background information to help w/ understanding Romeo and Juliet, along with terms/characteristics of Shakespeare's writing
total plays Shakespeare wrote
37 plays (genres included histories, comedies, and tragedies)
along with being a writer, Shakespeare was also a _______
successful businessman. He built the largest open amphitheater, known as the Globe theater.
number of sonnets Shakespeare wrote
154 total sonnets
Shakespeare’s cause of death
the cause is unknown, but it is believed that he died on his birthday
Shakespeare’s achievements
credited with introducing over 3,000 words to the English language
became an established writer by the 1590s
Shakespeare’s birth
scholars believe he was born on or near April 23rd 1564, in England
Queen Elizabeth I
born in Greenwich in 1533. She was the daughter of Henry the 8th and Anne Boleyn. She was highly educated and could speak many languages fluently.
how did Queen Elizabeth I become queen?
Edward VI became king after Henry the 8th died
Edward VI died and Mary (Queen Elizabeth’s older half sister) took the throne
Mary had Queen Elizabeth imprisoned because she was Protestant (Mary wanted to return England to Christianity)
Mary died of illness, and the throne went to Elizabeth
Queen Elizabeth I achievements
returned England to Protestant rule (maintained the Church of England and incorporated some Christian ideas)
during her reign, England saw a golden age (trade expanded, exploration increased, etc.)
the arts flourished (poetry, theater, music)
led the England navy in defeating the Spanish invaders
Queen Elizabeth I later years
had Mary executed
declined marriage and stated that “her country was her priority”
James I of Scotland (son of Mary) became king after Queen Elizabeth died
King Henry the 8th required his wives to be
powerful, but not too powerful
clever, spirited, and opinionated, but not overly so
young and social, but not too social otherwise Henry would charge them with adultery
intelligent, but not too intelligent otherwise Henry would feel intimidated
Henry had so many wives because he needed to produce a male heir
the Movable Type Printing press
allowed for more widespread access to literature and books themselves (this contributed to the success of the Renaissance)
paterfamilias (“all social and political order stemmed from the exercise of the father’s authority over the family”)
a belief during the Renaissance where fathers were established as the heads of families
the ideas of humanism and teachings of rhetoric…
…increased during the Renaissance
the Renaissance was largely inspired by the ancient/classical time period
ancient greek and latin was taught/studied
girls sometimes joined their brothers in being tutored
more common for women to have some education
universities focused on teaching ____ rather than the typical philosophy and theology
humanism
the change of humanism
humanism went from ideas of the study of humans to more politics-based (thanks to Desiderius Erasmus)
republic of letters
a growing community of (international) humanists in Europe
Niccolo Machiavelli
wrote ‘The Prince’, a humanist work that was very different as it was not typical Christian political ideas
he believed that it was better for a leader to be feared rather than loved
focused on how a prince could maintain power and order (what is effective rather than what is noble)
Thomas More
wrote ‘Utopia’, where reason and cooperation have replaced struggles for glory and power
believed that humanistic analysis could lead to prosperity and peace
‘The Book of the City of Ladies’
written by Christine de Pizan
highlighted the belief that women could be virtuous leaders, rational beings, basically that women could be leaders/kings/fighters just as men could.
during the Renaissance, ideas conflicted in that…
idealism and realism were compared to each other (i.e, should a person strive to be loved or feared? is it more important for a community to be fair or stable?)
a person’s experiences affected the lens through which they saw these questions/issues/ideas
the renaissance
rediscovery of philosophy (ancient/classical times), literature, and art
began to question God and societal norms
King Henry the 8th
the Pope rejected divorce (went against Catholic beliefs)
King Henry had a traumatic brain injury
Ann Boleyn gave birth to no sons, and Henry had her executed for “adultery and treason”
Henry remarried from here and executed many of his wives until he was given a son (heir)
elision
the skipping of syllables to shorten words, with the omission indicated by the apostrophe
pronouns
thou, thee, thy, thine, and thyself (thou is the informal form)
syntax
an art form used for poetic and dramatic purposes - the order of words
verse
writing arranged with a metrical rhythm (also known as poetry)
prose
speech not in lines of verse, such as everyday language (may be used to convey urgency, informality, or disorganization)
blank verse
lines that are often unrhymed and not grouped into stanzas
iambic pentameter
a metric rhythm, 10 syllable’s made up of one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable
couplets
two lines that are in the same meter and represent a complete thought (will often end a scene, foreshadowing or summarizing)
soliloquy
when a speaker says their thoughts aloud alone (OTHER CHARACTERS CANNOT HEAR THIS)
reveals the character’s true personality and motives
may sway our view of the character
monologue
when a character makes a long speech to other character(s)
true thoughts and intentions are NOT revealed
motif
recurring images/words/pairs that produce patterns and express themes