Shakespeare Vocabulary Flashcards
Mary Arden
Shakespeare’s mother
William Shakespeare
Playright, poet, author, actor, landowner, part owner of the Globe theater
John Shakespeare
Shakespeare’s father, glovemaker
Stratford-upon-Avon
Shakespeare’s birthplace
Anne Hathaway
Shakespeare’s wife
Susanna, Hamnet, Judith
Shakespeare’s kids
Lord Chamberlain’s Company of Players
Shakespeare was a member of this acting group under Elizabeth I
The King’s Men
The same acting group as Lord Chamberlain’s Company of Players; name changed under King James I
London
Renaissance city; encouraged the arts
Renaissance
Rebirth, allowed Shakespeare to explore the arts
Globe Theater
Most famous theater in London; destroyed by fire but rebuilt
Swan
Theater in London
Rose
Theater in London
Soliloquy
Actor alone on stage - speaking his thoughts aloud (talking to himself)
Asides
Saying something to the audience that other actors pretend not to hear
Fencing
Audience loved duels; actors had to be good at this skill
Tumbling
Actors needed to fall on stage and through doors
Penny Public / groundlings
Poor people who paid one penny to stand in “Pit” (court / open yard) to watch plays
Sonnets
Shakespeare is famous for writing these -
14 line poems written in iambic pentameter (2 syllables, 5 beats)
Topic is usually love
Puns
Humorous play on words
Rhyming tags
Two lines at the end of the act / scene to indicate a new scene is about to begin
Prologue
Introduction to play
Henry VIII
King who had six wives; Elizabeth I came from his line
Elizabeth I
Queen who ruled during Shakespeare’s time, encouraged the arts, Shakespeare performed many times for her
