What was happening religiously during this time?
revolution, religious conflict, catholic vs protestant, no religious certainty
60
Who were the three different monarchs who succeeded Henry the 8th?
his son Edward (protestant), his daughter Mary (catholic), his daughter Elizabeth (protestant)
61
What was an important place for his mother's side of the family?
Forest of Arden in Warwickshire
62
Did Shakespeare have any siblings?
two older sisters did not survive
63
What is a quatrain in a sonnet?
four lines, rhyme scheme ABAB
64
What is a couplet in a sonnet?
last two lines, rhyme scheme GG
65
What is an example of inversion?
"Goes he?" "Him I hit"
66
What is inversion?
switching the order of the words
67
Why does Shakespeare use inversion?
to create rhythms, rhymes or emphasize a word
68
What time period did Shakespeare live in?
Elizabethan England
69
What does "Away from light steals home my heavy son" mean?
Romeo goes home and closes himself in his room in the dark, windows closed
70
What does "heavy" mean?
sorrowful, "heavy heart"
71
What is omission?
leaving out parts of words or whole words
72
Why does Shakespeare use omission?
to create rhymes
73
What is an example of omission?
"heard the news?" "good e'en"
74
What is imagery?
describing things in a way that appeals to the senses
75
What is a classical allusion?
reference to Greek/Roman mythology
76
What is a biblical allusion?
reference to the Bible
77
What is a pun?
a play on words, sound of words, for amusement, thought provocation, clarification, explanation
78
What is Sonnet 18 about?
comparing the fair youth to a summer's day, praising poetry
79
What do the last two lines of Sonnet 18 suggest?
praises poetry
80
When was the first time his name appears in print and why?
1592, Robert Green? attacks him because he says he can write as well as an university educated man
81
How many things do we know for sure about Shakespeare?
5 things
82
What was London like during his time?
dramatic contrasts: palaces, allies, manor houses, taverns; romantic world: poetry, plays; dangerous: violence, Black Death
83
Who are the groundlings?
people seated in the cheapest spot in the theater, standing in open air in front of the stage
84
Why were plays performed during the afternon?
lighting is supplied by the sun
85
What brought excitement to Shakespeare's plays?
costumes: provided color and flash, reflects social status, difference between life and story, basic scenery, no lighting, sound effects or special effects AND WORDS
86
Did London officials like the theaters and why?
attracted outcasts of society, allowed the plague to spread, lured workers away from their jobs
87
How were women portrayed?
a man in drag
88
What is a paradox?
self-contradictory statement; "wise fool"
89
What is Petrarchan Love?
love is unrequited, Petrarch loves Laura, paralyzing intensity of love, love is perfect, chaste, pure, only fault is mortality, anti-sex, melancholy, wants to be alone
90
Why are people so fascinated with Shakespeare?
he understood what makes people tick and transforms it into wonderful portrayals of human relationships
91
What were challenges of working in a theater?
regulations enforced by master of revels, did not make much money, only a week of rehearsals, could only run a play for a couple days, could be closed, run into money problems, a hit could change fortunes overnight, sought after actors and playwrights
92
Could women appear onstage?
no, illegal by law
93
What was a women's main "job?"
arranged marriage, honor her parents
94
Why would people create arranged marriages?
for property and alliances
95
What were some things women could not do?
act on stage, vote, few legal rights, have education besides piety, chastity and domestic skills
96
In 1593, how long had Elizabeth been on the throne?
40 years
97
Who was the monarch during Shakespeare's life?
Elizabeth
98
How did she feel towards plays?
she loved them
99
Why didn't the Queen marry?
she could bring up the possibility of marriage during foreign policies to get what she wanted
100
Why is Romeo and Juliet so significant?
mixes comedies and tragedies, sets him apart from others, tells us the ending at the beginning which makes it more intense and heartbreaking
